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ARMENIA
ALONG THE KASAGH Along the Kasagh gorge, in a scenery dominated by Mt Aragats (4090m), lie a series of monasteries. Mughni is not the most impressive. It is relatively new by Armenian standards (14th century, fully rebuilt between 1661 and 1669, when eastern Armenian was ruled by the Safavid Shahs of Iran). It's a solid construction, however: it withstood the earthquake of 1679 which flattened Yerevan and heavily damaged nearby Hovhannavank. Hovhannavank is situated about 5km north of Mughni. It is set on the edge of the gorge, a stunning location. It has a 5th century chapel, and many additions to that, mostly by Prince Vache Vachutian in the 13th century. The tympanum of the south door is noticeable: Christ seems to be blessing the 5 wise virgins on the right and rebuking the 5 foolish ones on the left. But the "virgins" have beards. They might be apostles then, but why 10 instead of 12? Saghmosavank, another 5 km to the north, was built by the same Vache Vachutian, again at on rim of the gorge. Its oldest part is the Zion church of 1215, but as usual in Armenia various buildings (other church, gavit, library) were subsequently added. ON THE SLOPES OF MT ARAGATS Mt Aragats, the highest point in Armenia, is an old volcano. Its crater is eroded and now forms 4 separate peaks. The highest is the northernmost one, at 4090m. We climbed the south peak (3879m). It sounds quite high, but the hike starts at lake Kari, at 3190m. The southern slopes of Aragats have a few interesting sights, among which the Amberd fortress is the most significant. Set at an altitude over 2000m, it is a bulky construction from the 12th century. Most of it is crumbling in fact, but the impression of might remains. It even withstood Mongol invaders in 1236. It was finally abandoned in 1408. Inside the fortified enclosure is an older church, from 1026. Views of Mt Ararat (in present day Turkey) from Mt Aragats are stunning. In summer the visibility is not at its best, but we were lucky enough to have a bright cloud free morning when climbing (though by the time we reached the summit, the clouds had caught up with us!). Ararat is 5165m, making it the highest Turkish summit. ARUCH AND TALIN Aruchavank, in the village of Aruch, has a large cathedral which was built in 666 under Grigor Mamikonian, who had local autonomy under the Arab rule. Similarly, Talin has a huge cathedral built in the 7th century. It sits in a large grassy piece of land used as cemetery, bordering the town (which mostly consists of decayed Soviet era buildings). HAVUTS TAR Havuts Tar is a ruined monastery situated on a ridge of the Garni gorge. It is accessed only by a walking path, the walk taking about an hour. It dates from the 11th to 13th century but was badly damaged by the 1679 earthquake, and most of the ruined structures that can be seen today are from the early 18th century. The beauty of the landscape and the certainty to be absolutely alone among the 2 groups of ruined building makes it really worth the effort. You can feel like an explorer hunting stones carved with inscriptions or intricate crosses. Definitely one I recommend! GARNI Armenia's only Graeco-Roman-style building, Garni, stands in a magnificent valley, with canyons whose vertical walls are at places made of basalt organ pipes. What exactly the function of this building was is subject to questions: a temple dedicated to Mirtha (or maybe Helios) say some, the tomb of Romanised ruler Sohaemus say others. Temple or tomb, the building was destroyed by an earthquake in 1679 and restored between 1969 and 1975. YEGHVARD With its warm pink stone, the church in Yeghvard is rather cute. It is highly decorated externally, especially with carved animals (lion, ibex, leopard, eagle…) and has a 16 column belfry. It is dedicated to the Mother of God and stands in the middle of the village, which is rather unusual for such an old Armenian church (built 1301). The locals told us the church previously had a gavit which was destroyed during Soviet times, though I couldn't find the story elsewhere. We were there on the first day of the school year, and as is customary, students in their best clothes came to burn candles, praying for good results throughout the year. GEGHARD Geghard means "spear". This name dates from the 13th century and relates to the bringing of a spear which allegedly pierced the side of Christ at Calvary. It is one of the most extraordinary churches in Armenia: partly cut into cliffs, some of its rooms are completely subterranean, with astonishing carvings. The site has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2000. It was founded as early as the 4th century (under the name Ayrivank, or cave monastery), but the features still standing are from the late 12th century, when the country experienced a monastery building revival. The chapel of the Mother of God is the oldest, and was built before 1164. Construction started under the Zakarians. They then sold the monastery to the Prosh family who constructed the underground parts carved out of rock. The relief carvings in these rooms are quite special: on the north wall of the mausoleum of the Prosh family a goat is pictured with a ring in its mouth to which is attached a rope whose two ends are round the necks of two lions. The ends of the tails of the lions are dragons with open mouths. Below, an eagle with spread wings grasps a lamb in its talons. ARARAT On a small hill on the otherwise quite dull Ararat plain stands the monastery of Khor Virap. There are only 33km from there to the 5165m high Mt Ararat, and since the plain is roughly at 900m above see level, the biblical mountain looks like a giant. Khop Virap means "deep dungeon". It is not very interesting architecturally, but its historical significance is huge: this is the place where King Trdat III imprisoned St Gregory the Illuminator. It is still possible to visit the deep shaft where he was imprisoned for 13 years. King Trdat eventually released Gregory when he declared Christianity the state religion. EJMIATSIN Ejmiatsin is the Armenian equivalent to Vatican city. It's not as grand and pompous, of course, but you can definitely feel a difference from the other religious sites: here priests are everywhere, looking busy and important. There's nothing of the charm of the remote monasteries set in stunning natural locations. The city is ugly. I didn't find Ejmiatsin appealing at all. Ejmiatsin became the spiritual center of Armenia in the early 4th century. The cathedral still has a 5th century wall. But most of the building is from the 17th century. The city has 3 other main churches: St Hripsime (Hripsime was one of the refugee nuns from Rome in the late 3rd century who was persecuted by King Trdat III -the king himself allegedly tried to rape her), St Gayane (the abbess of the fleeing nuns) and St Shokagat (a companion of Gayane and Hripsime). All of these churches were rebuilt during the 17th century. ZVARNOTS Zvartnots is the site of a ruined monumental church, built between 643 and 652. It was most probably a roughly circular three-storey structure, as some ancient drawings suggest. It is believed to have been destroyed by an earthquake in 930, and was re-discovered only in the early 20th century. HAYRIVANK Hayrivank is on the western shore of lake Sevan. It consists of a 9th century church, a gavit of the 12th century (with its interior walls covered with carved crosses) and a small chapel. Several lovely khachkars are scattered around the buildings. The setting near the lake in a relatively isolated place is attractive, and my pictures, taken under the harsh mid-day sun, barely do justice to the monastery. LANDSCAPES AND PEOPLE Lake Sevan is 78km and 56km wide at its broadest point: almost an inland sea! It's set at an altitude above 1900m, and its barren mountainous shores are truly beautiful. Colors change constantly, and the variety of hues of blues and purple is just fascinating. In 1910, the Armenian engineer Manasserian proposed to reduce the depth of the lake from 95m to 45m. He hoped to gain arable land on the lake shores and use water to produce electricity. His project was put into practice under Stalin, and completed by 1949. Yet problems soon arose: trees didn't grow on the shores and the fish catch reduced drastically. The use of water for irrigation was stopped in 1965 and the water level then stabilized 18m below original level. It was then decided to replenish the lake (!) and a tunnel was built to bring 200 million cubic meters of water each year from the river Arpa. Completed in 1981, this tunnel only raised the water level by 1.5 m and a second tunnel was deemed necessary to deviate the Vorotan into the Arpa and thus into the lake. Only 18 km out of 22 of this second tunnel were ever completed, and the first one is now in a poor state. In 1988, with the closure of the Metsamor nuclear power station (due to the earthquake) and the blockade cause by the Nagorno Karabagh war, the power station had to be used at full rate and the lake level plunged 20m below the original level (area: 940km2 instead of 1360km2 originally). NORATUS Noratus is home to one of the wonders of Armenia : an amazing field of khachkars. There are other groups of khachkars in Armenia, but this is the largest, with about 900 of them. Along side sheep, you can wander around and inspect the carvings: none are similar and many are exquisite. Why so many of them were erected at this location is not known. It is possible that not all of them are tombstones, some might have be put in place to celebrate other events. The village of Noratus also has 2 churches: the 10th century St Gregory, which also has some nice khachkars behind, and the Holy Virgin church, which was used as a factory during the Soviet times and is now mostly ruined. SEVANAVANK Sevanavank is far from being most architecturally interesting monastery. Yet, due to its setting, it is a very appealing place: it stands on top of a hill on a peninsula, giving you great views on stunning lake Sevan. It's true that it receives rather more visitors than the average Armenian monastery, thus some travelers think it misses the atmosphere other places retain. But if you're into images, it is a fantastic place! An inscription in the oldest of the remaining churches at Sevanavank states that the monastery was founded 874. In the 19th century, it served as a reformatory for monks banished from Ejmiatsin because of their immoral behavior. HAGHPAT Haghpat monastery was one of the first Armenian sites to be added to the UNESCO World Heritage List (in 1996). And with reason! It is a wonderful complex of buildings, with great views on the surrounding mountains. The main church has a huge dome and is dedicated to the Holy Cross. It was built between 976 and 991 at the request of Queen Khosrovanush. It has a very nice relief of Smbat and Gurgen Bagratuni (2 of the three sons of the founder) holding a model of the church on its eastern façade. A smaller church, dedicated to St Gregory the Illuminator, was added in 1005, and then a third church (Mother of God) was built in 1025. A gavit (1185) and a porch (1201) were then added to the main church. Then, the large three-storey belfry appeared (1245), followed by a free standing gavit (1257) and a refectory (also 13th century). The wooden library was replaced by a stone structure in 1262. Haghpat also houses one of the finest khachkars in Armenia: the amazing Holy Redeemer khachkar, dating back to 1273. It is in the passage leading to the library, and doesn't get much sunlight. KOBAYR Kobayr's main church was built in 1171, by Mariam, daughter of Kyurik II. At this time the Seljuks ruled Armenia, but delegated control to local princes. In 1195 and 1202, the Georgians defeated the Seljuk and gained control of the area. The Zakarian family, who adhered to the Georgian Orthodox Church) ruled the region. The Georgian Orthodox Church differed from the Armenian church in having accepted the views of the council of Chaldeon (451) over the duality of Christ's nature. This explains the occurrence of Georgian-styled frescos and inscriptions. Much of the south side of the complex has collapsed into the gorge deep below, leaving the apse exposed to the elements. OTHER SITES IN LORI North of Haghpat, towards the Georgian border, Akhtala is built on a dramatic site, perched on a cliff. Don't expect lovely views though: a copper mine is located on the opposite side of the valley. We had to break the lock (and pay for a new one) to enter, as the caretaker had unfortunately lost the key! They don't get many visitors here, and the caretaker spends most of her time in the hospital working as a nurse, which makes it quite difficult to actually visit the place. Persistence will be rewarded though, as the frescoes inside are magnificent (though the view is blocked by the wooden scaffoldings which have now been in place for years). Akhtala is built inside 10th century fortifications. The main existing church was built between 1212 and 1250, as a Georgian Orthodox church (which explains the frescoes). Odzun is on the plateau above the Debed gorge. It was built in the 6th century and then reconstructed in the 8th. Hnevank monastery is very ruined and the road leading there is in a rather bad condition. It is a beautiful sight though, especially seen from a distance. The monastery was founded in the 7th century but rebuilt in 1144. Alaverdi ("Allah gave" in Turkish) in the large town of the Debed gorge, an important copper-mining center. Its most interesting feature is an old bridge built in 1192. SANAHIN Sanahin monastery was one of the first Armenian sites to be added to the UNESCO World Heritage List (in 1996). Unlike neighboring Haghpat, it does not stand isolated on a hill, but just outside the city limits of Alaverdi. The monastery was established in 966 by Queen Khosrovanush. It became a center of considerable cultural influence during the 10th and 11th centuries. Its important library where copyists worked to produce illuminated manuscripts was renowned. Sanahin's role declined as Armenia faced waves of invaders. The site is dominated by the church of the Holy Redeemer, with its conical dome. Like in Haghpat, it has relief of Smbat and Gurgen Bagratuni (2 of the three sons of the founder) holding a model of the church on its eastern façade. I tend to like the one from Haghpat much more. A smaller church, dedicated to the Mother of God, is linked to the main church by a gallery covered by a barrel vault, which was probably used for teaching. On the west of the two churches are large beautiful gavits constructed in 1181 and 1211. On the complex's north side is the library of 1063, and the lovely round chapel of St Gregory the Illuminator. HARICHAVANK Harichavank is a large monastery, situated close to Artik, in the South of the province of Shirak. It was founded in the 7th century and expanded during the 13th. In the 1850s, the Katholikos moved his summer residence here, resulting in the addition of many ancillary buildings. The original tiny 7th century church still stands with its round dome , but its belltower is a 19th century addition. The much larger Mother of God church built in 1201 has a very beautiful 16-sided umbrella dome. The gavit between the two churches has a striking porch, with an almost oriental intricate decoration. OTHER SITES IN SHIRAK Yereruyk church in Anipemza is one of the most architecturally important churches in Armenia, because of its early date (5th and 6th centuries). It depicts early Armenian church architecture which was modelled on churches of the eastern provinces of the Roman empire. The porches for instance have a distinct Graeco-Roman feel. Anipemza is very close to the Turkish border, and so is Ani Kayaran. The reason we stopped in this village is that we wanted to find someone who could help us past the Russian control border zone to see Ani, the ancient Armenian capital, which lies in present-day Turkey. Permits are required to enter that zone, but the travel agency we worked with thought they could do without paying the permit fee by just asking the Russian guards to let us in. It didn't work and we were really disappointed, especially since it seemed clear to us that they would take care of the permits… Near Artik, the small 7th century St Stephen church at Lmbatavank monastery is very well preserved and offers nice views as it is set on a hill. Marmashen is beautifully situated in the valley of the Akhurian river. The landscapes around are barren: mostly grass, almost no trees. The road leading there from Gyumri is one of the most horrible in Armenia, though. Be ready for the potholes! The main church at Marmashen was built between 986 and 1029. GOSHAVANK Another place I like a lot, Goshavank is a rather small monastery on the top of a gentle hill. It's maybe not spectacular, but the quietness and subdued beauty makes it a really moving sight. It was founded in the 12th century by Mkhitar Gosh to replace the monastery of Getik, destroyed in an earthquake. The earliest structure is the Mother of God church, from 1191, followed by two St Gregory chapels and their gavit (1208 and 1237). The library was added in 1291, but Mongol invaders set fire to its 1600 volumes in 1375. HAGHARTSIN Haghartsin lies in a valley home to a dense forest. The monastery consists of a group of well-preserved buildings. The oldest part is the St Gregory church (10th century), but the church gavit was built later. Then St Stephen's church was built in 1244, followed by an interesting large refectory (1248), and the bigger Mother of God church was added in 1281. At the southeast corner of this last church, a large walnut tree is estimated to be over 700 years old. If you believe in miracles, try burning a candle here. Even though we're just a bunch of atheists, we were so desperate with the rainy weather that we tried our luck with these yellow thin candles they sell all over Armenia: the day after was bright and sunny and that's when we got those great shots at Goshavank, Haghartsin and Lake Sevan!!! MAKARAVANK Makaravank is set on the slopes of Mount Paytarar, and the road slowly rises to it through a forest. Its oldest church is from the 10th century, but its main draw is its main church, built in 1205 by Vardan. The carvings inside the main church are amazing, and the ones of outside are lovely. The misty weather, though it made the site very atmospheric, did not allow taking many views of them, though. UGHTASAR Ughtasar means "pilgrimage mountain". It's a site were numerous petroglyphs have been discovered, at an elevation of 3300m, around a little lake on Mt Tsghuk. Carvings of animals and hunters adorn the rocks everywhere around the lake. The track leading there is only passable with a Villis. It's probably the most challenging drive I ever experienced. It certainly is odd that ancient people chose such a desolated and inhospitable place to carve the stones. Yet, it is a truly beautiful spot. Really one of the highlights of Armenia! TATEV In 844 Bishop Davit persuaded the princes of Syunik to grant lands which could support a large monastery. The main church was built between 895 and 906. It was badly damaged by the earthquake of 1931, but has now been fully restored. The bell tower's restoration is not over though, which is why a large crane stood at the site when we visited. Thus even though the road past the monastery offers great views of the whole building (especially the mighty supporting walls), the website doesn't have any picture taken from there: the ugly crane ruined the whole panorama! Tatev was a striving learning center and 1000 people lived there. It reached this peak in the 14th and 15th centuries. There are numerous buildings on the site. The gavazan, an octagonal pillar with a small khachkar on top, was used to detect tremors. St Gregory's church, dating from 1295, is set adjoining the main church and St Paul and Peter church, with its 17th century bell tower, has an adjoining Mother of God chapel from the 11th century. The whole place gives this impression that layers and layers of history have interacted chaotically to reach the present state. It's not exactly harmonious but it's thrilling to explore! OTHER SITES IN SYUNIK Karahunj, near the city of Sisian, is an astronomical observatory from some time prior to 2000BC. It consists of basalt stones, certain weighting several tons, 76 of which have apertures formed near the top. It is unclear though, how they were used and what was observed. Khndzoresk is a cave village, where dwellings were hewn into the soft rock amidst weird looking limestone karst rock formations. They housed people till the 19th century. NORAVANK The Noravank complex was mainly developed in the 13th century, though the oldest parts date from the 9th century. It was commissioned by the Orbelian princes, a branch of the Mamikonian family who had settled in South Armenia after arriving there as members of the Georgian army which defeated the sultan in 1204. Both the gavit and the Mother of God church are the work of Momik, one of the greatest Armenian architects. The site is reached by a road set in a deep gorge. The ochre colored churches against the background of red rocks are very inspiring. SPITAKAVOR Spitakavor means "whitish". It's the name of a lovely church, dating back to 1321, standing majestically alone in the yayla. It's best reached on foot (though it will take few hours), but a track passable by 4WD can also take you there. The advantage of this option is the splendid panorama views you'll get . The walk, on the other hand, is mostly straight up along a water stream. It goes through yayla camps though, which means you'll experience the hospitality of the locals. SELIM CARAVANSERAI High on the road of the Selim pass (2410m), remote from the villages down in the valleys, Selim Caravanserai has managed to survive through the centuries and to reach us in a remarkable state of preservation. It was built in 1332, with defence against thieves in mind. It's a long building made of basalt, with only one narrow entrance. Light and ventilation are provided by carved roof openings. The merchants used to sleep on the side naves while their animals stayed in the central alley. TSAKHATS KAR Tsakhats Kar is a ruined monastery, located quite close to the fortress of Smbataberd. It has two churches, Holy Cross and St John the Baptist. The doorway of the second one has elaborated geometrical carvings. Scattered on the site are many khachkars and a large stone eagle. There are also numerous ruined buildings most of which must have been housing and service. Remains of a defensive wall, another church and a cloister have been found, which tends to indicate that this presently forgotten place must once have had great importance. OTHER SITES IN VAYOTS DZOR The Smbataberd fortress was probably founded in the 5th century, and then was enlarged in the 10th, to such an extent that it became one of the strongest in Armenia. It is still impressive, especially because three of its sides are just steep cliffs. Whether the fortress fell to the Seljuk or the Mongols appears to be still in debate… The path to the church of Spitakavor runs through the summer village of local farmers on alpine meadows, or yayla. The least you can say about them is that they are very hospitable!! We couldn't leave until each and every family had given us water or fruits! OFFICIAL BUILDINGS Yerevan's architecture has a very Soviet touch. Of course there are the inevitable concrete apartment blocks, but many of the Soviet official buildings in Yerevan have actually incorporated some of the Armenian genius for stone carvings and are worth a look. The 50th anniversary of Soviet Armenia monument stands on top of a hill. To reach it, one has to go through the "Cascade", a vast flight of stone steps which incorporates recessed fountains and post modern khachkars. It was left uncompleted at the demise of the Soviet Union. Gerard Cafesjian is developing a museum of contemporary art there. The huge statue of Mother Armenia stands on another, bigger, hill. It is 21 meters high and holds a massive sword. She actually replaces a Stalin statue which was removed in 1967 (funnily, the Stalin statue was less high!). The Republic Square (formerly Lenin Square) is surrounded by carefully crafted and carved buildings, such as the finance and economy ministry, the national history museum or a very special post office which houses a stained-glass window behind the counter showing a woman in Armenian clothing holding a telegraph tape (try buying stamps inside, it might still feel like a Soviet experience!!!). The Matenadaran is Armenia's ancient manuscripts library (it preserves more than 17000 of them!). The first Matenadaran for Armenian texts was built in Echmiadzin in the 5th century. Thanks to this system, many originals, lost in their mother languages and known only by their Armenian translations, have been saved from loss. The present building was designed in 1959. At its base is a statue of Mashtots teaching his alphabet to a disciple. BLUE MOSQUE The blue mosque, built in 1765, is the only mosque surviving in Yerevan. It was used as a museum during Soviet times, and since its renovation by the Iranian government in 1999 it is again a functioning mosque. GENOCIDE MEMORIAL In 1965, Armenians commemorated the 50th anniversary of the genocide. As there was no symbol in Armenia itself, the genocide memorial at Tsitsernakaberd was created and completed in 1967. It's stunning how striking and appropriate the monument is. There is a 44m tall stele symbolizing survival and nearby 12 large leaning slabs suggesting figures in mourning. The slabs surround an eternal flame set 1.5m below. The steps leading there are deliberately steep, requiring visitors to bow as they approach the flame. The museum, which was added in 1995, contains in particular photographs taken by German army photographers who, as allies to the Turks in WWI, were allowed in the area at the time. Information on the genocide is widely available in the form of history books or testimonies of survivors. I would recommend "Les Arméniens, histoire d'un génocide" (in French) by Yves Ternon (ISBN 2020256851). It still surprises me a great deal that such a major historical event, so important for mankind to learn the lessons from the past, is generally kept in the dark, trivialized or even appallingly negated. EREBUNI Erebuni is the original site of the Urartian city which became Yerevan. A cuneiform inscription dating from 782BC was discovered there in 1950 while excavating a monastery. It states that king Argrishti built a fortress on this hill and named it Erebuni. The remains are not very impressive, but the museum is pretty interesting.
AUSTRALIA
RAINBOW VALLEY The Rainbow Valley was the first stop on our 4WD trip : i.e. first time unfolding the tents, first canned food dinner, first night alone in the middle of nowhere. And for a first camping spot, it was simply terrific! Perfect light, awesome scenery, and not a single fly! (which unfortunately was going to be pretty different further south). We were lucky since the claypan in front of the cliff was partially filled with water (it rained for three days while we stayed in Alice Springs). The color variations are due to rock composition (iron-oxide darkens the top while it was washed away from the lower portions). CHAMBERS PILLAR Chambers pillar is a impressive column of sandstone (its height is about 60m). It was an important landmark for the first Europeans who attempted to cross the continent. John McDouall Stuart was the first explorer to see the pillar, and he was also the one who named it (after James Chambers, one of those who financed his expedition). Chambers pillar is also a meaningful land feature for the aboriginals: they believe that the gecko ancestor Itirkawara was banished to the desert after abducting a girl. Both him and the girl finally became the pillar and the castle rock (i.e. the other large rock in the area). Reaching Chambers pillar means climbing to the top of a high rocky ridge (not that easy!) and then going thru 10 km of red dunes (4 to 10m high). One of the nicest stretches of track we drove in Australia! ERNEST GILES RD Ernest Giles road is named after the first explorer who crossed the western deserts twice and yet died penniless and unknown in 1897. He was the one who gave the Gibson Desert his name (after Alf Gibson, a young stockman who went missing during an expedition that very nearly claimed Giles' life). This stretch of track is rather nice, with very red sand and nice desert oaks (the young ones look like hairy broomsticks, very different from their adult shape). The Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve is very unremarkable though.KINGS CANYON Kings Creek was named by the first European to explore the area, Ernest Giles, after his friend Fielder King. The 100m high sheer cliffs of Kings Canyon shelter a very special microclimate which, with 600 plant species, has the highest biodiversity of arid Australia. The narrow creek bed is home to a quiet forest. The plateau around the canyon rims is populated by a colony of strange-looking sandstone domes: a real maze on an otherwise very flat surface. In another nearby gorge, quiet pools of spring water maintain a surprisingly opulent vegetation. This area is home to the Luritja Aboriginal people.For us, the first impression of the Kings Canyon area was that of a brutal return to civilization: expensive campsite full of tourist buses, loud music till late at night, lots of people walking on the trail around the Canyon. After 2 nights completely alone in the wilderness, it was a bit of a disappointment. Fortunately, the site is so spectacular that we quickly forgot about the crowd! FROM KINGS CANYON TO ULURU The MacDonnell Ranges stand as an east-west barrier across the otherwise flat Red Center area. Along their 400km, these rugged mountains rise to 1531m at Mt Zeil. They are made of series of parallel ridges, with deep valleys. Surprisingly, this very arid landscape also shelters remains of the ancient rainforest species that once populated central Australia. Mt Conner is the least-known and most easterly of central Australia's giant monoliths. It's flat-topped and horseshoe-shaped and reaches to 760 m above sea level. Its lower 150 m are covered by a talus. The distant, shimmering purple table-top mesa of Mount Conner is a marvelous sight. It is a significant sacred site for the aborigines who know it as Atila, the ice-man who brings the cold eastern winds to Uluru. West of Mt Conner, the waves of large red sand dunes become the major land feature. And from this sea of sand suddenly emerges the majestic silhouette of Uluru. ULURU AND KATA TJUTA Uluru (Ayers Rock) is the icon of Australia. Of course one has seen dozens of pictures of it before getting there. And yet, it's stunning, magical, unforgettable. It's more than a big red rock lost in the middle of nowhere. First, it has a very special presence. And second, it is not only red: its color changes progressively with the hours of the day and the distance from which you view it. Its smoothness is unbelievable: a total contrast to its imposing size. Uluru is made of sandstone, and towers 348m above the sandplain around. Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), which means "Many Heads" is located is 32 km to the west (45km by road). It is an ensemble of rocks spread over several square kilometers. The tallest one is 200m higher than Uluru. There is a more mysterious atmosphere to Kata Tjuta: wandering thru its many gorges one could easily feel lost (that is, in summer, when there aren't that many buses unloading tourists at the carpark!). Archeologists think the Uluru area was inhabited for at least 22000 years. Two groups of Aboriginal people live in this area: the Yankunytjatjara and the Pitjantjatjara. Both call themselves Anangu. European settlers arrived around 1870 but in the 1920s conflict between settlers and Aborigenes caused the area to be enclosed in the Great Central Aboriginal Reserve. It was only in 1985 that the Anangu were officially given back the ownership of what is now a national park. Aboriginal religious concepts are very foreign to Westerners. Their "Dreaming" is not a creation myth per se, but a myth of formation. The world existed before this time, but was featureless. Semi-human beings, resembling plants or animals, rose up from the plains and roamed the land aimlessly. As they wandered around, they carried out ordinary tasks including camping, making fires, digging for water, fighting each other, and performing ceremonies. When the heroes became tired, the Dreamtime came to an end. Wherever the creators had been active, some form of natural feature now marks the place. The creators made everything with which the aborigines are in daily contact. The heroes also established laws that govern all aspects, both secular and sacred, of the tribes. Dozens of ancestral beings are associated with Uluru and Kata Tjuta and the Anangu see the physical signs of their deeds in many marks in the rock and shapes of particular features. The battle between Kuniya (the woma Python) and Liru (another snake) for instance left huge scars on Uluru. Around the rock, many sacred site are scattered. Some are "men sites" other are "women sites", and only initiated people of each sex can enter those premises. Kata Tjuta is sacred as a "men site", and details of stories associated with it are in the realm of secrets and cannot be disclosed to uninitiated people. Climbing Uluru used to be the highlight of many visitors' trip to Australia. Yet, for the Anangu the climbing route is sacred as it is the way followed by the ancestral Mala men in one of the main myths linked with Uluru. Thus they ask visitors not to climb. But the climb isn't forbidden either, which we thought was a bit strange: everywhere in the park there are displays explaining about the Tjukurpa (traditional law/foundation of Anangu culture/Dreaming) and way of life of the Anangu people but at the same time buses bring crowds to climb along the spiritually significant route. However mentalities are evolving: shops in the resort now sell as many "I climbed Uluru" as "I didn't climb Uluru" Tshirts. For more details on Aboriginal spiritual life, turn to "Mysteries of the Dreaming" by James Cowan, Brandl&Schlesinger, ISBN 1-876040-28-9 FROM CURTIN SPRINGS TO STUART HWY Mt Conner is the least-known and most easterly of central Australia's giant monoliths. It's flat-topped and horseshoe-shaped and reaches to 760 m above sea level. Its lower 150 m are covered by a talus. The distant, shimmering purple table-top mesa of Mount Conner is a marvelous sight. It is a significant sacred site for the aborigines who know it as Atila, the ice-man who brings the cold eastern winds to Uluru. After Mulga Park, the road which goes along the Northern Territory/South Australia border line took us to different sceneries: the wavy red sand plains were to give way to the flat gibber plains. STUART HIGHWAY This Highway bears the name of John McDouall Stuart, who was the first European to cross the Australian continent in 1862. It's a 2700km long sealed ribbon linking Port Augusta in the South to Darwin in the North. Initially, people heading to Alice Springs would have used the Oodnadatta Track where water was available along the way, but with the discovery of opals in Coober Pedy in 1915, most of the traffic was redirected along the present route. In the 40ies, during the war, Stuart highway was sealed from Alice Springs to Darwin and it's only in 1980 that it was sealed from Alice Springs to Port Augusta. PAINTED DESERT The Arckaringa Hills, nicknamed " Painted Desert ", in some of the most amazing scenery in the Central Deserts. It's a group of colored mesas standing alone in the flat gibber plain around. The diversity of hues is truly impressive.It's also along the route from Cadney Park Roadhouse to the Arckaringa Hills that we met our first wild kangaroos: they all seemed to get active around 5pm when the heat of the day started to subside a bit. We stayed in a homestead where the people were actually hunting kangaroos at night with large lamps on 4WDs. Not so nice... But kangaroos tend to be too numerous, it seems. COOBER PEDY Coober Pedy, which is an Aboriginal name meaning "white men hole in the ground", The name is a combination of two Aboriginal words, Kupaka and Piti. Kupaka is a Mutuntjarra word for white man and Piti an Antakirinja word for hole. The name Coober Pedy was selected on 26 June 1920, from four proposed names. Coober Pedy is a town with a relatively large population for the area (2700 inhabitants). It's set in a very inhospitable environment , extremely hot and arid, forcing people to live in dugouts : a particularity which gave it its name. (If you dig 3 meters, it will be 25°C all year round, and if you dig 6m, it will be 18°C...) The reason for settling down in such an horrendous place is simple: opal. Opal is a precious stone composed of silica similar to quartz with a varying amount of water trapped within the mineral structure. First discovered early in 1915 by a 14 year old boy, the area is the world's largest opal bearing region and produces over 80% of Australia's opal. The further discovery of opal within 20 centimeters of the surface at the Eight Mile in 1945 caused a great sensation and was a turning point in the history of the field. It went a long way towards establishing Coober Pedy's future prosperity. During the 1960's, the mining industry expanded rapidly due to the many European migrants who came to seek their fortunes. The 60's and 70's saw opal mining develop into a multi million dollar industry with Coober Pedy developing into a modern mining town, now nicknamed "The Opal Capital of the World". Yet, up to 90% of all opal found is valueless 'potch' (opal without colour, usually white or greyish white). Only the remaining 10% is the brilliantly coloured and highly prized gem. The harsh environment didn't make for easy living. Lack of water, which often had to be re-used many times before being discarded, was always a problem. Today the town water supply comes from an underground source 24 kilometers north of the town, then pumped through an underground pipeline to the water works where it is treated. The opal fields around Coober Pedy are pitted with abandoned prospecting drill holes and mine shafts which can be up to 30 metres deep. But I have to say I wasn't so interested in the Opal business. The real attraction of the place for me was the Breakaways, another gorgeous piece of desert scenery. This is the place where the white and yellow mesa known as "The Castle" featured in famous movies like "Mad Max III and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" can be found. OODNADATTA TRACK The Oodnadatta track is a 610km long unsealed ribbon linking Marla to Marree. It's a fairly easy drive and many people end up driving it with a 2WD. It takes you mostly across flat gibber plains, though there are also a few sand dunes along the way. I though it was pretty monotonous -yet not boring- after the grand sceneries we had encountered before. A nice sight along the way was Blanche Cup, in the Wabma Kardabu Mound Springs Conservation Park. Many mound springs dot the area actually, and it's somehow disturbing to see those water wells amid the sun-baked plains around. Mound Springs are natural outlet for the Great Artesian Basin. Rain that fell 2.5 million years ago over what was to become Queensland and New South Wales is now exiting here in the South Australian Desert along cracks in the layer of impermeable rocks, due to pressure in the aquifer below. LAKE EYRE Lake Eyre is in fact the combination of two lakes joined together by a narrow passage named Goyder Channel. The two lakes have a total area of 9700 km2: a real inland sea - except it's most of the time reduced to a white salt crust ! It only filled to near capacity three times in the last 150 years, most recently in 1974. This usually results from heavy rains in Queensland and not from local precipitations. For us, Lake Eyre will forever be synonymous with flies. Where we camped among the dunes on the lake shore, the flies were so numerous and determined to annoy us that we ended up eating in the car instead of enjoying the lovely sunset. The next day in Marree, we bought all types of fly nets (a large one to eat under, personal ones to wear around the head - that one is great to wash the dishes… somehow flies seem to be attracted by water making the chore into an ordeal!) BIRDSVILLE TRACK Stretching north south between Marree and Birdsville, the Birdsville Track was once one of the most dangerous stock routes of the Continent, mostly due to the unreliability of the waterholes in what is one of Australia's driest regions. Awkwardly, it's rain that prevented us from reaching Birdsville. So much water had fallen on the northern part of the track than when we reached Mungerannie (also sometimes spelled Mungeranie), the road was being closed. We decided not to wait there and to get back to Marree, though the original plan was to reach Birdsville and from there go to Innamincka and the Strzelecki Track. The landscapes on the Birdsville Track are a bit monotonous, but the loneliness in vast empty gibber plains is a great experience. The Birdsville Track was opened in 1880 by E. A. Burt. It allowed the cattle stations of South Western Queensland to link with Adelaide (which was their closest market and supply center). Until the 1930s, the track was regularly used by camels trains, which carried all the goods the local stores and stations needed, including construction materials. It took them 24 days to cover the distance between Marree and Birdsville. Today, the track is a rather good dirt road which can be driven in one day. STRZELECKI TRACK Before the discovery of gas and oil fields near Moomba in the 60ies, the Strzelecki Track was barely used as it is tougher than the Birdsville Track. This route was pioneered in 1870 by Harry Redford, a cattle rustler who stole 1000 cattle from the Longreach area and drove them down into South Australia where he sold them. He was eventually caught but not convictred for the offence as the jury was impressed by his feat. The track first goes thru vast gibber plains, where creek crossings are quite common. The day before we had witnessed a thunderstorm quite a distance away. We had tried to guess where it was taking place and we supposed it was over the northern Flinders Ranges. And as we drove towards the Montecollina bore, we could verify this: all the creeks coming from the South, i.e. the Flinders Rangers were flowing. They were not so numerous and we crossed them without major difficulties. North from the Montecollina bore (where we stopped for the night, among dozens of lovely birds) the Track passes thru the Cobbler Desert. But the streak of track which has the most magnificent dunes is set after Moomba where the track does not go along them but across them. Innamincka, which is a real tiny town, seems like a city after 480km of empty desert (without a single house or gas station). It was created as a custom post as prior to the Federation of 1901, the colonies of Queensland and South Australia imposed taxes on all transiting stocks and goods. COONGIE LAKE The track leading to Coongie Lake (more than 100km north west from Innamincka) is used solely to reach the lake and it's a dead end. So, nobody drives on it except people interested in the lake. Prior to attempting to drive there, we checked with the rangers if the track was ok, but they said they hadn't been there recently and didn't know! We decided to go. There was a lot of mud at points, and the track was flooded at other points. But we had not problems and we reached the lake well before sunset. It's a magical place: pelicans and egrets live there, there are trees all around, and dunes as well... Camping there, we had our usual share of flies, ate terrible tasting canned spaghettis, but still enjoyed the place tremendously! In the morning, we saw a dingo drinking in the lake: the first time we saw one of these elusive animals! We also spent some time looking at another natural wonder: pelicans fishing. It was then time to head back to Innamincka. We hoped to get there for lunch time, but... we got bogged! And it took 4 long hours to get the Hilux out of the mud!! We managed, however... I supposed since we had passed without problems the day before, we were a little bit too enthusiastic on the way back! We drove slowly back and we finally reached Innamincka, checked in at a hotel and spent hours under the shower!! GAMMON RANGES The Gammon Ranges National Park covers an area of over 1280 km2, roughly centred around Arkaroola. The scenery in this northern part of the Flinders Ranges tends to be more rugged and dry than the southern bit. The narrow gorges like the Weetootla gorge or the Balcanoona gorge are excellent places to observe local wildlife like hill kangaroos, corellas and even red dragonflies. For us, approaching from the north, the sudden view of a mountainous silhouette was a big change (even if those mountains were actually not that high) after weeks of flat deserts! It was in fact the end of our desert experience, we would now only travel thru hilly landscape or coastal scenery. ARKAROOLA TO WILPENA This section contains many pics of kangaroos and wallabies. Kangaroos tend to inhabit plains while wallabies are more common in rocky terrain and dense forest. But honestly, I'm not sure I'm the skilled person to tell them apart, so the way I labeled them is partly random! Sorry! If you do spot mistakes, please tell me! The track from Arkaroola to Wilpena goes thru Blinman, which was a mining town and has many old looking buildings -old for Australia, I mean-. But the copper mine isn't active anymore, and now the population is below 20 (while there were 1000 inhabitants around 1870). We reached this town after 6pm. The general store was then closed, and we were running low on supplies. We headed for the restaurant, but they had a Xmas dinner organized that night and it wasn't possible to get normal food. We could, however, join the party. Which we did. There were several different groups so it wasn't that bad. Most of the people worked for the national parks. The food was far from great, but we had a good laugh!! WILPENA Wilpena Pond is one of natural wonders of the Flinders Ranges : it's a natural ring of mountains, like a gigantic amphitheater. It's 11km long and 5 km wide. With 1190m, St Mary Peak, the highest peak of the Wilpena corolla is also the highest in South Australia. The Wilkawillina Gorge is located in the eastern side of the Flinders Ranges National Park, a side that is more arid than the western one, as the ranges there are lower and most rain carried by the prevailing westerly winds falls on the western side. The vegetation therefore displays differences: less pine trees for instance. Fauna also shows variation, with mulga and yellow-footed rock wallaby. CAPE DU COUEDIC At the southwestern tip of Kangaroo Island, within the boundaries of the Flinders Chase National Park, a striking wavy winding road leads to Cape du Couedic thru a dense forest. There, on a wind-lashed promontory, stands a lighthouse which was built in 1906. ( In 1835 the island's largest shipwreck occurred nearby). Below is Admiral's Arch, a magnificent natural arch sculpted by the elements, which is used as playground by groups of New Zealand Fur Seals. They enjoy lazing on the rocks nearby, or playing in swells that would surely drown any human being! A few kilometers from there, the Remarkable Rocks stand on a massive granite dome. They certainly live up to their name! They are a collection of boulders molded into an assortment of weird shapes by the action of wind and rain. Some have a covering of orange lichen giving them an even more dramatic effect. EMU BAY Australian Pelicans (Pelecanus conspicillatus) mainly eat fish, but they are opportunistic feeders and eat a variety of aquatic animals. During periods of starvation, pelicans have even been reported capturing and eating seagulls. The gulls are held under water and drowned before being eaten headfirst. The Little Pied Cormoran (Phalacrocorax melanoleucos) is one of the most common of Australia's water birds. At home in either fresh or salt water, these birds are often seen in large flocks on open waterways and on the coast, especially where large numbers of fish are present. Little Pied Cormorants feed on a wide variety of aquatic animals, from insects to fish. Crested Terns (Sterna bergii) form small to large flocks, often with other species, along coastal areas throughout Australia and Tasmania. They are seldom seen on inland waterways, preferring islands, beaches, lakes and inlets. The Crested Tern feeds mainly on small surface fishes. Sighting prey from the air, the Crested Tern plunges downwards into the water and grabs the fish behind the head. FLINDER CHASE N. P. Flinders Chase National Park is South Australia's largest. It became a park as early as 1919, and in the 1920s and 1930s koalas, platypuses, emus and Cape Barren geese from the Bass Strait islands were introduced. The land is mainly sugar gum forest, but the Visitors Center is surrounded by open grasslands where large numbers of kangaroos and geese graze. We tried following the Black Stump walking track in the hope of spotting a platypus. We were warned that getting a glimpse of the creatures requires endless patience, we did our best and saw… nothing but bubbles! KOALA WALK The Hanson Bay sanctuary is home to a large number of koalas. Strolling down the Manna Gum lined track, you are surrounded by these cute cuddly animals in their natural habitat. I really loved walking amongst koalas who were eating eucalyptus leaves and sleeping at close proximity to the track. Many of the females had babies on their backs. As koalas are not the world's fastest creatures, they're not too difficult to get a good look at once you spot them. We were there on a very windy day, yet the koalas didn't seem bothered at all, they kept on sleeping quietly on their swinging branches. MURRAY LAGOON Murray Lagoon is Kangaroo Island's largest expanse of fresh water. It covers as much as 2,000 hectares after winter rains. This wetland habitat supports a diverse range of birdlife: more than two hundred bird species use the area for feeding and breeding. SEAL BAY Seal Bay is famous for its large colony of rare Australian Sea Lions, estimated to comprise ten percent of the world population of the species. The inhabitants are relatively tame, and do tolerate human incursion into their midst as long as you don't get closer than about 6 meters. Though they do look cute, they can be dangerous if they feel threatened. What's more, disturbing them means that they will get less sleep during their resting period on the shore, putting them in danger of being eaten by a shark during their next fishing period at sea. ADELAIDE Adelaide was built using stone, and its center is surrounded by a ring of large parks. There are plenty of lovely tree-lined streets with English-looking houses. It's pleasant and quiet, with a dignified look: a sharp contrast with Sydney's modern appearance. ALICE SPRINGS Alice Springs may have a population of only 25600, but by Outback standards it's a large city, an oasis of civilization amidst barren landscapes. Actually, the city development is rather recent. In 1933 it only had about 200 inhabitants. The road that links it to Darwin in the north was asphalted during WWII, and the one leading to Port Augusta in the south only in 1987!! Today it's a rather pleasant place, with decent restaurants and fine galleries of Aboriginal arts. The Arrernte people, the local Aboriginals, call Alice Springs Mparntwe. Their Dreaming tells about the Altyerrenge, ancestral figures who created the landscape and its features, as well as Arrernte Law. The caterpillar is one of the main ancestral figures who shaped the land around Mparntwe. The Central Arrernte people are the traditional owners of Alice Springs but since the city became the regional hub of Central Australia it attracted other Aboriginal people from all over the region and well beyond. Speakers of Warlpiri, Warumungu, Kaytetye, Alyawarre, Luritja, Pintupi, Pitjantjatjara, Yangkunytjatjara, Ngaanyatjarra, Pertame, Eastern and Western Arrernte, as well as others from the Region, the Northern Territory and interstate either live here or visit regularly to use the town's services. Aboriginal residents live in the suburbs, on special-purpose leases (or town camps) or further out at Amoonguna to the South and in the small family outstation communities on Aboriginal Lands in surrounding areas. Besides Standard English and the distinctive dialect of Aboriginal English there are many traditional languages still spoken by the residents of Alice Springs who are identified as Indigenous Australians. The British founded Australia on the principle of terra nullius, i.e. they considered that the land belonged to no-one. Aboriginal society could not organize resistance to colonization in ways that Europeans recognized as warfare thus the land was not seen as being theirs. After WWII the Aborigines became more educated and organized some political movement for land rights. However full citizenship rights were not extended to them until the late 1960's, and major land conflicts are still unresolved. Aboriginal people from the Red Center have had very little time to adapt to the new realities: Aboriginal families were still coming out of the desert, coming into contact with White Australia for the first time as late as the 1960's, with the last family emerging from the Gibson Desert in 1984. This has resulted in serious social and economic problems for indigenous people and with the concentration of Aborigines in Alice Springs (Indigenous population: 3000 i.e.13%) some of those problems are very visible in the streets of the city. The Desert Park is the main attraction of Alice Springs. Different types of Australian arid landscapes have been reconstituted in its 1,300 hectares, and the park which is home to 120 animals and 320 plants. The nocturnal house is especially impressive: with the relative obscurity, you soon forget about the glass separating you from the animals and feel like you're walking in the bush in the middle of the night! SYDNEY Sydney may be Australia's oldest city, it has a resolutely modern atmosphere, with its slender skyscrapers towering well above the 20km long harbor. The city emblem, the ultra famous Opera house, rests at the border between the water and the forest of buildings of the Central Business District. Before European arrival, the Sydney's area was inhabited by three main tribes, the Ku-ring-gai, the Dharawal and the Dharug. This came to a sudden change in January 1788 with the arrival of the 1st British Fleet and its cargo of 730 male and female convicts. Fleet after fleet brought settlers pouring onto the new continent. But life wasn't easy and the settlement was often close to starvation. Traces of the past can still be found in the Rocks, the neighborhood which lies at the southern feet of the Coathanger (this second icon of Sydney, officially called Harbour Bridge, opened in 1932). However, this area has now turned into a touristy district. The opera house was started in 1957 under a young Dane's direction. Jørn Utzon conceived a building that has no link with classical architectural forms. The roof is more important than the walls, turning the usual major features (like windows) into minor items. The building's organic shape and its smooth aspect make it both timeless and ageless. Utzon resigned in 1966 under political pressure to keep the construction cost under control. It caused a major controversy with local architects renouncing their profession in protest. Three Australian architects were finally appointed and the opera was at last finished in 1973.
BULGARIA
BALKAN RANGE Troyan monastery, Bulgaria's third largest, is in the village of Oreshak, in a rural hilly area. It was founded in the fifteenth century, but its church was built 400 years later. A fact which doesn't prevent this church from being highly interesting, especially thanks to the frescoes by famous Zahari Zograf, the outstanding artist from the 19th century .. The depiction of hell (on the outside wall) is very detailed and vivid, with sinners being prodded, poked and thrown into flames. A "vrachka" (some kind of wise woman who is treating patients with herbal remedies) is drawn receiving her medicine from a demon defecating directly in her hand… Koprivshtitsa is set in a wooden valley. It has lovely half timbered houses, which remind one of Turkish konaks, but with more elaborated rounded features. This is called "National Revival style", and was born in Plovdiv. The town tends to be crowded with visitors, as the place has huge historical significance for the Bulgarians: this is the place where the April Rising of 1876 (which finally triggered the Russian intervention and Bulgaria's independence) started. KOVACHEVITSA Kovachevitsa, like Leshten, is geographically part of the Rhodopes mountains, but it is most easily reachable from Gotse Delchev and it thus seemed to make more sense to include it in the Pirin mountains. Kovachevitsa is set high in a stony landscape at the end of a mountain road (which is actually not in very good condition: potholes everywhere!). It's a large village with most houses built of stones. All roofs are definitely made of stones. Great care has been taken in hiding modern things like electrical wires and TV antennas. The very scenic valley and charm of the village makes it a lovely place to have a break from city life! LESHTEN Leshten, like Kovachevitsa, is geographically part of the Rhodopes mountains, but it is most easily reachable from Gotse Delchev and it thus seemed to make more sense to include it in the Pirin mountains. Leshten is on the pothole-dotted road that leads to Kovachevitsa. It goes through a mountainous scenery where gray rocks (unlike those in the Pirin that have a more yellow hue) are covered by acacias and oaks. It's a tiny village (about 35 inhabitants) with most houses built of stones. Lovely, really! MELNIK Melnik is set in astonishing scenery : it's well hidden among sandstone cones and cliffs, impossible to see from a distance. In 1880 is was a town of 20000 people, but today only 250 people inhabit this place. This stunning decline is due to the Second Balkan War (1913), which caused the destruction of the town and its trade routes, and when ethnic cleansing struck the largely Greek population. The town has a few houses turned into museums (very similar to Turkish Konaks, but with a clear Slav influence). It's also a great place for hikes, either at the bottom of amidst the sandstone formations, or on top where one can get a better impression of how they are arranged.OTHER SIGHTS IN THE PIRIN Rozhen monastery, set in a remote location, is austere and unadorned compared to Rila. It has a very special version of the judgment day frescoes which are common in Bulgaria : the righteous are climbing a ladder, assisted by angels, while the sinners who are attempting the ascent are grabbed by demons and tossed into the mouth of a monstrous red snake (see the last picture of the second index). Delchevo is a tiny village, not far from Gotse Delchev. It is perched up in the mountains, south of town. The road leading there winds so much that it takes a long while to reach the place. It is very authentic and not at all touristy, but it lacks the beauty of some other villages, like for instance Kovachevitsa.Dolen, east of Gotse Delchev on the road towards Dospat, is another quiet village with friendly inhabitants. It has a mixed Christian and Pomak population. The houses are lovely and the whole place has a serene laid-back atmosphere. PLOVDIV Plovdiv, population 360000, is Bulgaria's second largest city and has a long history. It was first a Thracian site, which Philip II of Macedon renamed Philippopolis in 342. It was sacked by the Huns in 447, and was sent into decline. Byzantine control of the area was tenuous, especially with the arrival of the Bulgars. In 1206, Bulgarian Tsar Kaloyan damaged the city even further. The Turks gained control in the 14th century, renaming the city Filibe. It recovered as a commercial center, with a rich trading class emerging. In the mid-nineteenth century, Plovdiv's elite promoted Bulgarian culture. This gave birth to a quarter of ornate mansions with cobbled hilly streets. The style used is called National Revival architecture. To solve problems linked with scarce availability of ground, houses expand with each storey. BACHKOVO Bachkovo monastery is Bulgaria's second largest and is UNESCO world monument. On all sides, the monastery is surrounded by the hills of the Rhodopes mountains. It lies in the valley of the Chepelare river (also known as Chaya), about 10km to the south of the town of Assenovgrad. It was founded in 1083 by two Georgians. The monastery consists of two separate courtyards. In the first one, the main church, Sveta Bogoroditsa, is the oldest surviving building of the monastery, built 1604. In the second courtyard stands Sveti Nikolai whose porch Judgement Day fresco was painted by Zahari Zograf (including a selfportrait of the artist), finished in 1841. OTHER SIGHTS IN THE RHODOPES The area around Trigrad has awesome gorges and caves. Trigradsko zhedrelo (the Trigrad gorge) has sheer gray walls overhanging a foaming river, which vanishes into a cave called Dyavolsko gârlo, or Devil's Throat. It's pretty impressive: the size of two cathedrals, and very dimly lit. Yet it is far from matching the Škocjan cave in Slovenia for size or river noise. Chudnite Mostove, or Miraculous bridges, are rock formations forming natural bridges over a narrow stream. They are set near Zabârdo, a village meant to be famous for its weavers (but we didn't see any, though we tried asking many locals). There is also an icy cave which never defrosts, even in the peak of the summer. It's a very natural place, ideal for walking, with conifer forests stretching to the horizon on the hilly landscape. SHIROKA LAKÂ Shiroka Lâka means "broad meadows", a name which is a bit deceiving as the village bearing it is actually set in a deep and narrow valley. It is a typical village of the Rhodopes, with half timbered houses having flagstone tile roofs. It has only 2000 inhabitants. But there's no sense of remoteness there, unlike Kovachevitsa or Delchevo, since the village lies on a well travelled road. FRESCOES IN RILA MONASTERY Colorful frescoes shelter beneath the arches of the porch of the monastery church. They abound within the interior as well. Many were painted by Bulgaria's most famous 19th century artist, Zahari Zograf. The richly painted porch walls deal mostly with cataclysms, saints' martyrdoms and hell visions, with a multitude of bat-winged demons torturing sinners in various ways. There's also a vrachka (some kind of wise woman who is treating patients with herbal remedies), her herbal remedies deposited in her hand by a defecating demon: this seems to be a classical theme in Bulgarian Orthodox church murals (a similar one can be seem in the Troyan monastery in the Balkan range). RILA MONASTERY The mountainous place where Ivan Rilski chose to establish his hermitage is remote, pristine and serene. In the ninth century, he moved here to escape the laxity of other monasteries, and after his death, the place turned into a major spiritual center. The monastery was founded in 1335, 4 km west from the original hermitage. It was plundered, burned and the reconstruction was seen as a patriotic duty, with public fund raising involved. The architecture is massive when seen from the outside: it truly looks like a fortress. Which makes the inside all the more surprising: it is harmonious and graceful, with arches and balconies surrounding the whole courtyard. In the center of the yard stands the monastery church, with its undulating roofline and cupolas. It is vividly painted with colorful frescoes. SOFIA The atmosphere in Sofia is not that of a large European capital : you feel more like being in some provincial town. The suburbs mostly consist of gray decaying soviet style apartment blocks. The center however, with its paved streets and large squares, is nice and quiet. Sofia was settled by the Serdi some 3000 years ago, then named Serdica by the Romans. It reached a peak under Constantine, but was sacked by the Huns in the 5th century. It was then one of the main Byzantine cities in the Balkans. From the 7th century onwards, Slavs migrated to the area, and Khan Krum took the city in 809. It was then named Sredets and changed again to Triaditsa. It's only in the 14th century that it acquired its present name. The Ottomans captured Sofia in 1382. It was reduced to a minor provincial town in 1878, at the time of the Liberation. Yet it was chosen as capital for its location and possibility of growth. After World War II, Stalinist monumentalism invaded the city, changing many of its previous features. The party house (built in 1950) is probably the best example of this period. Though the city has no real stunning sight, there are a few nice churches, especially the Alexandâr Nevski memorial church, which was built to honor the 2000000 Russian casualties of the War of Liberation. Sveta Nedelya was rebuilt many times, and changed names very often. It's the place where a failed bomb attack on Tsar Boris killed 123 people in 1923. A little jewel of a church, the Rotunda of Sveti Georgi (of which I unfortunately have no pictures), sits in a weird location: little a courtyard surrounded by high buildings. It is Sofia's oldest church (built in the 4th century) and has very nice frescoes, most of which are from the 14th century. SOUTHWEST OF SOFIA Zemen monastery looks humble compared to Troyan or Bachkovo, and insignificant compared to Rila. It just consists of a really tiny church in a meadow. Yet it has truly beautiful medieval frescoes, the finest that survive in Bulgaria. They date back to the 1350s and were executed in the Macedonian style, unlike most of their contemporary works which harbored the more formalized Târnovo style. They have mostly a blue grayish background which enhances the ochre figures depicted. One famous scene features blacksmiths forging nails in preparation for Jesus' crucifixion.
BURMA
BAGAN Spread over 42 km2 on the left side of the Ayeyarwady river, Bagan is one of the most famous archeological sites of South East Asia. It was built in only two centuries, yet it contains 2217 sanctuaries still standing and probably had about 5000 during its golden age. Bagan was the capital of Burma for 230 years (11th to 13th century). The city then included many wooden houses and palaces which decayed leaving us with this extraordinary scenery of a wide plain dotted with hundreds of brick pagodas and temples. Bagan's history started with King Anawrahta's ascension to throne in 1044 (he's the one who introduced Theravada Buddhism to Burma) and ended with the Mongol invasion of Emperor Kublai Khan in 1287. Anawrahta unified the country by conquering the Môn kingdom of Thaton in 1057. He brought back the 30000 inhabitants of Thaton as slaves to Bagan. Môn architects were to have a considerable influence on the earliest constructions (especially between 1057 and 1120). Ananda, constructed under kings Anawarhta and Kyanzittha, is a good example of Môn style used in Bagan. It has a squarish central structure, each side measuring 53m in length, with a height of 10m. Four entrance corridors give the base structure the shape of a cross. On top of this structure, 6 terraces are piled up forming a pyramid with a hti on its top. Another key sanctuary of Bagan is Shwedigon, which is today's main pilgrimage center in the area. Shwezigon too was built under kings Anawarhta and Kyanzittha. However, its style is truly different: it's the first large monument built in a typical Burmese style, showing a real departure from Môn architecture. It was used as a model for many later sanctuaries. It's a golden stupa built on 5 terraces (3 square ones and 2 circular ones), each terrace symbolizing a stage in Nirvana. Another temple worth mentioning is Dhammayangyi. It was built on a plan similar to Ananda (even though it was built in a later period), but it's size is even more impressive. It was built by King Narathu (1169-1174), which was famous for his monstrous bloodthirstiness. He first got hold of the royal throne by murdering his own father Alaungsithu and his elder brother Minthinsaw. He then had one of his wives, an Indian princess, killed because she displeased him. After displaying so much brutal ferocity, he decided it was time to expiate and had a temple built. Yet he ordered the hands to be cut of all the builders who didn't adjust the bricks well enough and finally had the architect executed so that nobody could ever build a similar temple again. Narathu finally died in the hands of a group of Indians sent by the father of his late wife. There is much much more to say about Bagan. About the temples and stupas themselves or about the 1975 earthquake, the resettling of the inhabitants to New Bagan by the government etc… but I'll try to keep my info text to a reasonable length: those who want to know more will easily find more detailed sources. BAGO Bago's main attraction is the Shwemawdaw pagoda. Its stupa rises to an incredible 144m, i.e. even higher than Yangon's Shwedagon. The sanctuary is more than a 1000 years old. It was founded by two tradesmen to house some of Buddha's hairs. Then king Anurama added a sacred tooth in 982, and he was imitated by fellow king Rajadarit who enlarged the collection in 1385. Kings also kept making the stupa higher and higher till it reached today's 114m. There are other nice places in Bago, like the Kyathatwaing monastery and the Kyaikpun. BUDDHAS All these pictures of Buddha images are a good occasion to talk (write, actually !) about Buddhism. Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama who probably lived between 563 and 483 B.C. He was raised within a palace to become the next king. But Siddhartha was confronted with 4 sights which had a great influence on him: an old disabled man, a very sick man, a family grieving the death of one of his members and an ascetic begging for food. The prince finally decided to leave the palace, against his father's will. He first became an ascetic before building his own new doctrine. In his first sermon, he taught the "4 truths": the "noble truth" that suffering does exist, the "noble truth" that suffering can be overcome, the "noble truth" that to fight suffering one must follow the "noble path with 8 branches" (just talking, just way of living, just behavior, just will, attention, concentration, just thinking and just intentions). After his death, the believers' community soon divided itself into many branches. An important evolution was the belief of the transcendence of Buddha: he was never born nor died and his life on Earth was just pure illusion. This finally lead to the creation of the Mahayana sect which separated from the more traditional Theravada branch. Both branches do share the same non-violent and tolerance principles. The differences are subtle questions of intensity and interpretation. Theravada Buddhism is based on Pali texts while Mahayana texts are later Sanskrit versions. Most differences are caused by the Mahayana emphasis on devotion and compassion, while Theravada is a more intellectual, self-centered version of Buddhism, focused on the individual quest of wisdom. Artistically, Burma was firstly tremendously influenced by India. Bagan Buddha statues, for instance, have a very Indian look. The culture of the Mon, who played a great role in the construction of the famous Burmese city, was deeply influenced by India. After the fall of Bagan, the Buddha images took a more Thai-looking style. It's only with the 13th century that a typically Burmese representation of Buddha emerged: finger and toes of similar length, ears reaching down to the shoulders, specific background patterns (lotus, flames). At the end of the 18th century, style changed once again: fingers and toes went back to different length, cloths became looser. Gilding Buddha images is a Burmese specialty. This is commonly done in groups of family and friends going to the monastery to gain some merit. Gilding a Buddha is the commoner's equivalent to the building of a pagoda by a king (which is seen as the best way to gain merit, an enlightening explanation to the amazing number of pagoda/temples that dot the Bagan plain: the lifestyle of the kings of the times was so brutally cruel that they definitely needed to build at least a couple of pagodas each!) FESTIVAL TAUNGGYI Tauzaungmon, the 8th month of the Burmese calendar, is a time of festivals. Tauzaungmon is the first month of the cold season (corresponding approximately to November), which means that the rainy season is definitively over. The pleasant weather makes it ideal to organize celebrations. A pre-Buddhist festival, Net Khat Thabin, was formerly held on the full moon day of Tauzaungmon. But when Buddhism reached Burma, all celebrations assumed a Buddhist character. However, reminiscences of Net Khat Thabin can still be seen thru the lighting of oil lamps and numerous entertainment forms in the streets. Instead of Net Khat Thabin, it's now the Kahtein festival which is celebrated throughout the country. The word "Kahtein" is derived from the Pali word "Kathina" which means "firm and durable" in English. During this festival, monks are offered robes for the coming year, and by extension monasteries are supplied with all kind of things they will need in the next 12 months (cooking utensils, towels, shoes, money, etc…) In Taunggyi, a procession was organized and donors competed to invent the most original and funny carts possible to carry their offerings. Carts were finally all gathered in a common location where a draw took place to determine which cart would be given to which monastery. But Taunggyi, in Shan State, has another major event taking place simultaneously: the hot air balloon festival. It is held several days in a row. During the afternoon, kids and students launch comparatively small paper balloons, while at night it turns into a more professional show: huge balloons (with candles all around and sometimes throwing fireworks) are launched by very skilled groups of adults. We found it very dangerous actually as the fireworks were launched directly below the flying balloon and sometimes ended up in the crowd. If a balloon had failed to fly, the fireworks would have exploded on the ground right in the middle of the audience, for sure causing many injuries. The crowd wasn't deterred by the danger at all and they stayed there all night watching illuminated balloons heading high up in the sky. This festival seems to be of PaO inspiration. INDEIN In Dein is a cluster of Shan-styled pagodas, which has many similarities with Kakku. It's located on a hill on the western shore of Inlay lake. Reaching the pagoda complex requires a boat trip on a little winding river. Unlike Kakku, In Dein has not (yet) been renovated and many parts of it are still covered by vegetation. Many pagodas have trees growing on top or even inside them. We had the incredible luck to be completely alone there: got a glimpse into what the first European re-discovering the old cities of southeast Asia must have felt like! LAKE INLE Lake Inlay lies about 900m above sea level on the Shan plateau. This shallow mountain lake (6m at its deepest) is one of Burma's few freshwater lakes and contains many unique species of fish and snails. Geologists say it was formed in the tertiary era. It originally occupied an area of 65x12km, but is now closer to 15x6km. The area is populated by many different ethnic groups (Shan, PaO, Palaung, Danu etc) but there is one population group that can only be found on and around the lake: the Intha (also spelled Inntha or Inthar). "Tha" means "people" and "In" means "lake", so they are commonly referred to as the "sons of the lake". They speak a Tibeto-Burman language which is very close to Burmese. There are several theories regarding their presence in the area. The most widely accepted one is that they come from Dawei (Tavoy) in the south of Burma. But they themselves tend to believe that they migrated to the lake region at or near the dissolution of the Bagan kingdom. The Intha are Buddhist, and are mostly engaged in fishing and farming. They are famous for 2 of their techniques: >The first one is leg-rowing. As the Inlay lake is shallow and weed-infested, fishermen have to stand up to look down into the waters, using both hands to maneuver their fish trap. Thus they started using their feet to propel their boats. >The second one is their unique method of planting veggies on small man-made floating islands. Floating islands occupy and area of 72 km2. It takes 10 to 15 years to form an island (using Graminae and Cyperaceae), and islands can be used for more than 10 years when they are ready. When reaching their mature state, the aerial plant parts are cut off leaving only the underwater portion. They then are divided in smaller portions with big saws, and the portions are sold to farmers who attach them to the lake bottom with bamboo poles. When Colocacia Antiquorum starts to emerge from the island, it's the sign that it has reached the end of its useful life. It then naturally sinks or is sunk using bamboo poles. Tomato is the most grown crop. Studies have shown that the amount of nitrogen contained in the floating islands is 6 to 8 times higher than in soil, which gives them an incredible yield. INLE TOWNS There are more than 300 villages on and around Inlay lake, where more than 16000 households live (i.e. about 100000 inhabitants). The biggest village, which is also one of the original four villages of the lake, is called Haiya Ywama. It's often called just Ywama, which means "downtown". In ancient manuscripts, it was referred to as In-Myo or "the city of the lake". It occupies a central location on the eastern shore of the lake. Ywama has about 700 houses, most built on stilts: woven split bamboo canes laced together make the walls, which are topped by a thatched/layered roof of banana leaves. A little bit further south, near Tha Lay village, stands the Phaung Daw Oo pagoda, one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Burma. The pagoda houses 2 Buddha images from the 12th century. They've been gilded by so many little gold leaves that they totally lost their original shape: they now look like little golden balls! A third interesting Intha technique is their fishing method: it involves dropping a conical net into the water near a suspected catch. The fisherman then plunges a bamboo stick with a two-pronged head into the lake and thrashes the water to startle the fish which then "escapes" into the net. More info on the Intha can be found in "The people of the Intha on the lake Inle in Burma, an example of extreme adaptation to geographical conditions", by Adolf Tüllmann, inside "Bulletin of Berlin Society for Anthropology, Ethnology and prehistory, vol 8, 1987", ISBN 3-89646-803-0 KAKKU Kakku (or Kak Ku) is a pagoda complex comprising about 2500 stupas, located on the eastern shore of Inlay lake (the Kulu mountain range, with its highest peak towering over 2000m, runs between the shore and the area where Kakku lies, making it easier to access the place via the dust road from Taunggyi -which is about 60km north-). Kakku is named after an adjacent village. The legend says that the two main stupas were built by two kings of different eras: Indian king Asoka (who allegedly built over 84000 sanctuaries during his life) and Bagan king Alaungsithu. Most stupas though appear to be from the 17th and 18th centuries (Konbaung and Yadanabon periods, Shan style). This array of diverse Buddhist-related architectural styles in such a secluded place is a pure delight! Walking thru this entire field filled with narrowly spaced stupas was one of the highlights of our "Burmese days". Important to notice is that the land around Kakku is inhabited by ethnic PaO. The Yangon government let them deal with tourism and thus every visitor must get a PaO guide before heading on the bumpy road towards Kakku. Ours was a nice old man with many stories to tell… ROAD TO KAKKU On the bumpy road which leads from Taunggyi to Kakku, we stopped many times. To visit PaO villages first of all, and also at two Buddhist sites: the Hamsi pagoda complex (also sometimes spelled Hamse), and the Bawathan cave. We have very little information about those two places, in fact. I didn't really take notes on the spot, and then I was completely unable to find any data neither in books nor on the web. (except that in Turkish, "Hamsi" is a kind of fish, which, you will agree, is not a highly valuable piece of information!!!) PAO The PaO are part of the Karen tribal group, which is belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family. The PaO are also know as Taungthu or Black Karen. Karen are a large ethnic group present in both Burma and Thailand. The Pho Karen subgroup includes the Pwo and the PaO. In the Shan state, the PaO -who are about 600000) are the second most numerous ethnic community after the Shan themselves. PaO are presents in southern Burma as well (Bago Yoma range). Around Inlay lake, the PaO are found in especially large numbers. PaO clothing is black or dark navy blue with bright seams and colorful headdress. Near Kakku, most PaO had headdresses made of towel-like fabric, while those on Inlay lake had reddish check patterned head wear. Women wear long loose blouses over a longgyi. These blouses are made of two strips of cloth, folded in half, with the fold forming the shoulder of the garment. They are then stitched together, leaving openings for head and arms. Women also wear a short intricately pieced jacket with a small stand-up collar. PaO men wear baggy trousers, Chinese style, while their jackets have a Shan-like design. PaO no longer weave themselves (contrary to other Karen) but purchase serge cloth. The trade marks are proudly displayed along the selvedges around the armholes and neck opening ("70000 superfine serge wool" was the most popular when we were there). Both men and women carry shoulder bags, mostly the very colorful striped Shan bags. The PaO have a history of insurgency against the Yangon government. The first rebel army -PaO Lam Bhu- was set up by U Hla Pe in 1948, and then other movements were created in 1958 (UNPO) and 1966 (PNLO). After diverse alliances and divisions, the PNO (PaO National Organization) was formed in 1976. Its strength was about 500 to 600 men, based in Kyaungtalong (very close to Kakku). At this time, they used this flag: <flag> A peace treaty was signed in March 1991, and the PNO armed force is now a government-recognized militia force. However, a handful of PaO rebels, led by Colonel Hkum Okker, reorganized themselves as the PaO People's Liberation Organization (PPLO). They are based near the Thai border. Today, the Yangon regime lets the PaO deal with tourism in some areas, and each traveler group has to be accompanied by a PaO guide to enter these zones. For more details on the insurgency in Burma, turn to excellent "Burma in revolt, Opium and insurgency since 1948" by Bertil Lintner, ISBN 974-7100-78-9 ROAD TO MANDALAY The road from Taunggyi to Mandalay took us one full day. This is mostly due to the slow driver we had that day: he had had an accident recently and was really extra careful. He was the driver who drove us crazy, even if he wasn't driving like mad!!! The road first took us to Heho where there is a nice market (it's also the main air gateway to the Inlay lake area). Then to Pindaya, a cave full of Buddha images (more than 7000 pieces, made of various materials: marble, teak, bronze, lack etc…) which is a very active pilgrimage center. Then, slowly, thru the hill roads, we said farewell to the quiet Shan mountains and made our way to the plain and to bustling Mandalay. MANDALAY Mandalay isn't an ancient city : it was founded in 1857 by King Mindon. In 1861, he moved his whole court, government and 150000 of his subjects from Amarapura (a little bit more South) to settle down in newly built Mandalay. All the elements of his teak palace were also transported to Mandalay. The custom imposed that people werew buried alive under the foundation of a new city (to become the guardian spirit of the place), and king Mindon is reported to have sacrificed 52 persons, placed under the four corners of city walls. Yet 25 years after, those guardian spirits didn't prevent the annexation of the Burmese capital by the British forces. The palace didn't make it thru WW2, but many fascinating buildings do remain. The Shwenandawkyaung is the only remaining part of Mindon's teak palace. As king Mindon died in this building, his son had it removed from the palace grounds. It was given to monks and used as a monastery. The Kuthodaw pagoda is a replica of the Shwezigon of Bagan. It includes rows of hollow mini-pagodas housing 729 marble steles where the integrality of the Tripitaka is engraved. The Sandamuni pagoda also has steles in small pagodas, this time with commentaries on the Tripitaka. (The Burmese junta is often described as the most incompetent government on earth: it relies on opium/heroin to get cash and on unpaid labor to build infrastructures or to carry army supplies in insurrected areas. Hard to get evidence of that for travelers, though… The prisoners we saw repainting the Sandamuni pagoda were one of the only clear signs we encountered) The Mahamuni pagoda, housing Mahamuni statue dating back to 146 and which was the cause of furious battle between Arakanese and Burmans is also located in Mandalay (see the "Buddha" section). In Amarapura, we saw Path Hto Dawgyi pagoda which was built in 1819 by king Bagyidaw and the famous U Bein bridge (wooden, 1.2 km long, built over a seasonal lake). But the highlight of the place is the Mahagandayon monastery (see the "monk section"). MONKS Pagodas and monasteries dot most hills and plains of Burma. Not really a surprise since 85% of the inhabitants are Buddhists. Monks are a common sight throughout the country. Each boy must spend a part of his life in a monastery as a monk. The initiation day, in Burmese "shinbyu", is considered a key moment in one's life. An auspicious day has to be chosen and the boy is allowed to let his hair grow long. The hair is then curled and the boy is dressed up in silk clothes. Expensive jewelry will also be worn for the ceremony. Families sometimes rent or borrow those jewels, but many do buy them. Some consequently end up with huge debts, eager as they are to give a perfect show. The ceremony is meant to be grandiose as the kid is suppose to look like prince Siddhartha - the Sakya prince who renounced his wealth and social position to become the Buddha -. The "little Buddha" is paraded across his village/neighborhood and huge amounts of foods are offered to monks and villagers. At the peak of the ceremony, the jewels and sumptuous clothes are taken away from the kid, and his hair is shaved. He is then given reddish or orange monk clothes. As a monk, he will have to beg for his food. The monastery will provide him with religious teaching. Novices and monks must follow the 227 rules of the monastic code. Most boys won't stay much more than a week in the monastery, though some do stay much longer. After his return to civil life, the boy/man can return to the monastery whenever he likes, even if he is married (criteria to be accepted back into the monastery is: having no debts and having no contagious diseases). Monks are not allowed to cook food. They are not allowed to touch money. Thus all they get when begging is taken by helpers who will cook the food and use the money. Monks are not allowed to possess food after noon, nor can they take solid food in the afternoon. Thus they wake up early to eat their first meal. Then they go and beg thru the cities/villages, walking in lines with both shoulders covered: an attitude seen as enhancing modesty and blurring differences between individuals. People give food/money to the monks to gain merits and improve their next life. Sometimes, they even offer a meal to a whole monastery (see pictures of Managandayon in Amarapura and of Hanhnagiri in Sagaing). All the monks queue up and the donors serve them rice. Monks do not possess any wealth, but monasteries are sometimes very rich (see donations to monasteries during Taunggyi festival). Some are really famous for their serious religious teaching. Kids from the whole country go there to study and exams are hard. In Kyakhatwaing in Bago, tests results are placarded on the walls and failure rates are pretty high. Final exams are national exams, taking place throughout the country at the same time. But most of the little monasteries we saw were not that harsh with their novices. In ethnic areas especially, we frequently saw little monks playing around, seeming not so focused on learning the rules of monastic life, nor the story of Buddha's life nor his philosophical teachings. However Burmese Buddhists remain the most earnest Buddhists we ever encountered. MONYWA Monywa is located 140km West of Mandalay, on impressively wide river Chindwin. This geographical situation brought a lot of trading activities. Today, it's rumored to be on the drug trading route between China and India. Thanbodae is a temple built in 1930, housing some 582357 images of Buddha (so says the guide book, but honestly, we didn't count!). Some of these images are really tiny, about the size of a hand. On the other side of the Chindwin -which has to crossed by ferry due to lack of bridge-, 24km away from Monywa, lies the hills of Powintaung. There, directly carved in the rock, are a group of truly beautiful Buddha statues. The Khaunghmudaw pagoda stands close to Sagaing (but in the same province -the Sagaing Division- as Monywa). Built in 1636 following the plans of a famous Sri Lankan stupa, it's said to represent the breast of the first wife of King Thalun. It's famous for its festival which takes place in November (we missed it). NUNS Very few women decide to become nuns in Burma : indeed, women do not get the ordination. While monks are fed by crowds of believers hunting for merits, nuns are turned into real beggars. Women are deemed to be spiritually inferior to men (they are often banned from the highest platforms of temples, for instance. They also can't put gold leaves themselves onto Buddha images: they have to ask a male attendant to do so). In the cycles of reincarnations, the "woman form" is considered an inferior state to the "man form". The social status of nuns is clearly inferior to that of monks, as well. Buddha himself hesitated a long time before deciding that women could become nuns. His mom Mahapajapati eventually managed to convince him. Nuns were not given the same status as monks, but they were allowed to establish their own distinct order. They had to respect 8 rules which all contained the notion of male supremacy over woman. What's more, their monastic code had 500 rules while the monks code had (and still has) 227 rules only (!). The nun order didn't make it thru history and finally disappeared at an unknown stage. There are still religious communities of nuns, observing daily about 12 rules (that which secular believers observe only on special occasions) These women are called "thilashin" in Burmese (the English word nun is misleading). They share their day between cooking for monks/altars, praying and meditating. They also sometimes take care of orphans and elderly, or teach young girls. Some study religious texts as well: they are allowed to sit the same exams as the monks. If monks are present throughout Burma, nuns are a rarer sight: society indeed tends to discourage women from entering religious life. For more details on the living conditions of women in modern Burma, you can turn to "Birmanie, côté femmes", by Claude Delachet-Guillon, Olizane, Geneva, ISBN 2-88086-291-4. PUTAO Putao is at the very north of Burma, in Kachinland. There are three airlines operating internal flights in Burma, two of which are private and generally get good reviews by travelers. The third one is government-owned and said to be unreliable: of course, that's the only one flying to Putao. Passengers tend to bring an amazing amount of luggage. From Mandalay, it's manufactured goods, and on the way back it's grapefruits, oranges and kumquat, which are famous products from the north. They load kilos of fruits, as hold luggage and also as hand luggage: so much that the aisle of the plane is filled up entirely (the hostess couldn't possibly walk to the rear of the aircraft!!). Monks and foreigners are granted the tremendous privilege to have a seat in the front row! The Kachin are an independent-minded Tibeto-Burman people. They are famous for siding with the British in WW2, unlike the Burman of the plains who were pro-Japanese. In the early 60s, Kachin followed the example of other hill people of Burma and took arms against the Yangon government. For years they ran their own territory, with their own schools, hospitals, mail service and churches (many Kachin converted to Christianity following the visit of missionary Ola Hanson at the end of the 19th century). The war only ended in 1994 with a cease-fire between the central government and the KIO. The Kachin were allowed to retain their weapons and administer the regions they had controlled. This explains why the Yangon regime won't let foreigners drive up to Putao. Only government controlled areas are opened to travelers. Kachin is a Burmese word, designating a group of tribes: Jinghpaw, Maru, Lashi, Atsi, Lisu and Rawan. Each Kachin belongs to one of 5 original families: Marip, Maran, Lahpai, N'Hkum and La Haw. These clans are all inter-related. These complex family links give an amazing cohesion to the Kachin, despite their linguistic and tribal divisions. There are about a million and a half Kachin in Burma, and about 120000 in China and 40000 in India. The Khamti Shan on the pictures are not Kachin but Shan (i.e. related to the Thai). They wore their traditional dresses as they were on their way back from a celebration at a Buddhist pagoda (near Namkham, a small village on river Mali Hka, which when meeting Nmai Hka becomes river Ayeyarwadi -or Irrawaddy- . Note that this small Namkham should not be mistaken with the city Namkham). The market in Putao takes place at 6am. That's a great place for noodle soup breakfast and sticky red rice (which you won't have finished digesting after 2 days and will enable you to run 4 marathons in a row). It's always cold and foggy at this time of the day, but by 10am the sun is usually back -at least in November-. From Putao, you can see the first white peaks of the Himalaya. We only saw them from the plane, though, coz we always had those low clouds hiding them from us (except for a glimpse or two). For further reading about the Kachin and Kachinland: "The Kachin: lords of Burma's northern frontier" by Bertil Lintner, Teak House, ISBN 1-876437-05-7 "Among insurgents: walking through Burma" by Shelby Tucker, Flamingo, ISBN 0-00-712705-7. AKHA The Akha language falls within the Yi (Lolo) branch of the Tibeto-Burman family. The Akha originated from Yunnan where the great majority still live (they are called Hani overthere). About 180000 Akha live in Shan state today. The Akha have no written history, but are able to recite the names of their male ancestral line back to the "beginning". They also remember their migration routes. Akha from China, Burma and Thailand basically in the repetition of genealogy and former dwelling places: amazing for people without a written language. The basic costume of an Akha woman consists of a headdress (Akha are really famous for their elaborate headdresses), a jacket worn over a halter-like garment, a short skirt, a sash with decorated ends and leggings. Cloth is indigo dyed. Adolescent girls gradually change from the type of clothing worn by children to that worn by adult women. This is done in four stages, with ceremonies: the first stage is to wear a halter, the second stage is to add Job's tear seeds, red and white beads and silver to her cap, the third stage is to wear a sash and fourth stage to change to adult headdress. There are several styles of Akha clothes. The villages we visited had mostly "Loimi" Akha. The Loimi-Akha headdress is characterized by a flat trapezoidal silver piece at the back. Akha villages are very easily recognized by their entrance gate. According to Akha myth, human beings and spirits originally lived together in an idyllic relationship. Trouble broke out however when spirits began to steal chicken eggs from the people and people began to steal cucumbers from the spirits. It was finally decided to separate them: humans in the villages and spirits in the jungle. Village gates should be erected as a clear demarcation. If not planning to enter at least in one house, visitors should not go thru the gate. Akha often refer to themselves as "those who follow The Akha Way". They have no word for religion, but "The Akha Way" covers it, and actually much more since it determines how to cultivate fields, hunt animals, treat sickness, relate to strangers etc… The Akha who become Christian and thus discontinue following the Akha way are expected to leave the village and settle somewhere else. That was the case in Hokyin, where we saw 4 villages: all had the same name and originated from a common village, all had a different religion (Akha Way, Catholics, Baptists and Buddhists). Young people are in principle free to choose the one they will marry, though parents have to give their approval. Young men usually marry girls from other Akha villages, so during Akha New Year and rice planting, young men travel around in groups looking for wives. A girl must be at least 13 to get married, but a proverb says that she should be 17. Thus most Akha women marry at 17 (with a range of 13 to 24) and boys marry one year older. The wedding ceremony takes place in the grooms village. Before entering the grooms house, the bride changes to a white skirt which she will wear during the whole ceremony. Her headdress is removed and a lock of her hair is cut. She will then wear a rain hat. The groom and bride then sit and are ceremoniously fed a boiled egg and chicken. The feast then lasts for two days (this includes throwing mud at the new couple). A small house is then built for the new couple next to the groom's parents house. Divorce is usually related to the woman's adultery, sterility or to her giving birth to girls only. In all of those cases the former husband will retain the children. Same thing if the woman runs away. Only in exceptional cases can the woman keep a daughter or two. Fines must be paid by the husband if he divorces for other reasons than those previously mentioned. Pregnancy is seen as a sign of "good luck". Women are encouraged to continue working till the time for delivery arrives, so babies are sometimes born in the fields. New born babies must cry three times before being picked up. The baby first receives a temporary name. The real naming ceremony will take place later, when it's sure that the baby is healthy and will survive. Certain infants used to be viewed as "human rejects". These included twins or children with an extra finger or a child with some body part missing or deformed. Such a birth was seen to disturb the proper order of the cosmos and was a tragedy for the Akha village as a whole and especially for the household in which it occurred. The "human rejects" were quickly suffocated and buried in a remote spot in the forest. Elaborate purification ceremonies were held for the couple and the whole village. For more details on the Akha, turn to "People of the Golden Triangle" by Paul and Elaine Lewis, Thames and Hudson, ISBN 0-500-97472-1 AKHE The Akhe ethnic group (also spelled Akhea, Akea, Akhu or Akheu) is a subgroup of the Akha. Though they speak the same language, they wear very different cloths: much more somber. Women wear dark blouses over a sash, and a stripped longgyi. Their headdress is a simple black cloth rolled around the head. Many wear large disc-shaped engraved silver earrings which are linked together by a thread with bright pearls. The most striking detail about Akhe women is maybe the bamboo pipe they use to smoke tobacco. The Akhe living in Kyaintong areas came from China about 30 years ago. They do not form a large community and their traditions tend to disappear. Very few women still weave their cloths themselves for instance: they prefer getting the fabric (mostly Thai and Chinese goods) at the market in Kyaingtong. Following the visit of American Baptist missionaries, many Akhe became Christians. ANN The Ann (also spelled Aeng, Ang, Eng or En - the latter being the one used by linguistic experts) are a Mon-Khmer people. They speak a Western Palaungic language, of the Waic type. It's not exactly clear whether their language is a dialect of the Wa language or a language of its own. They are mostly animists. They fear the "Spirit of Water" and therefore choose places which are distant from water streams to build their villages. Ann women dress in black from head to toe. They weave their cotton cloths themselves and dye it with indigo. Many wear tubular silver earrings with an impressively large diameter. Many Ann have black teeth: not lacquered like the Lü of Vietnam, but colored by betel nut chewing. Ann are becoming an elusive tribe: most women, even though they marry very young (14 or 15 seems to be the average) have only 2 or 3 children. The Ann community around Kyaintong numbers about 300, and this figure is decreasing. WA Wa are a Mon-Khmer people, speaking a Western Palaungic language. In 1947, Wa were still head hunters. Hearings of the official "Frontier Areas Committee of Enquiry" set up by the British government revealed a wide gap between the British or Burman way of thinking and the Wa perception of life and society. Extract: "Committee: Do you want any sort of association with other people? Wa: We do not want to join anybody because in the past we have been very independent. C: What do you want the future to be of the Wa states? W: We have not thought about that because we are wild people. We have never thought of the administrative future. We only think about ourselves. C: Don't you want education, clothing, good food, good houses, hospitals, etc…? W: We are very wild people and we do not appreciate all these things" In the last decades, Was have been deeply involved in the drug trade (the region they inhabit are, together with Kokang, some of the most favorable places for growing poppy, due to the land itself and to its inaccessibility. Money from the drug trade made the Wa rich. Many hotels in Burma nowadays belong to (ex?) Wa traffickers. LAHU The Lahu are a Tibeto-Burman people, their language being in the Yi (Lolo) branch. They call themselves "Lahu", but are also referred to as "Mussur", which comes from Burmese via Shan and means "hunter". There are two main subdivisions of the Lahu: Lahu Na (Black Lahu) and Lahu Shi (Yellow Lahu). The Lahu we met were Lahu Shi. The first documents mentioning Lahu locates them in south-western China. They had villages in the Kyaingtung area in 1840. Today they are present in China, Laos, Thailand and of course Burma where they are about 150000. Lahu generally choose altitudes above 1200m to build their villages. They build their houses on stilts. There are no clans among the Lahu (thus no surnames). Lahu family relationship are counted with equal importance on both paternal and maternal side of each parent. The husband/wife relationship also differs greatly from other ethnic groups living in the same area. Husbands tend to be more considerate to their wives and to help around more. There is a nice legend explaining this: "Long ago when the Lahu lives in China, they ruled a fortified city. The Chinese, disguised as traders, came to the city while the men were working in the fields. They had lovely Jew's harps which the Lahu women wanted to buy. But the Chinese would only trade them against the triggers of the Lahu crossbows. The Lahu women wanted the harp so badly that they agreed. When later the Chinese attacked the city, the Lahu men couldn't defend it and had to flee leaving their wives and children. When they later returned at night, the wives weren't sure to be willing to follow them and escape the city, as the Chinese had treated them well. So Lahu men had to promise to care for them in order to win their wives back." The Lahu are free to choose their own spouse. The married couple will live in the village of the bride's parents. Divorce is fairly common. It can be initiated by both parties. The children usually stay with the mother. Babies are named on the first lunar holy day after birth. It is believed that if the baby cries abundantly or is sick, it is because he is not happy with the name. In such a case parents invite some elder, feed them chicken and rice and ask them to choose another name. When a person dies, the body is wrapped in a white shroud and placed in the main room of the house. Cooked rice is deposited close to it at every meal, and the family repeats "We are feeding you. This is all there is for you to eat. Now eat it for tomorrow you will be leaving. We eat together now but you will be leaving, and we will not eat together anymore. You will not be staying with us. You will be leaving but eat this food for now". There is a continual reminder that the deceased will NOT stay in the home. A chicken leg and wing will be put in the coffin and the deceased will be informed that if he gets thirsty on his journey, he can use the chicken leg to dig a well, and if he gets hot, the wing can be used as a shade. Lahu Shi bury their dead. "Bad deaths" are greatly feared. Death caused by stabbing, shooting, wild animals, childbirth, drowning or lightening are considered "bad deaths". To prevent the "bad death spirit" from striking again in the same community, a religious expert has to carry out specific rituals at the burial. Health is an important theme to the Lahu. They link health with purity and this theme is very present in prayers. Many diseases are seen to be due to soul loss or spirit biting. Soul calling ceremonies then have to be performed, and if they fail, there is also a "blessing/merit" ceremony: the family then kills a pig and offers its meat and rice to the village, hoping to gain enough merit to make the sickness disappear. For more details on the Lahu, turn to "People of the Golden Triangle" by Paul and Elaine Lewis, Thames and Hudson, ISBN 0-500-97472-1 LOI Who exactly are the people that were introduced to us as the " Loi " ? It's actually difficult to answer this question. In Shan, "loi" means "mountain", and thus the Shan refer to many groups as "Tai Loi", including some Tibeto-Burman groups (Lui). But it's much more plausible that the Loi are a Mon-Khmer group, with their language belonging to the Western Palaungic group. Linguistic experts call "Tai Loi" a sub branch of the Angkuic language family (family which belongs to the Western Palaungic group). Thus, our Loi could well be "Tai Loi". On the other hand, other travellers visiting the same villages have been told the name of the ethnic group is "La", not "Loi". "La" is also a Western Palaungic language, but a Waic one, just as the language of the Ann. It may actually just be a Wa dialect. Another hypothesis is that our Loi are Ka-La, also sometimes called Blang. This is another Waic language. But the most likely one would be that our Loi are in fact Lawa. Lawa (or Lua) is a group that settled in Thailand and Kyaingtong area before the Thai and the Shan. Our Loi told us the exact same thing. Kyaingtong was first a Lawa city, and some scholars reported that nowadays its people refer to the Lawa as "Tai Loi" [Chiang Tung chronicle 1990 by Thawee Sawangphunyangkul]. The cloths worn by the Loi we visited have similarities with what Lawa of Thailand wear. Thus this latter alternative seems the most likely. The Loi we visited were Buddhists, and not newly converted as both villages had ancient temples. They live in long houses shared by families of the same clans. The one we entered hosted 12 families. The house had been built more than 20 years ago. Some animist practices were still present, like magical words tattooed on the arms, or the hanging of gourds all over the house as some believe Loi were born out of gourds. We would be very glad to get more information on the Loi, so if know something, do tell us! PALAUNG The Palaung belong to the Mon-Khmer branch of the Austo-Asiatic language family. The group we visited was Pale Palaung (i.e. silver Palaung). Women wear sticking broad silver-plated bamboo waistband, red striped longgyi, a blue or black jacket, and a white scarf on the head. There are two other main Palaung sub-groups: the Rumai and the Shwe. In the 19th century, under British colonial rule, the Palaung were far more powerful than they are today. The British even recognized the Palaung kingdom of Tawnpeng. Today land ownership has been taken away from them by the Burmese government. Most Palaung live in the North-western mountains of the Shan state, but some groups settled in the North-eastern Kyaintong basin, fleeing military conflicts between the junta and the Shan and Wa insurgents. Many continued this migration towards Thailand. The Palaung have been involved in armed resistance with the Palaung State Liberation Army (set up on 12th February 1976 and based on an older Palaung organization, the PNF). It has a strength of about 800 men. It signed a peace treaty with the government of Yangon on April 21st 1991 and was subsequently legalized. The village we visited was clearly richer than the other. Some brick houses had been built and running water was available at several points. The villagers were Buddhists and had a monastery. We visited the house of Mae Saw Kam (a religious name the woman took after 10 years of service in the local monastery, her civilian name was Ei-Fong). She had had 10 kids but only one survived. They used to live near Möng Hsat (That's where the KMT had their headquarters). The area suffered heavily from forced labor. Many Palaung were forced to carry ammunitions: a terribly dangerous task. For more details on the insurgency in Burma, turn to the excellent "Burma in revolt, Opium and insurgency since 1948" by Bertil Lintner, ISBN 974-7100-78-9 KYAIKTIYO Kyaiktiyo is a holy Buddhist site. The rock is said to enshrine a hair of Buddha. The legend says that this rock was chosen for its resemblance to the head of the hermit who kept the hair relic. YANGON The layout of the streets of Yangon, Burma's capital, has been drawn by the British. Yangon was never a royal capital and at the time when it was conquered by the British, it was just an ensemble of bamboo houses. Today a distinct British flavour remains, but the buildings have greatly suffered as a result of low maintenance under the topical climate. Yangon's main attraction is the Shwedagon, Burma's most holy Buddhist site. It's been a religious site for more than 2500 years, but its shape has been changed many times in history. Today, it is 107 meters high (a size it reached under King Mindon in 1871). It's covered with about 60 tons of gold. The Sule pagoda is "only" 48 meters high. The British used it when making the city street plans: it's the center of town.
CANADA
BONAVISTA BAY Bonavista is at the end of the peninsula where John Cabot landed on June 24th, 1497. The first permanent settlement in Bonavista dates back to the 1600s. French and English battled for the possession of the region throughout the 1700s, which was the common fate for most Newfy settlements at the time. Cape Bonavista has a very nice red-and-white-stripped lighthouse dating from 1843.Whales are a common sight off the coast of Bonavista in early summer. On the other side of Bonavista Bay, Newton is a largish community of about 3000 souls. Newtown was originally known as Inner Pinchard's Islands or Inner Islands. English and French fishermen fished off the shores of Newton throughout the 1700s and 1800s. Permanent European settlement began in the mid 1800s. In 1874, Census puts the population at 167. The name was changed to Newtown in 1892. Neighboring town Wesleyville is named in honor of the founder of Methodism, John Wesley. CONCEPTION BAY Conception Bay has clear waters and lovely coastal scenery. It also has a large share of historical sights by Canadian standards, like the birthplace of an Arctic explorer or takeoff points for attempts to cross the Atlantic. Conception Bay was discovered in the 1500s by the Portugese Gaspard de Cortereal. He named all the principal bays and head lands, but since then most features have been given English names. One of the nicest towns around the bay, Brigus, is often compared to an old English town with its many stone walls, old style architecture, lush gardens, and winding roads. There are other largish towns around the bay, like Harbour Grace or Carbonear. INLAND The inland is very scarcely populated, covered by vast forests. There are hardly any towns away from the sea in Newfoundland, and very few roads lead to the inner part or the island. The center is a land of lakes, ponds, bogs and hilly woods. Moose are a very common sight in Newfoundland. There is an estimated 40000 of them. They tend to love walking on highways (easy walking, fewer insects) making them a traffic hazard. GROS MORNE Gros Morne National Park is definitely one of the highlights of Newfoundland. Its extraordinarily varied geology made it a World Heritage site: it has fjords, sandy beaches, volcanic coasts, and the Tablelands, a huge barren piece of rock which rose up from beneath the ocean floor. It's a unique opportunity to get an idea of what the earth is like- inside! The Western Brook Pond has cliffs almost reaching 700m in height and amazingly clear water. The water is actually very poor in oxygen and a very specific bio system has developed in the fjord. Walking around the fjord, we saw a bear footprint and were attacked by… a sort of hen! (She had her nest very close to the trail and thus she attacked us in both directions!!) NEW WORLD ISLAND AREA The New World Island-Notre Dame bay area is one of the most scenic regions of Newfoundland. There are over 80 little outposts nested in tiny coves or clinging to the rocky coast. The New World-Twillingate cluster of islands is directly accessible by road, while Fogo Island can only be reached by ferry. All those islands have lovely pastel houses, wharfs, and stunning coastal scenery. NORTHERN PENINSULA The Northern Peninsula is a huge piece of land, very scarcely populated. From Deer Lake to St Anthony, 430km of barren northern landscapes await the travelers. The southern bit of the peninsula has mountains, but north of Port-au-Choix, the mountains disappear and the landscape is mostly made of ponds and bogs. L'Anse-aux-Meadows is the site of a Viking settlement, dating back to year 1000. Leif Eriksson and his fellows sailed there from Greenland and attempted to establish a colony. ST JOHN'S St John's is Newfoundland's biggest city (175 000 inhabitants), but it still manages to retain a kind of village atmosphere. Houses painted in pastel colors, streets sloping up from the water front, narrow alleys: Britain's oldest overseas colony has conserved its fishing village flavor. John Cabot found this incredibly well protected natural harbor in 1497, and the first real settlement was established in 1528. The place was attacked by the Dutch in 1665, and the French eventually ruled there on three occasions, but they never managed to retain possession of this excellent harbor. An average of 370 icebergs drift pass St John's every year. Around the city are great natural spots like cliffs around Signal Hills, or Cape Spear, the most easterly point in North America. We were lucky enough to see whales at Cape Spear on our first day in Newfoundland: this plus the spectacular coastal scenery was very invigorating after the crowds of Toronto! TRINITY BAY Trinity, established in 1580, is possibly the oldest European town on the whole continent. Today, it's a lovely place with nicely renovated wooden houses and churches. The Trinity Bay has other "historical" sights, like the cable station which was the American end of the first transatlantic cable (1866). But for us, Trinity Bay's deep blue waters will forever remain associated with icebergs: it is indeed the first place where we encountered those mighty silent drifters. There are not plain white, but shining with hues of blue, green and pink: fascinating! NIAGARA FALLS Niagara Falls : 5,720 cubic meters per second on average. Very impressive all this roaring water tumbling vertically. It seems to attract crazy wild folks: at least eight men and two women have survived a trip over the Horseshoe Falls in a barrel… If you're really interested in geographical details, read this (very boring) stuff:Located on the New York side of the Gorge, between Prospect Point and Luna Island, the northwest facing American Falls has a straight line crest width of about 253 m. If measured along the jagged lip of the falls, the crest is about 290 m long. The torrent of water passing over the crest of the falls is only about 2 feet (0.6 m) deep. About 10% of the Niagara River's volume flows over the American and Bridal Veil Falls. The river first falls vertically an average of 26 m, before crashing on to an immense pile of talus boulders that lie at the base of the Falls. The shortest vertical drop, roughly 14 m, is at Prospect Point. The longest vertical drop, roughly 36 m, is about 76 m southwest of Prospect Point. The talus boulders have fallen from the crest of the Falls, and are too massive to be eroded away by the force of the falling water. The water tumbles over and between this talus in a wild, violent, and thundering frenzy, dropping another 30 m to the Maid of the Mist Pool below. The total vertical drop of the American Falls is 56m, 3 m greater than the Horseshoe Falls. The average crest elevation of the American Falls is 510 feet (155 m). The Bridal Veil Falls, the smallest of the three falls of Niagara, is located very near the American Falls. It faces to the northwest and has a crest that is 17 m wide. It is similar in appearance to the American Falls, starting with a vertical fall of 24 m, followed by the water violently descending the talus to the Maid of the Mist Pool 31 below. The total vertical drop of the Bridal Veil Falls is 55 m. The Horseshoe Falls, sometimes called the Canadian Falls, is located between Terrapin Point on Goat Island in New York, and Table Rock House in Ontario. About 98% of these falls is located in Canada. The Horseshoe Falls is 53 m high and faces northwards. It is the most impressive of the three Falls, with 90% of the volume of the Niagara River passing over it. It has a curving, horseshoe-shaped crest that is 671 m long. At the center of the Horseshoe Falls the water is about 3 m deep. It passes over the crest at a speed of about 32 km/h. RURAL SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO The Mennonites ride in horse-drawn carriages and work their farms in a traditional manner. They originated from Switzerland in the early 1500s as a sect among the Anabaptists. They had to flee from country to country and finally ended up in Holland where they took the name of one of their Dutch leaders Menno Simons. They took up William Penn's promise for religious freedom and emigrated to North America around 1640. Most of North America's 250000 Mennonites live in Pennsylvania. There are about 12 Mennonite branches in Ontario, each with subtle differences in practices and principles. The majority is more liberal, but those which are the most easily visible are the stricter ones: plain clothes, bonnets and long plain dresses for women, beards for men. The Amish, named after Jacob Ammon, is a stricter branch of the Mennonites. They don't even wear button on their clothes (seen as vanity). Apart from the Mennonites, rural southwestern Ontario is rather tasteless. Penetanguishene's Discovery Harbor (British naval and military base) is plainly boring. The Sainte Marie among the Hurons reconstruct of a 17th century Jesuit mission is much more interesting. TORONTO Toronto is Canada's largest city and its economic capital. It began as York, in 1793. In 1834 the first mayor, William Lyon Mackenzie, renamed the city. Toronto is a native Seneca Indian word meaning "meeting place". Toronto has many different ethnic communities, Italians making the biggest non-British group. The CN tower is probably Toronto's most known sight: it is 553m high and on a clear day you can see 160km away. The Skydome is where the Blue Jays play baseball. The islands are a nice escape from the city frenzy. St Andrew's Presbyterian Church is located on King St. It was built in 1874-75.
CHINA 2001
FORBIDDEN CITY I am not going to lecture you on the Forbidden City : you all know about it already. For more details, either turn to your history books or go and rent the video of "The last emperor" at your local video shop (if they don't have it, change video shop). To see pictures of the Forbidden City in spring time, click here. HUTONG The Hutong, the old narrow side alleys, are now disappearing fast. The Chinese government is crushing many of them with bulldozers (you can easily find little gray houses marked with the "to be destroyed" Chinese character), and only preserving a few of them as showcases (like Liulichang, now a tourist attraction with wall to wall art and souvenir shops). It still remains possible to get a glimpse into the ancient times, strolling till you get lost in the labyrinth of small traditional lanes. Some hutongs are as narrow as 50cm, but they also come in wider sizes (sometimes 10m). Behind the walls of the hutong are the siheyuan, or courtyard houses. Hutong and Siheyuan were build according to fengshui principles (i.e. very strict orientation rules). Siheyuan originally were housing only one extended family (with servants if the family was rich). Their layout is similar to the one used in the Forbidden City -see drawing-. They have been divided after the communist revolution and are nowadays pretty overcrowded. For pictures of the Hutong in the spring, click here. LAMA TEMPLE The Lama temple (Yonghe Gong) is one of my favorite Beijing sights. Colorful, busy with worshipers burning incense and turning prayer wheels, the place has a lively atmosphere. The architecture (mixed Mongolian, Tibetan and Han styles) is also brilliant. The temple started as the residence of Count Yin Zhen, who became emperor in 1723. The roof tiles were then changed from green to the imperial yellow, and the building became a temple since the custom forbids any other use . In 1744, it was converted into a lamasery, and many monks from Tibet and Mongolia settled down within its walls. The temple was soon to be used as an ethnic minority control means after emperor Qianlong decided the Lama temple would host the vase used in determining who the next Panchen Lama will be. Nowadays, it is an active Gelupka sect temple, but it's also said that some monks are in fact PSB officials. MING TOMBS These stone statues stand guarding the way to the Ming tombs (50km north west of Beijing). There are first 12 pairs of animals (every second one in reclining position, for the "changing of guard" allegedly taking place at midnight), followed by 12 human figures: generals, ministers and officials (their functions can be identified by their dress). There were pictures of these statues in a big book my grandmother gave me when I was 8. I used to look at them so often that they seemed oddly familiar. A very strange feeling! SUMMER PALACE The Summer Palace (Yihe Yuan) is an enormous park 12 km north west of downtown Beijing. Emperor Qianlong turned this royal garden into a Qing style palace: he even used 100000 workers to deepen and enlarge the Kunming lake. As the name suggests, the Palace was used as a summer residence for the imperial court. The second opium war brought the Anglo-French troops to Beijing in 1860. They left the Summer Palace badly damaged. To rebuild it, Empress Dowager Cixi didn't hesitate to use the money allocated to the creation of a modern military fleet. But the Palace was yet again destroyed by foreign forces in 1900. I liked the way they used the relief of the place: nice view from the mountain top to the lake, temples scattered on all mountain sides… Viewing the Summer Palace with sub-zero temperature doesn't exactly sound appropriate though! TIANTAN Tiantan gongyuan is a 267 hectare park, in the middle of which is set the Temple of Heaven, often considered as the perfect showcase of Ming architecture. It was originally used as a large stage for sacred ritual: just before the winter solstice the emperor and his huge entourage came from the Forbidden City in complete silence. Commoners were not allowed to view the procession and had to stay locked indoors. A yellow silk tent was set up inside the park, and prayers and rites were performed. The ceremony was seen as determinant for the country's future so the slightest hitch in the whole procedure was considered a bad sign for the coming year. Nowadays, the old Beijing folks love coming to Tiantan park in the early morning (meaning, around 6:30am!!!) for taijiquan, playing games and music, etc. For pictures of Tiantan in the spring, click here. GREAT WALL The great wall (cháng chéng) stretches from very near North Korea to the Gobi desert. Within about 100km from Beijing, there are at least six places where it can be seen: Badaling, Mutianyu, Juyong pass, Simatai, Jinshanling and Huanghua. Ghneu and I first decided for Huanghua, a more remote, almost unspoiled section. We walked for several hours on that part of the wall: it was magical. Trees grow on the wall, there are absolutely no tourists, there was still some snow here and there, the landscapes were rugged and hostile. The impression of isolation was complete. After such a fantastic day on the wall, we saved our final day in Beijing for another wall trip, Badaling this time. Well, this was definitely a mistake: even in the middle of February, the place was crowded with T-shirts sellers, tourist coaches, noisy restaurants, even a cable car… The wall there has been heavily restored and part of its charm has gone away. (Some will argue of course that its state now is more similar to what it was when it has just been built) Juyong pass, near Badaling, has been even more thoroughly renovated. It is the closest section of the wall to Beijing. For pictures of the Jinshanling to Simatai section, turn to the "spring 2002" part of this website (click here).
CHINA 2002
FORBIDDEN CITY I won't lecture you on the Forbidden City this time either: you all know about it already. For more details, either turn to your history books or go and rent the video of "The last emperor" at your local video shop (if they don't have it, change video shop). To see pictures of the Forbidden City in winter time, click here. HUTONG The Hutong, the old narrow side alleys, are now disappearing fast. The Chinese government is crushing many of them with bulldozers (you can easily find little gray houses marked with the "to be destroyed" Chinese character), and only preserving a few of them as showcases (like Liulichang, now a tourist attraction with wall to wall art and souvenir shops). It still remains possible to get a glimpse into the ancient times, strolling till you get lost in the labyrinth of small traditional lanes. Some hutong are as narrow as 50cm, but they also come in wider sizes (sometimes 10m). Behind the walls of the hutongs are the siheyuan, or courtyard houses. Hutong and Siheyuan were build according to fengshui principles (i.e. very strict orientation rules). Siheyuan originally were housing only one extended family (with servants if the family was rich). Their layout is similar to the one used in the Forbidden City -see drawing-. They have been divided after the communist revolution and are nowadays pretty overcrowded. After my first visit (Winter 2001), I had the feeling that there was much more to be seen in the Hutong that what you get when you wander around aimlessly. The book "Hutongs of Beijing", published by "Beijing arts and photography publishing house", helped a great deal. Never would have found the arched gate in Dong Mian Hua hutong without it! For pictures of the Hutong in the winter, click here. TERRACOTTA The 2000 year old army of terra cotta warriors discovered in 1974 near Xian is one of the most striking things I ever saw. The first vault, especially, with 6000 warriors and horses standing guard in the semi darkness, ready for the battle to start. Vault n°1 is 210x60m large. The shear size of the assembled military force is already amazing. But there is even more stunning: every single statue is different from the others: just like a real army with real soldiers (some think that the sculptors have used themselves, relatives or fellow workers as models). There are two other vaults containing 1000 and 68 terra cotta figures respectively. The last one seems to be a kind of command post for the soldiers of the other vaults (guessing from the uniforms the figures of vault n°3 are wearing). It's believed that other vaults still lie undiscovered around in the tomb of Qin Shihuang (1.5km away from the unearthed vaults). Qin Shihuang ruled from 246 to 210BC. He was the first emperor to unify China. TIANTAN Tiantan gongyuan is a 267 hectare park, in the middle of which is set the Temple of Heaven, often considered as the perfect showcase of Ming architecture. It was originally used as a large stage for sacred ritual: just before the winter solstice the emperor and his huge entourage came from the Forbidden City in complete silence. Commoners were not allowed to view the procession and had to stay locked indoors. A yellow silk tent was set up inside the park, and prayers and rites were performed. The ceremony was seen as determinant for the country's future so the slightest hitch in the whole procedure was considered a bad sign for the coming year. Nowadays, the old Beijing folks love coming to Tiantan park in the early morning (meaning, around 6:30am!!!) for taijiquan, playing games and music, etc. For pictures of Tiantan in the winter, click here. GREAT WALL The great wall (cháng chéng) stretches from very near North Korea to the Gobi desert. Within about 100km from Beijing, there are at least six places where it can be seen: Badaling, Mutianyu, Juyong pass, Simatai, Jinshanling and Huanghua. The Jinshanling to Simatai walk was my third encounter with the great wall, but the first two had been during the winter. It makes quite a difference: leaves on trees, landscapes definitly less hostile, more people around. The hike is 9km long and the wall goes up and down the whole time. The wall is in much better condition than in Huanghua: no tree growing on the wall here. At Simatai, the mountains are steeper: the wall is built along an impressively high cliff. For pictures of Huanghua, Badaling and Juyong pass, turn to the "winter 2001" part of this website (click here). WESTERN TEMPLES West of Beijing, in a 50km radius, lies a group of interesting temples. They are not easy to reach by public transport, so we rented a taxi for the day. The driver was a woman, and her car was a real stereotype: full of girly gadgets, loads of cute little thingies, many decorated tissue boxes, several unidentified ringing devices with a different tone each… The overall impression was that the car was simply filled with a massive pile of junk! About 45km west of Beijing is Tanzhe temple. Some parts of the place date back to the 3rd century. It's the biggest of all temples in the Beijing area. It's meant to have lovely quiet gardens, but the weather was rainy and we got soaked before noticing the magnificent cypress trees described in the guide book, or anything else as a matter of fact! The next temple on our list was Jietai, only 10km away from Tanzhe. There we were lucky enough to see the pine trees coz the sun finally decided to show up. Loved the place… loved the noodle soup as well! Then we headed to Fahai, which has stunning frescoes. It's pretty rare to see such well-preserved old murals in Buddhist temples. Those can only be see with a torch light, and we ended up with a crowd following us coz nobody else thought of bringing a lamp! We did a final stop at Badachu, a temple quite complex near Fahai temple, but we didn't like it much: it's been half transformed into an amusement park and the atmosphere was that of a Sunday afternoon on the beach with children screaming, people eating sugary stuffs and loud music… XIAN Xian, in Shaanxi province, is nowadays mostly famous for the army of terracotta warriors that was unveiled in 1974 in its surroundings. But it once could have competed for the title of greatest city on earth with Rome or Constantinople. It's true that looking at it today, one is instantly disappointed. On the first glimpse, it has no more flavor than any other modern Chinese cities: large avenues, modern building, dust, pollution. But Xian has a hidden side, a distinctive Islamic taste that is not common so far East. A walk thru the narrow lanes of the Muslim quarter gives you the impression to have crossed an invisible border: the perplexing view of Chinese-looking women wearing hijab clothing and Chinese-looking men with a beard with white skullcaps is in sharp contrast to the army men in communist-style uniform of the large avenues! The great mosque is a marvel of culture-blending, with its Chinese-looking minarets. Other mosques are hidden in the Muslim neighborhood and it's worth getting lost in an attempt of discovering some of them. Xian also has some pretty high brick pagodas which surprised me as I had never come across any image of such a building before (Dayanta -big goose pagoda- and Xiaoyanta -little goose pagoda- are within Xian while the Famensi temple which has many other buildings besides the brick pagoda, is 115km northwest of the city). East of Xian, 120km away, stand the 2200 meter high granite peaks of Hua Shan. Though there is a cable car, we went for the traditional climb, and it was tough! The final 2 kilometers are a series of steep stairs, carved in the rock. Chains are here to help, but it's still extremely strenuous. The weather wasn't very cooperative that day, so our Hua Shan pictures definitively look bleak… West of the city, aside the very interesting Famensi, built during the eastern Han dynasty around 200AD, there are a few imperial tombs which I found a bit disappointing.
INDIA
DARJEELING Darjeeling is set on a splendid location: views of the Himalaya range are superb (Kangchenjunga can be seen from here in clear weather -we didn't get that chance though). Amid the tea plantations -with their incomparable green hues- the city sits on a ridge above 2100m. Tea gardens haven't always been there though, they only date back to the Brits. The Indians don't like Darjeeling tea so much. They'd rather drink the stronger Assam or Ceylon teas, which they mix it with milk and sugar: definitively not my favorite recipe. Tea gardens employ over 40000 people in the Darjeeling district. The name Darjeeling is a corruption of Dorje Ling, i.e. Place of the Thunderbolt. It was granted to the British by the Raja of Sikkim in exchange for a double-barreled gun, one rifle, a 20 yard bale of red cloth and 2 shawls. Dissatisfied with the deal, he eventually obtained an annual stipend. The British recruited many Nepali to work in the tea estates, changing the balance of peoples in the area. Our visit to the Happy Valley tea garden proved really interesting. I drink more than a hundred of liters of Darjeeling tea every year, yet I never had though of it as a manufactured good. Following the tea thru all the stages of its processing made me look at tea with a different eye! OTHER BANGALI AREAS Bagdogra is not a remarkable city. It's set in the plains, and at the time we got there, it was so hot, so humid that it made the Himalayas even more appealing to us. The only thing that brought us here was its airport: it's only about 80km away from Darjeeling. Driving from the overheated overpopulated plains to the hill station really means changing worlds in just a few hours! I felt like energy was injected into my body as each turn of the winding road took us a little higher, a little closer to the summit. On the other hand, when after spending time in the mountains of Sikkim we got back to Bagdogra, I was under the exact reverse sensation ! HUMAYUN'S TOMB (Delhi) Humayun's tomb is one of Delhi's finest buildings. It's the first major architectural achievement of the Mughals, the wealthy rulers who dotted the Nothern Indian plains with bulbous domes, their most famous contribution being the Taj Mahal. Humayun was the second Mughal emperor and his tomb was built by his wife, Haji Begum in the 16th century. Inside the complex, numerous other tombs can be found. Isa Khan's tomb, in its octagonal precinct, is a fine example of later Lodi architecture. It's octagonal structure, surrounded by a square-pillar veranda, is a mixture of Hindu and Islamic elements. The Lodi ruled from 1451 to the arrival of the Mughals from Afghanistan in 1526. JANTAR MANTAR (Delhi) Jantar Mantar is an awkward collection of strange constructions. It's actually an observatory, and all the structures standing there are not a stage for another Star Trek-like series, but authentic scientific measurement devices! The biggest one is Samrat Yantra, a gigantic sundial. The concave hemispherical one is Jai Prakash, and it determines the position of stars and planets. The observatory lies very close to Connaught Place, surrounded by recent buildings, but in the early 18th century, it was lost amid the fields. MOSQUES (Delhi) Jama Masjid is India's largest mosque. It was designed by architect Ustad Khadil, and construction lasted from 1644 to 1658 employing over 5000 workers. The man who had it built is Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor who also commissioned the Taj Mahal. It was the golden age of Mughal architecture, with bulbous marble domes and high slender minarets. The quality of materials used in Jama Masjid and the skills of the craftsmen is remarkable. The contrast between the red sandstone and the white marble reinforces the delicate aspect of the whole mosque, which seems to float over the old city. The huge courtyard can host 25000 people: it's so vast that the mosque seems isolated from the neighboring buildings, as if there was an invisible yet palpable separation between the earthy and the divine worlds. Zinat-ul Masjid is near Raj Ghat, near the old city walls of Shahjahanabad. It's a quite nice little mosque built by a daughter of the last great Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Fatehpuri Masjid is near Khari Baoli and its spice market. It was built for one of Shah Jahan's wives in 1650. QUTB MINAR (Delhi) The buildings in the Qutb Minar complex date back to the very beginning of the Muslim rule over Northern India. The architectural style is thus very different from the better known Mughal buildings. The Qutb Minar itself is a good example of this early Afghan style. It's an impressive 73m high tower, tapered (base diameter is about 15m, while its only 2,5m at the top). Since it took many years and many rulers to complete the edifice, several makes are clearly visible. Quwwat-ul-Islam Masjid, was the first mosque built on Indian soil, in 1192. The site originally was an Hindu temple, and the mosque retained many Hindu features, such as the square pillars. Alai Darwaza gateway is maybe the most stunning building in the complex with its elegant mixture of red sand stone and marble. It was built around 1300 and was then the main mosque in the Delhi region. RED FORT (Delhi) Definitely not the best Red Fort in India, Delhi's Lal Qila is a bit disappointing. The massive crenellated walls look mighty and promising though (between 18 and 33m high)! The fort dates back to Mughal ruler Shah Jahan (the frenetic builder who also commissioned the Taj Mahal and Delhi's Jama Masjid), construction took place between 1639 and 1648. It does house a few fine buildings, but the overall impression isn't so nice: too many shabby gardens, and ugly recent military buildings. SAFDARJANG'S TOMB (Delhi) Safdarjang's tomb is the typical example of later Mughal architecture. The very bulbous marble dome has faded, clearly signaling the mediocre quality of the materials used. The sandstone is more yellow than red, resulting in a lesser contrast with the marble. The style tends to be over-elaborate, with crenellated arches for instance. Yet I quite liked the stroll in the extensive gardens…STREETS AND PEOPLE OF DELHI Delhi is more a collection of different cities than a single capital. Old Delhi, with its narrow and crowded lanes, has a predominantly Muslim population. This was Shahjahanabad, but most of the old havelis (mansions) are now in a poor state. Still, it's the most atmospheric part of Delhi. That's the good part of town to see women wearing salwar and kameez (that's the Kashmiri costume) or even Burkha. Chandni Chowk is Old Delhi's main street. It's a busy shopping bazaar, crowded at evey time of the day. It links the Red Fort to the Khari Baoli Rd, the site of Delhi's wholesale spice market (the shear presence of mountains of spice makes the air itself spicy: it can draw tears from unaccustomed eyes, and burn limbs!) The Gadodia courtyard is the authentic part of the market, with alleys congested with carts and piles of chili bags. Many Hindu women wear sari, i.e. a single piece of cloth (1m x 5m -or more) elegantly wrapped around the body without a single fastening means. (did buy one, blue, still haven't got enough technique to dare wearing it in public!) Connaught place is the center of British Delhi. It's a series of circles of identical colonnaded buildings, housing shops and offices. South of Connaught place, the modern Delhi has wide avenues and teenagers in designer-branded jeans.But this north south limit isn't the only separation: south, the Nizamuddin neighborhood is also predominantly Muslim. It too has narrow alleys, as Nizamuddin's village is anterior to most of the other city areas. Around the Nizam-ud-Din's shrine, the atmosphere is almost medieval: small overcrowded souks, buildings seem to overlap each other in an anarchic way… Felt like in an Irani bazaar, not in India! Thursday evening is the time to go to Nizam-ud-Din's shrine: the prayer at Jama'at Khana masjid attracts people from all religions, there are musicians playing traditional Urdu songs and a very joyful atmosphere. Nizam-ud-Din was a Sufi saint, preaching tolerance towards other religions. He died in 1325. Raj Ghat is the spot where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated. It's set in an extensive garden, which remained beautiful even in the dry season. Many Indian visitors come to the site, making it a great spot to take pictures of women in sari! As in many other places in Asia, Indian women are given their share of hard labor. It's very common to see then carrying heavy loads, most often on their heads. In Sikkim, we saw large numbers women on the sides of the main roads, breaking stones into small pieces with tiny hammers. They sell the small pieces by weight in large bags to the road construction company who use it as under layer or for the road sides. Sacred cows can be found in all parts of Delhi, grazing in public parks or shoplifting in old Delhi (they are a plague for vegetable sellers!) CHÖRTEN Chörten is the Tibetan word for stupa, a Sanskrit word originally meaning "a knot or tuft of hair, the upper part of the head, crest, top, summit". This word was subsequently used as an architectural term, indicating a dome-shaped monument built over the sacred relics of the Buddha or other saints or venerable persons. The earliest stupas predated Buddhism and were simple funerary mounds which held the ashes of the deceased. Built of earth, they have not survived. Buddhist stupas developed as reliquary mounds, holding the divided ashes of Buddha himself, or of later Buddhist teachers. However, many stupas contain only symbolic objects rather than actual remains.
The stupa underwent a long development, transforming ultimately into the dagoba (Sri Lanka), the chörten (Tibet, Ladakh), wat (Thailand, Cambodia), and pagoda (China, Japan). They are also called thupa or cetiya in other regions. Symbolism of the stupa relates first of all to directionality and the cosmos. Stupas are built on a hill, where their beneficial influence can radiate to all four points of the compass. The dome represents the universe, or a world-mountain whose axis is defined by the mast, and finally the symbolic body of Buddha himself, sometimes decorated with sculpted scenes from his life and Jataka stories of his previous incarnations DAH-HANU After Khalse, the road from Leh to Srinagar leaves the Indus valley to climb towards Lamayuru. If instead of following this main highway, one keeps on along the Indus river, a much smaller road leads to the Dha-Hanu area (Dha is also sometimes spelled Dah). This winding road which was built by the army at the gorge bottom, a bit above the river, does not go thru any village. The valley is deeper, clearly narrower. The climate is noticeably warmer (with an altitude between 2800 and 3000m, the daytime temperatures are nice till November in this area), and the people are different. It's the land of the Bropkas (also spelled Dokpas) -or Dards-, an ancient Indo-Iranian tribe. They have a totally different culture, they also have a fairer skin and very distinctive clothing with flowers on their heads. They originally lived around Gilgit in Northern Pakistan and emigrated to Kadakh over 1000 years ago. They call themselves "Arya" and have a legend about their migration which they tell in the harvest ceremony which takes place in early October. They live in lovely tiny villages, where they can grow more crops than they do in the rest of Ladakh. They are especially known for their apricots. The Bropkpas have taboos: they do not keep or eat cows or chicken. However this tradition is tending to disappear: in 1998 there were 3 cows in Dha. The Bropkas only live in 4 enclaves of the Indus valley: 5 villages around Dha, 3 villages in the Hanu valley (foreigners are not permitted to go there), 5 villages near Garkhum (again forbidden for foreigners) and finally another group lives in the Ganok valley in Pakistan. Not all the villages in the Dha area are Buddhists: the inhabitants of Sanjak (or Sanjok), for instance, are Shiah Muslims. We reached the Dha village pretty late, and the only guesthouse open at this time of the year had already rented its only room to another traveler: thus we had to ask the inhabitants if one of them had enough space at home to host us. We found such a family in a village called Beema. It's funny how those villages look. From the road, they can't bee seen, as they are set on little mesas. One has to look up for a path climbing along the cliff to finally discover the villages. The family who hosted us was very kind. Their house was indeed big and we could have a bit sitting room for ourselves. They cooked food for us, supplied us with tea and thanks to them we could experience the Ladakhi toilets: a hole on the ground (made of earth) on the 1st floor, leading directly to a huge pot where they collect what's to be collected for then using it to fertilize their fields. HEMIS Hemis Gompa is one of the best known monasteries in the Leh area (45 km from the Ladakhi capital). Built in 1630, it belongs to the Drukpa order of Lamaism. We were lucky enough to be there on a day when monks were rehearsing their dances for the yearly festival of the monastery. I really liked this monastery set on a narrow valley, hidden among mountains ridges. This impression of remoteness surely disappears when the festival time comes: it draws large numbers of visitors, local and foreigners alike. INDUS VALLEY Rising in Tibet at an altitude of 4800m at Lake Mansarovar, the Indus river enters Indian territory near Leh. After flowing 18km beyond Leh, it is joined on the left by its first tributary, the Zanskar. The Indus valley consists of large stretches of undulating lands interspersed by high mountains which can only be crossed over a couple of high passes. "La" is Tibetan and means "pass", Ladakh means "land of high passes". The scenery is exceptional, for the valley is confined, and from the higher points the view is generally of a confused mass of brown or yellow hills, absolutely barren, and of no great apparent height. The Indus then flows to Pakistan. When it enters the plains, its famous five tributaries - Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej - that give Punjab its name as the "land of five rivers," join it. Originating in Afghanistan, its other major tributary is the Kabul River. The water of these rivers is vital for the region and India and Pakistan share it according to the Indus Water Treaty which they signed in 1960. The Indus reaches the Indian Ocean south of Karachi. On the shores of the Indus, in the plains of Pakistan, the Indus Valley Civilization, or the Harappan Culture, formed the earliest urban civilization on the Indian sub-continent, and one of the earliest in the world. Its unique urban characteristics ensure it a place in the annals of world architecture : the first real human cities were built here (Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Taxila…).OTHER GOMPAS IN LEH Leh is a rather small city (about 15000 inhabitants), dominated by the nine-storey high royal palace and the Namgyal Tsemo Gompa. But many other smaller gompas can be found both within the city and in the outlying villages of Sankar and Changspa. Sankar gompa is especially worth mentioning: it is home to the most senior Gelukpa monk in Ladakh, the Kushok Bakula. I thought that Soma Gompa, the "new monastery" situated downtown, was a bit disappointing. LANDSCAPES (Leh) Landscapes to the South of Leh are dominated by the impressive silhouette of the Stok Khangri (6123m). This mountain is the highest of the Stok range, an outlier of the Zanskar range, which rises as a tall barrier south of the city. To the North, the snowy Ladakh range with the Khardung La leading to the Nubra valley ismore rounded, looking almost flattish compared to the peaks of the Stok range. Within the valley itself, the barren brown or yellow hills have a moon-like flavor. The region only gets minimal yearly rainfall and there is absolutely not a single tree out of the -scarcely- populated areas. LEH PALACE Though ruined for ages, the austere Leh palace still makes an unforgettable backdrop to the mud city with its flat roofs bristling with brushwood (used as fuel in winter). It overlooks Leh, standing above the city like a sentinel. The palace was built by in the 17th century by Senge Namgyal, one of the most illustrious rulers of Ladakh. It is an imposing nine-storey structure, though pretty dilapidated now, situated on a hill from which it commands grand views of the city. The building is in grand Tibetan style, and is said to have inspired Lhasa's Potala, built half a century later. PEOPLE (Leh) Ethnically, the Ladakhi are an amalgam of four prominent strains, namely Mons, Dards, Tibetans and Balti. Dards are also called Bropkas (also spelled Dokpas). They call themselves Arya and live mostly around Dha and Hanu. Balti are Shiah Muslim originating from Baltistan. Tibetans form the majority in the Leh area, but over the centuries they have merged with other groups to form a homogeneous Ladakhi identity. People in Leh are mainly Buddhist, but traders' descendants form an important Sunni Muslim community (Ladakhi ruler Jamyang Namgyal was once forced to marry Ali Mir Muslim daughter after Ladakh fell subject to Baltistan. Later, Sunni Islam was brought to Leh by a community of traders, called Arghon or Argoo). After the Dalai-Lama fled Lhasa in 1959, a new wave of Tibetan refugees arrived in Ladakh. It's estimated that about 6000 of them now live in the Indus valley, which represents a significant number for the region: only about 135000 people live in Ladakh. NAMGYAL TSEMO GOMPA (Leh) Amidst barren mountains of astonishing beauty, standing above Leh's ruined palace on a steep crag, Namgyal Tsemo Gompa dominates the whole city. Tsemo means red -and indeed the walls of 16th century gönkhang are red. The top building is a ruined fort, also built by Tashi Namgyal in the 16th century. MISCELLANEOUS (Leh) When in Ladakh, at the beginning of May, we saw the last snowfall on Leh. It was a time of intense activity in the fields, with people working with yaks to sow their crops. In sharp contrast, in the Dha-Hanu area, the fields were already green. Leh stands at an altitude of 3500m while some parts of the Dah region are as low as 2800m, 700m which make a huge difference in the type of crops which can be grown, and when the work has to take place. OTHER GOMPAS AND CASTLES According to a legend, Lamayuru stands on a site occupied once by a crystal clear lake. After a Lama gave a blessing, the lake waters recede leaving space for a monastery to be built. The Lamayuru complex was founded in 11th century and its library is the oldest in the region. The present buildings date back to the 16th century. Likir monastery was founded in the 14th century, and was re-dedicated to the Gelpuka order in the 15th century. It's the first Ladakhi gompa built under the supervision of Tibetan monks. The present gompa was erected in the 18th century. Shey can be seen both as a palace and a gompa: until the 16th century it was a royal residence. Stok also has its palace: this is the place where the banished royal family lived after being evicted from Leh. The palace was built in 1814. Tikse gompa (also spelled Thiksey) is an imposing monastery, about 20km from Leh. It belongs to the Gelupka sect. This nine-storey structure is a fine example of Ladakhi architecture. Basgo is 40km away from Leh. It was the seat of power of a branch of the Namgyal family and thus also has it castle. However, it is now almost completely ruined. The castle sustained a three year long siege by the Mongol and Tibetan armies around 1680. Chemrey is set in a lovely valley, about 45km away from Leh. It was constructed on Sengge Namgyal's death. It belongs to the Drukpa order. Chemrey is also the site where Tibetan armies were defeated by the Dogras around 1840. Stakna is set on a lonely hill right next to the river Indus. It's another Drupka order gompa. Matho gompa has been established in the early 16th century, but it has been destroyed in many wars. It belongs to the Sakyapa order and it known for its annual festival involving trances and self-inflicting of wounds. LADAKH RANGE The Ladakh range is a segment of the mighty Karakoram range, extending from the mouth of Shyok river -northern Pakistan- across northern India to Tibet where in merges with the Kailash range. The young chain parallels the Indus river, with a crest line of about 6100m. Khardung La, the highest motorable pass in the world, links Leh to the Nubra valley over the Ladakh range. ROAD TO NUBRA VALLEY The road from Leh to the Nubra valley goes over the Ladakh range thru the highest motorable pass in the world: Khardung La (5602m). The Nubra valley is supposed to be warmer than the Indus valley and has sand dunes and camels (hard to believe when what you see is snow!). But to reach this improbable place, there is a big hurdle: the Khardung La. The road is so narrow that vehicles have to respect a schedule: one day from Leh to Nubra, the next from Nubra to Leh!! On the scheduled day, we started up early in the morning, but we were to be disappointed: it had snowed during the night (not much though) and there were doubts whether the road would be open. We still went for it and after a while reached the military camp which controls the access to the pass. It was completely hidden in the fog and bitterly cold. We were told to wait for 2 hours as "dozers" were removing the snow. Finally we were allowed to go. But at 5 km from the top, we found out that much of the snow was still on the road. The car was not a 4 wheel drive and we had a lot of trouble going up. At several spots, we had to get help to be able to continue. Fortunately, as there were many buses going as well, and many people willing to help. Plus there were many other vehicles having difficulties as well. So the feeling was more to be part of a caravan with one common goal: reaching the other side. We finally reached the top: it was really freezing and the air was so thin! Then we went down a couple of kilometers to discover that everybody was blocked: there was a huge traffic jam above 5000m in the Himalaya!! The reason was simple: one of the dozers of the army broke down. It weighted something like 20 tons, nobody could possibly move it... People were getting ready to sleep in the buses. We wanted to turn back. It was possible to find a spot where the car could U-turn, but then traffic was still coming down... Tricky! We also had to convince the military to let us do that. A soldier was really nasty to our driver Amman but talking to other army men, he finally managed to get approval to get back (it helped a lot that we were foreigners). Yet the car didn't have enough load to be able to climb those 2 or 3 km to the top, so we had to recruit 5 travelers from the buses (there were many that didn't want to sleep there!) to help us push and to act as extra weight at the back of the car!... Here we thank again Sonam Tenzing, Tashi Palden, Karma Jigmet, Tashi Targye, Sonam Palzar for their tremendous help!! Finally, after hard moments, we managed to reach the top and went down just fine. But it had taken us the whole day: it was 6pm when we eventually got back to Leh!!! No camels and sand dunes for us: definitely an incentive to go to Ladakh again… ZANSKAR RANGE The Zanskar range lies to the north of the main Himalaya. It forms the backbone of Ladakh, south of the Indus river. The Stok range, a mighty outlier of the Zanskar range, forms the first crest line directly South of the Indus in Leh area. It is dominated by the elegant slender silhouette of the Stok Khangri (6123m). This chain is separated from the main Zanskar range by the Markha valley. The Markha rivers flows into the Zanskar river which in turns joins the Indus. Seen from Lamayuru, which is located west from the Zanskar/Indus confluence point, the Zanskar range seems far less abrupt and impassable that it does in Leh. MISCELLANEOUS In the east of Ladakh, at an altitude of 3,500 - 5,400 meters, lies the Changtang plateaus, home to Ladakh's nomads. The rough pastures provide good grazing for their large herds of sheep and goats. Life at such high altitude can be very harsh especially in the bitterly cold winters when the nomads are forced to move down to lower pastures. However, if the snows arrive early the people and their animals can be cut off from food and fuel supplies for many weeks. A significant portion of the world's Pashmina wool is produced from these herds: on the undercoats of changthangi -or changra- goats grows the soft and famous pashmina fiber. The breed is most often white but also seen in black, gray or brown. They have large twisting horns. The West realized the importance of pashmina wool in the 19th century. However, it depended completely on the Asian world for raw pashmina, specially China, Mongolia, Iran and Afghanistan. Ladakh with more than 130 000 changra and 6400 angora goats figured nowhere in the list, because it was not a business venture at all. Collected by the nomadic Changpa tribe of Ladakh, pashmina from this region did not enter world trade till much later. Since the invasion of China in 1962 and closing of the Leh-Yarkand route, Kashmiri pashmina shawl and carpet industries have been affected greatly. The wool used there now only comes from Ladakh. On the banks of the Indus river, 70km away from Leh, Alchi gompa is a 11th century monastery. On its walls are the most fantastic paintings we saw during our entire India trip. They are one of the only remaining testimonies of Indian Buddhist art from the 11th century. Alchi is not just one gompa, but a series of 5 small temples. The finest one, Sumtsek, has three storey and houses miniatures paintings on the robes of three Buddha statues. The Duckhang, the oldest building in Alchi, has six stunning mandalas. None of those paintings can be photographed. GANTOK Gantok, with about 90000 inhabitants, is the Capital of Sikkim. Until 1975, Sikkim was an independent kingdom. A treaty gave India the control over its foreign policies and defense. In 1975, India annexed the Himalayan kingdom which became the 22nd Indian state (Officially, 97% of the Sikkimese voted for the union with India). Gantok is set on a series of hills along the Ranipul river. The scenery is striking, but the city itself has suffered from a fast modernization, causing shabby buildings to sprawl. Enchay gompa is an important seat of the Nyangma order, with 100 monks resident. Its name actually means "Solitary temple". It was originally meant that no other construction should be allowed on the ridge. The building site is said to have been blessed by Druptob Karpo, a tantric master allegedly having flying powers. The present building dates back to the reign of Sidyong Tulku (1910). Gantok is also known for its orchid sanctuaries. Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain on earth with its 8598m can be seen from Gantok (provided the weather cooperates!) AROUND PHODONG Phodong monastery is located 38km north from Gantok. It sounds close, but with the state of Sikkimese roads, it takes a long while to drive there. It was built by the Chogyal Gyurmed Namgyal somewhere in the first quarter of the eighteenth century. It belongs to the Kagyupa Sect. It is famous for its delicate mural paintings and frescoes. Phensang monastery is situated on a gentle slope stretching fom Kabi to Phodong. Belonging to the Nyingmapa order, this monastery, first established in 1840, was reconstructed within a year after it was burnt down in 1947. There are around 300 monks attached to the monastery. Its name translates as "The excellent Banner" or "Good Bliss". Labrang Monastery is 2 kms further up hill from Phodong Monastery. This is a much older structure. It is also unique in the sense that unlike most monasteries which were destroyed by fires at some point in their history, this one still retains its original structure. It is located on a wide, open meadow and dense forests surround the southern, western and northern sides of the compound. Gyalshe Rigzing Chempa commissioned Labrang Monastery in 1814. It adheres to the Nyingmapa School of Tibetan Buddhism and its name literally means "the Lamas dwelling". We met very friendly monks in Labrang, and they played for us the most spectacular Tibetan ritual instruments : the long copper rag-dung trumpets. These conically bored natural horns vary in length and are made in sections that can be telescoped for portability. An anecdote worth mentioning : Arnaud was bitten by a leech in Phensang. Fortunately, it was attached thru the sock, so it was easy to remove. We did carry salt to get rid of leeches just in case, but we never had to use it : I got one too, but it also went off very easily. BUDDHIST WALL PAINTINGS Sikkim form of Buddhism is a development of Mahayana Buddhism known as Tibetan Buddhism or Lamaism. It contains mystical and occult elements. Tibetan Buddhism depicts deities whose appearances contradict the common expectation of serene meditative figures. The sight of apparently demonic beings dancing on the wall of a temple alongside tranquil gentle-faced deities bewilders any uninitiated visitor. These horrific-looking figures are tantric. Some have been absorbed into Buddhism from Indian Tantrism while others have a native Tibetan origin. Actually the same deities may take wrathful as well as peaceful forms. The wrathful deities in esoteric Buddhism represent and invoke inherent qualities of the practitioner's enlightened and compassionate mind through meditation on their images, transmuting negative emotions into these qualities. There is not meant to be any distinction between peace or wrath, as all are equal in being illusory and are one in the ultimate state of realization. Some wrathful figures are thus manifestations of Buddhas or Bodhisattvas. Yet other wrathful being have a single nature. In either case, they are fighting against negative forces such as anger, hatred, envy, greed and pride (swords cut thru ignorance, for instance, while lassos snare ego.) The little human-like figures under the feet of the wrathful figures should not be regarded as people but rather as malignant spirits. Tantric figures also sometimes depict male and female deities locked in sexual embrace. This is called "Yab-yum". It is not meant to be obscene at all: it shows that enlightenment is obtained by the union of wisdom (the female figure) and compassion (the male figure). PEAKS (Pelling) Sikkim is surrounded by mighty mountain ranges on three sides : on the fourth side, in the south, the valleys are only a hundred meters above sea level. In the North-East, the Greater Himalayan range includes the Kanchenjunga which, with its 8598m is the third tallest mountain on earth, but also Talung (7349m), Kabru (its north peak is 7338m), lovely conical-shaped Pandim (6691m), Ratong (6679m), Jopuno (5936m) and Narsingh (5825m). Pelling which is located on top of a ridge at an altitude of approximately 2000m, is an excellent site to enjoy the panorama over the whole Kanchenjunga massif. PEMAYANGTSE (Pelling) Pemayangtse gompa was founded in 1705 during the reign of Chador Namgyal. The monks were meant to be "pure", which involved being of unmixed Tibetan strain. The name of the gompa means "perfect sublime lotus", and it belongs to the Nyingmapa school of Lamaism. It was damaged by eartrhquakes several times during the last century and had to be reconstructed on many occasions. The day we visited Pemayangtse gompa, a massive recitation of the mantra of Guru Rimpoche was under way. This was truly pleasant to watch: all those monks and old folks repeating the mantra "Om ha hu vajra guru padma siddi hu" over and over again. Actually it doesn't sound as repetitive as one would expect, as the melody keeps evolving and transforming. We even got blessed by Yatha Rimpoche, the head monk of the ceremony. This involves handing a yellow scarf to the lama and bowing. The lama then puts the scarf around your head and his hand on your head. Yatha Rimpoche is meant to be the reincarnation of Lhatsun Chempo, one of the monks that introduced Buddhism to Sikkim (Lhatsun Chempo is depicted in blue on temple wall paintings and thankas). SANGACHOELING (Pelling) Sangachoeling gompa is set on a kind of mesa, west of Pelling: a peaceful site, with great views over the valley and the Greater Himalayan range. Its name means " Land of the sacred spell " and it was first built in 1697. However, this original building was destroyed by an earthquake. Unlike Pemayangtse Gompa, which belongs to the Nyingmapa order as well, the Sangachoeling monastery did not only admit " purely Tibetan " monks : Lepchas, Bhutias and others were also welcomed. TASHIDING (Pelling) Tashiding gompa is set on a flat ridge. Its name means "Devoted Central Glory" and it was first built in 1716 by Ngadak Sempa Chempo. It belongs to the Nyingmapa order just as Sangachoeling and Pemayangtse gompas. Some of the original gompa's pillars have been included in the structure of the new building constructed in 1987. The monastery complex is bigger than most, there are also chörten (stupas) and an amazing number of paryer flags. I found Tashiding exceptionally nice. On the day we visited, a family was having a big ceremony and they offered food and tea to any visitor: the whole atmosphere was really lively and joyful. PEOPLE OF SIKKIM Sikkim was originally the land of the Lepchas, a tribe that probably migrated from Assam or maybe from as far as South-East Asia. The 15th century saw the beginning of Tibetan emigration triggered by unrest due to quarrels between the Nyingmapa and Gelukpa orders. Nyingmapa is the oldest school of Lamaism, yet at this time the Gelukpa order was gaining supremacy in Tibet (the Gelupka is the order of the Dalai-Lama). The successive waves of Tibetan immigration pushed the Lepchas to the most remote areas of Sikkim. The isolation from Tibet resulted into a different evolution. Sikkimese Tibetans are now called Bhutias. Their language is a dialect of Tibetan, refered to as Sikkimese. Later, following the British rule, large numbers of Nepali came to settle down in Sikkim. This flux of immigrants only stopped in the 1960ies, and consequently the Nepali now account for 75% of the population of Sikkim, while the Bhutias are about 14%. There is also a small proportion of Limbus, and Indians from the plains can be found in urban areas. MARTAM Martam is a small village, which commands impressive views over a quiet valley of terraced rice paddies. It offers a glimpse of rural Sikkimese life. Small as it is, its St.Joseph's school attracts pupils from the whole state and even beyond: some of the girls we talked to came from as far away as Arunachal Pradesh. A lot of families have turned their homes into small hostels where those students from other cities/states stay. It's a major source of income for the families in Martam. PAL ZURMANG KAGYUD In Lingdum, on the Rumtek-Ranka-Gangtok road, 20km away from Gantok, the new Pal Zurmang Kagyud monastery, inaugurated in January 2001, was built by the present Gharwang Rimpoche. He is the 12th successive incarnation (or Tulku) of Zurmang Gharwang. Gharwang Rimpoche means "Lord of Refuge". His first manifestation is placed in the 14th century, in the person of Trung Mase who lived in Eastern Kham. He was recognized as the tulku of Zurmang Gharwang by the 5th Karmapa. The 6th Zurmang Gharwang tulku is regarded as one of the most extraordinary. Rinchen Nyingpo indeed is said to have had magical powers, like the ability to shrink metal spoons or to melt iron cuffs. At this time, Zurmang had grown into a vast complex of monasteries and was among the largest monastic institutions in Tibet. It's interesting to note that throughout the centuries, the tulkus of the Karmapa and Zurmang Gharwang have retained a close connection. The present Zurmang Gharwang tulku was born into an aristocratic family in Gangtok, Sikkim, on the 30th of June 1965. He was identified by The 16th Gyalwa Karmapa while he was still in his mother's womb. In 1976, shortly after his 11th birthday, Gharwang Rinpoche was installed on the Lion Throne as the 12th Zurmang Gharwang. The ceremony took place in the Assembly Hall of the Dharma Chakra Center in Rumtek in the presence of His Holiness, the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa. RUMTEK The Rumtek Dharma Charma Chakra Centre was constructed by the late 16th Gyalwa Karmapa in 1960 as a replica of the original Kagyupa Monastery in Tsurphu, Tibet. In doing so, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, successfully reestablished the Kagyu Order in exile. The centre, located 24km away from Gantok on the other side of the Ranipul valley, houses some of the world's most unique religious scriptures, manuscripts and religious art objects. The Gyalwa Karmapa is the head of the Kagyupa order of Tibetan Buddhism which was founded in the 11th century by Lama Marpa. It later split into a number of sub-orders among which the Karma Kagyupa sect, also known as the "Black Hats," was once Tibet's most politically powerful but was supplanted by the Gelugpa school of the Dalai Lamas 350 years ago. While Karma Kagyupa is widely practiced in both Tibet and Sikkim, another sub-order, the Dukpa Kagyupa, is the dominant faith of Bhutan. The last decade has seen a bitter fight over the succession of the 16th Karmapa and even in 2003, military forces could be seen in the temple. While Ugen Thinley Rinpoche, a child of a nomadic family in far eastern Tibet, was formally appointed Karmapa in Tsurphu by the Chinese authorities, Tenzin Chentse was still regarded as the true Karmapa by others. Ugen Thinley Rinpoche escaped from Tibet in late December, 1999. He arrived in Dharamsala, India on January 5, 2000, where he resides at Gyuto Tantric University. Posters asking for his "return" to Rumtek can be seen both in Sikkim and in Ladakh. A fifteen minute walk downhill from Dharma Chakra Center leads to the old Rumtek monastery which was originally built in 1730 by the ninth Karmapa but was destroyed by fire and reconstructed to the present state. The late Gyalwa Karmapa lived in this monastery till the completion of the Rumtek Dharma Chakra Center. TEMI TEA GARDEN Sikkim has only one tea garden, Temi. It's spread out on the gentle slopes of Tendong hill. The panorama over the Himalaya from there is truly superb and the workers among the incredibly green bushes resemble bees around a hive. When Sikkim wasn't yet an Indian state, the estate was known as Kewzing. The tea bushes came from China via Darjeeling.Though it's less known than Darjeeling, the tea grown here is one of the finest in the world, with a delicate, flowery fragrance and a slight edge. TSONGO LAKE Tsongo Lake is set at a high altitude, over 3700m, 35km north-east of Gantok. Hard to believe that it's so close: the spectacular road leading there winds so much that it takes several hours to reach the lake. The landscapes are breathtaking. The lake was still half frozen when we got there and the air was chilly. Tsongo lake has yaks... and, as we're well-behaved tourists, we went for a yak ride. OK, that's utterly ridiculous, but it was fun! TREK TO TSOKHA Tsokha is just above 3000m. It was the aim of our hike: 8 hours uphill on day 1, and 7 hours downhill on day 2. It's set in rhododendron forests that are quite impressive! Luckily, this was the start of the blooming period and we could see some of those high trees covered with dark pink or white flowers. Yuksom, our starting point is only at 1630m. The ascent isn't regular at all : the trail first follows a river inside the quite dense forest before a final fairly steep portion. Yuksom-Tsokha is one stage of a popular 8 days trek to Dzongri and Goecha La. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to attempt the whole tour. YUKSOM Yuksom isn't a proper city : it's just a small village in as remote corner of Sikkim. But it once was Sikkim's capital : it's there that lama Lhatsun Chempo (the one from whom Yatha Rimpoche, who blessed us at Pemayangtse, is meant to be the reincarnation) crossed from Tibet to Sikkim introducing Buddhism to the region. There are still some traces of this glorious past in Yuksom : for instance Norbugang Chörten, where the first chogyal, Phuntsog Namgyal, was crowned. Dubdi Gompa, on top of a hill, was founded in 1710 by Lhatsun Chempo. As monasteries go, it's not one of the best. Most visitors come to Yuksom as it's the starting point of the trek to Dzongri. FATEHPUR SIKRI Fatehpur Sikri was the capital of the Mughal empire merely for 16 years (1570-1586). Emperor Akbar decided to built a city here as a gesture of gratitude towards local Sufi saint Shaikh Salim Chishti who had foreseen the birth of a male heir for the Mughal dynasty. However, Fatehpur Sikri had no water sources which made it very challenging for the whole imperial court to live there.Akbar's tolerance towards Hindus can clearly be seen in the architecture of the city, with the use of square pillars, rectangular doorways and stepped ceilings. AGRA'S RED FORT Emperor Akbar started the construction of Agra's Red Fort in 1565 as a military structure. The parts of the Fort dating back to Akbar times are mostly made of red sandstone, with Jehangir's palace being a blend of Hindu and Islamic architecture. Later, his grand-son Shah Jahan transformed it and part of it became a palace. The architecture used then was solely Mughal, with a lot of white marble used. In 1659, Shah Jahan was deposed by his own son Aurangzeb and spent the rest of his life imprisoned in the Red Fort, in the Musamman Burj. TAJ MAHAL The Taj Mahal is among the top 10 of the best known buildings in the world. It was the main aim of our trip to Agra (train trip, very efficient service between Delhi and Agra). Of course, the season wasn't optimal: in the pre monsoon period, the sky was white and hazy, and as the Taj is white as well, the contrast was inexistent. Shah Jahan constructed the Taj in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. She died in childbirth in 1631 after engendering 14 children. Though construction started right away, it took until 1653 to complete the extravagant monument. About 20000 workers from India, Central Asia and even experts from Europe (France, Italy) participated to the project. Chief architect was Isa Khan, an Irani from Shiraz. In 1659, Shah Jahan was deposed by his own son, Aurangzeb and spent the rest of his life imprisoned in the Red Fort, with a view of the Taj. He finally was buried there as well, his tomb disrupting the symmetry of the mausoleum. Arnaud was surprised that it is actually not a tall building. The most impressive bit about the Taj is that it's as delicate and elegant seen from a distance as when closely inspected. The building is namely perfect: each stone carefully chosen and precisely inlaid, it looks just right from every angle. Simplicity is not its main asset, though…VARIOUS (Agra) Our memories of Agra are, in fact, quite sour: we had to fight all day long with touts. As we arrived in Agra around 8:00am, we thought of hiring a taxi for the day (Fatehpur Sikri is 30 km away from Agra). We found an agreement with a first driver, and asked him to wait for us until we're finished visiting the Taj Mahal. But when we came back the first driver "gave us" to a second driver. And that second driver had a guide with him. We protested and argued that we never asked for a guide, but this had no effect: he remained saying that we weren't meant to pay for his services if we didn't want to. During the trip to get to Fatehpur Sikri, the driver kept shutting down the air-co and opening his window. We insisted to keep it on as we had negotiated to have it included (given the temperature, it was a real must!). They pretended it wasn't included in the price and we really had to get angry and use strong words for them to finally comply with what was originally agreed. We then went back to Agra and wanted to eat in a specific restaurant, but the guide and driver pretended not to know where it was and brought us to another one. We started to be very annoyed. Then after lunch, they said that since the heat was at its peak, we should go and see a museum. The idea seemed clever, but we were a bit puzzled as the guide book didn't mentioned any museum. But candidly, we said OK ...and we ended up in a jewellery shop!! We quickly went out again, not even trying to pretend to be listening to the semi precious stones description that was served to us from the minute we passed the door. The guide was clearly unhappy to see that we just spent half a minute in there. We had a discussion clearly stating the we didn't want to be driven to any shops anymore. We even told them that they would get a tip if they stopped driving us to shops. After visiting the Red Fort, we wanted to buy the local sweet and drink some tea. We told our wonderful guide+driver team, and they headed to a sweet shop. Then they said we should go somewhere else to drink tea and we all got back in the car. But we never went to a cafe. Instead we went to a...marble workshop!! And there we were served tea there. We were close to furious, but we chose to stay calm and listen to the seller. He went on forever, and I started to feel like ending the talk abruptly and leaving, but I stayed diplomatic. Finally we got to the time when we were invited to visit his "showroom" (he pretended to be only selling his marble table with inlaid stones to the government). We finally were allowed to escape the marble trap. And then we had another sour talk in the car: we had to fight again to be taken to the old neighborhood and be able to see the Jama Masjid. The guide even stayed in the car: he would have wanted us to tour long series of shops to get more commissions. But the atmosphere in old Agra was colorful enough to make us forget our business-minded self-imposed guide: lot's of colorful sari shops, lots of people in the streets... It took us a while to locate the mosque entry, but we did (it would probably have been the only time we could actually have needed that guide, and of course, he stayed in the car!!!). It was almost dark by the time we got back to the car. We then agreed to visit to 2 shops (we had time to kill before catching the train) and it was time to go. The train was late, so we had to wait a while inside the station. And that was hard. Indeed, lots of people actually live there and foreigners always attract attention and beggars. Beggars are of course common in Indian streets, but usually they talk to you for a short while and then go. In the train station, it's quite different. Some may stay with you the whole time you're waiting for the train. And giving something to one and not the others is impossible. Plus lots of people have diseases causing severe malformations. Hard to feel at ease. Difficult to describe the exact feeling, in fact. Sadness, disgust, despair, discouragement... Agra is distinctly poorer than Delhi. In the old neighborhood, we saw a burial: a father was holding the body of his young child inside some cartons. Another sad scene which remained stamped in my memory for days.
ISRAEL
JEWISH QUARTER IN OLD CITY Compared with other parts of the Old City, the Jewish Quarter has less of an historical feel. It's pretty normal since most what you see above ground is fairly new: the neighborhood was completely destroyed during the 1948 fighting, and then reconstructed after it was recaptured in 1967. Below ground, however, some historical sights still remain (like the Cardo, a colonnaded avenue flanked by roofed arcades). The elegant lone single brick arch belongs to the Hurva Synagogue (not much else remains, as this 1864 Ashkenazi building was flattened by the Jordanians in 1948). There were plans to rebuilt it, but they never pushed further than this arch. The Wailing Wall, the holiest of all Jewish sites, serves as an outdoor synagogue. It's one of the most captivating places on earth, especially on the Shabbat. The Wall is part of a retaining structure built by Herod to contain the landfill on which the Second Temple stood. The Romans destroyed that temple in 70 AD. During Ottoman times houses were built very close to the wall. Jews however kept coming to the narrow alley along the wall to lament their loss: the wall thus gained its nickname. In 1948, the Jews lost access to the wall, but after the Six Day War, they destroyed neighboring houses of the Arab Quarter to create the present plaza. JEWISH CEMETARY ON MOUNT OF OLIVES The world's oldest and largest Jewish cemetery covers the slopes of the Mount of Olives. This cemetery is stated as the site where the dead will be resurrected on Judgment Day. Many of the tombs in this cemetery are dotted with small stones. It is indeed customary in some Jewish communities to place small stones on a gravesite when visiting it. The custom is not universal, even among traditional Jews, and there seems to be some doubt as to how it originated. The most common explanation is that placing stones is a symbolic act that indicates someone has come to visit and the deceased has not been forgotten. Stones, unlike flowers, are permanent and do not get blown away in the wind. Some other sources suggest that it was originally done because Jews are required to erect a tombstone, and tombstones that actually looked like tombstones tended to get desecrated. Others think that originally, there were no engraved tombstones like today. Tombs used to be marked with a simple cairn, a simple pile of stones. This meant that wind and rain would cause the tomb marker to wear down. Each visitor would therefore add to the pile again. WALLS & GATES The walls of the Old City are a Turkish legacy : they were constructed between 1537 and 1542 by Sinan for Süleyman the Magnificent. Sinan, the greatest of Ottoman architects also designed the Süleymaniye Camii in Istanbul and the Selimiye Camii in Edirne (to cite only two among countless other mosques in Turkey) or the Takkiyeh as-Suleymaniye in Damascus and the Khusuwiye mosque in Aleppo (both in Syria). There were 7 gates in his wall and an eighth was added in the late 19th century, the most impressive of all being the Damascus Gate. The Citadel was first built for Herod in the 1st century, then used by the Romans. The Byzantines, who got there 250 years after, mistook it for the ruins of Mt Zion and thus named it "Tower of David". They constructed a new fortress here, which the Crusaders and the Muslims later used. The present form is mostly from 1310, legacy of the Mamluks. It's in the Citadel that general Allenby accepted the surrender of the city in 1917, ending the long Turkish rule. IN THE STREETS The Old City is a maze of narrow streets and alleys, often crowded, and wandering through them is like diving into history. The general appearance is predominantly Arab, in sharp contrast with the modern part of Jerusalem. The Old City is divided in four quarters: Arab (the largest), Armenian (the smallest), Christian and Jewish. More than 20 Christian sects have institutions in the Christian quarter. The Muslim quarter is definitively the most bustling and lively. Permanently congested Damascus Gate is one of its most fascinating places. The Armenian quarter is like a city within the city, with its gates closing at night: everything there seems to be happening hidden behind walls. The Armenian community today amounts to about 1500, many being the descendants of the refugees who fled the Turkish atrocities of 1915. CHURCHES In Jerusalem, the balance of power between the various Christian sects does not reflect their relative influence in today's world. The Greek Orthodox Church has jurisdiction over the highest number of sites (more than half) while the Catholics get only 17%: that's because they arrived relatively late to the Holy land (during the Crusades). The Armenians, with only about 6 millions believers worldwide, own a third of Jerusalem's Christian sites. There is an amazing variety of Christian sects aside from those three: Syrian Orthodox, Copts, Ethiopians, Uniates, Protestants… More than 20 in total! THE NEW CITY I didn't take many photos in the new city. They are all from the Israel Museum, which is really a worth spending more than a day in! The main attraction is the Shrine of the Book, which houses five of the 2000 year old Dead Sea scrolls discovered in caves in Qumran. The Museum also has a tremendously interesting Judaica and Jewish Ethnography wing, including three complete synagogues. TEMPLE MOUNT The Temple Mount is the icon of Jerusalem, and it's also the symbol of dispute over land ownership in the region: this site is indeed holy to the three religions of the book, and a milestone of Muslim and Jewish faiths. This mount is former Mount Moriah, where Abraham was ordered to sacrifice his son to prove his faith (cruel, huh!). The place has some magic to it: a vast paved esplanade amidst the narrow crowded lanes, it has a taste of paradise! (that is, if you manage to forget all the security guards, barbed wires and the memories of violent acts that took place here). The Dome of the Rock stands in the center of the Haram ash-Sharif (meaning "Noble Sanctuary" in Arabic, while the Jewish name is Har HaBayit, i.e. "Temple Mount"). It was constructed between 688 and 691 by Byzantine architects under Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik, in what was partly a step to prevent Muslims from being too seduced by the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Inside is the bare rock from which Mohammed is meant to have started his Night Journey. The dome today has lost its original gold and is made of anodized aluminium, a present from the Gulf countries. At the southern side of the complex stands Al-Aqsa mosque. Its origin is disputed (ex-Byzantine church or original Arabic structure?). It is spacious enough to house as many as 5000 worshipers. TEL AVIV Tel Aviv, "the Hill of Spring", has about 35000 inhabitants. It seems to be the exact opposite to Jerusalem: modern, secular and ready to party. Tel Aviv began in the 1890ies with small groups of Jewish migrants who wanted to escape crowded and unsanitary Jaffa (Yafo in Hebrew). At the time Jaffa was still mostly Arab. Though the Turkish expelled them from the area during WWI, the Jews managed to establish a permanent settlement, which was enlarged by those who fled the Arab riots in Jaffa of 1921. At the time the population reached 40000. When then British pulled out in 1948, Jewish forces seized Jaffa, leaving the whole area in Israeli hands. Today, Jaffa is the area for an expansive seafood dinner. It's also the only bit of the metropolis with a feel of history: and it truly has a long and tortuous history. It was founded in Biblical times (lost of legends mention its name), but was lost by the Israelites to the Egyptians in 1468 BC: the Egyptian soldiers hid in clay pots to enter the city. Islam reached Jaffa in the 8th century, then Crusaders came and were driven away. British General Allenby took the city from the Turks in 1917. It's a bit strange to wander around this Arab town where the Arab inhabitants have been replaced by art galleries and restaurants: as if the city soul had left. TIBERIAS Tiberias is a town of about 40000 inhabitants. Honestly, I found it rather uninspiring and dull. The city came to life thanks to hot springs in Roman times. Tiberias became the center of Jewish life after the exile of the Jews from Jerusalem which followed the Bar Kochba revolt (132 to 135 AD). Crusaders came in 1099 and then Saladin in 1187. The city was then Turkish from 1562 and Arab again in the 18th century with Sheikh Daher al-Omar and his independent fiefdom of Galilee. He's the one who had the city's main mosque (Al-Amari, or sometimes also spelled El-Omri) built. The Al-Bahr mosque (Sea mosque) was built in 1880 was used by the fishershing community. The Church and Monastery of the Apostles is a Greek Orthodox site. Its present buildings only date back to the 19th century, but it's build on the ruins of a Byzantine Monastery. DEAD SEA AREA Yam HaMelah (sea of salt) in Hebrew, the Dead Sea is the world lowest point : 400m below sea level. It once was 4 times bigger than it is now, but lower rainfalls and the construction of a water carrier systems that draws on the Jordan and Yarmuk rivers has reduced it to its present size. Its salt concentration , due to evaporation, is about 30 % (other seas usually have values under 5 %). Thus there's no fish in it, though 11 bacteria species manage to survive in this harsh environment. Masada, in Hebrew Metzuda (stronghold) is a freestanding plateau with sheer cliffs. It was fortified around 100 BC. In 66 AD the Jews rose against the Romans (First Revolt). They captured Masada (which was poorly guarded) which became a sanctuary for the fleeing Jews. After four years, the uprising was suppressed and the Romans focused on Masada. The siege was epic, the Romans used 15000 men, built a huge earthen ramp etc… Inside where only 967 men, women and children. When they saw that Masada would fall, the Jews set their houses on fire, 10 men were then chosen to kill all the others. Then one of them executed his fellow 9 companions and killed himself. The Romans only found 2 women and 5 children alive, who had managed to hide.
JAPAN
ABASHIRI Abashiri has about 45000 inhabitants. Ryuhyo, i.e. ice floes, arrives here at the end of January bringing the harbor activities to a stand still, with the noticeable exception of icebreaker ship Aurora, which takes travelers on ice seeing tours (didn't do it, coz we went on a similar trip in Mombetsu). The museum of Northern Peoples is Abashiri's real jewel: it houses fascinating exhibits on local Ainu and also Canada, Alaska, Siberia and Lapland tribes. AKAN KOEN Akan-koen is a large national park (more than 900 km2). It has volcanoes, forests and pristine lakes. Surrounded by snow-whitened cliffs, Mashu-ko is a magical lake, with its clear waters (transparency depth about 35m). Io-zan (512m) has impressive clouds of steam gushing from the ground with a strong hissing sound and monticules of yellow sulfur deposits (it also has the smell that goes with it, and the unavoidable people who boil eggs too). Kussharo-ko is the largest inland lake of Hokkaido. A large colony of swans lives on its shores. Akan-ko, which we did not see, hosts a particular algae species: the spherical marimo. South from Akan-koen, the Kushiro Shitsugen National Park -Kushiro marshlands- hosts a colony of tancho-tsuru (red-crowned cranes), a long-legged, long-necked bird with an immaculate snow-white plumage contrasting with its black neck and red crest. These cranes inhabit wet meadows. The Hokkaido colony is one of the two main breeding populations of red-crowned cranes. The larger population breeds in northern China and southern Russia and then divides in two groups which migrate to wintering grounds on the coasts of North Korea, the DMZ, and the Jiangsu region in central China. The Hokkaido birds, however, do not migrate but winter in the same geographical area. The total number of red-crowned white cranes is between 1700 and 2000, and seems to be declining. More details on those cranes can be found in "The Cranes, Status survey and conservation action plan, Red-crowned crane, by Scott R. Swengel). HIMEJI Himeji is a rather tasteless city, but is home to "Shirasagi" - the white egret-, i.e. Himeji-jo. This elegant white castle is unanimously designated as Japan's greatest. At the end of Meiji era, only 39 original castles were still standing (they were destroyed in the governmental fight against feudalism). WW2 brought its share of destruction, bringing down the number of castles to 12. The site at Himeji was fortified as early as 1333, but today's castle was erected in 1580 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and later enlarged by Ikeda Terumasa, who had been granted the castle by Tokugawa Ieyasu. The impressive main dungeon has five floors, and there are three smaller dungeons, moats and large defensive walls. KUSHIRO Kushiro is the industrial and economical center of Do-to (Eastern Hokkaido). It has few interesting sights (the MOO is meant to be a big shopping center but we were rather disappointed, though the MOO logo is totally kawai -cute-!!!). Kushiro has some great restaurants, with... uni!!! Cape Aikappu, near the town of Akkeshi is a place where seals are sometimes sighted. Though we didn't see any, the place was so peaceful, pristine, and serene that it was really worth the trouble of getting there (no convenient public transport, thus had to arrange for a taxi to pick us up at some remote road intersection.. all this in Japanese of course! Fortunately, locals are really willing to help!) GINKAKU-JI (kyoto) Ginkaku-ji, or the " silver pavilion " is not actually covered with silver. Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa intended to plate the villa he built in 1482, but this actually never took place. Instead, the place was converted into a temple after his death. HEIAN-JINGU (kyoto) Heian-jingu was built in 1895, in commemoration of the 1100th anniversary of the founding of Kyoto. It's actually build on the model of Kyoto Gosho (built during the Heian period), with a two-thirds scale. It's maybe not very interesting from an architectural point of view, but Heian-jingu was on the cover of my first Japanese textbook: thus I HAD TO see it!! KIYOMIZU-DERA (kyoto) Kiyomizu-dera was founded in 798, but the buildings to be seen today date back to 1633. It belongs to the Nara-founded Hosso school of Buddhism. The main hall's terrace is built over the hill slope and its wooden support structure is pretty impressive! KODAI-JI (kyoto) Kodai-ji dates back to 1605. It was built by Kita-no-Mandakoro in memory of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, her husband. The temple grounds are enchanting, with bamboo grooves and sand gardens: they were designed by famous Kobori Enshu. NANZEN-JI (kyoto) Nanzen-ji has extensive grounds, dotted with multiple sub-temples. It was first a retirement villa for Emperor Kameyama, and then was turned into a Zen temple on his death (1291). The temple suffered heavy damage during the 15th century's civil war, thus most of the present buildings are from the 17th century. It is now the headquarters of the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism. OTHER TEMPLES IN EASTERN KYOTO Honen-in was founded in1680 and bears the name of the founder of the Jodo school. Reikan-ji is a Buddhist nun's temple well known for its close association with the Japanese Imperial family and has been dubbed the "Imperial Palace in the valley". The temple was built at Emperor Gomizunoo's order in 1654. Although it is not usually open to the public, it opens its doors twice a year in spring and autumn. Kurodani was established in 1175. It is a large Jodo sect temple on top of a hill. The spacious precincts hold numerous sub-temples and a large cemetery on the hill to the east, which affords a good view of the city below. Jishu-jinja is a Shinto shrine within the precinct of Kiyomizu-dera. It's known for bringing success in love: there are two stones spaced by some 18m, and people start from one stone and try to reach the other one with their eyes closed. KINKAKU-JI (Kyoto) Kinkaku-ji, the golden pavilion, is one of Japan most famous buildings. The present building is not the original: a young monk set it on fire in 1950 (he appears to have been obsessed by the temple. Mishima Yukio wrote a novel about it: the Golden Pavilion. -What else would you call it!?-) The original building was a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, converted into a temple by his son. The reconstruction follows the original design, but the even the lower floors are now guilded. ADASHINO NEMBUTSU-JI (Kyoto) Adashino Nembustu-ji is an unusual place: it contains thousands of little statues gathered together, which represent the souls of the commoners who were buried in Adashino area. On the evenings of August 23rd and 24th, over 1000 candles are lit to honor the spirits of those buried here. OTHER TEMPLES OF THE NORTH AND WEST OF KYOTO Ninna-ji was built in 842, but most of the present buildings are from the 17th century. The temples grounds are extensive and contains many buildings including an impressive entrance gate and a five-story pagoda. It now serves as the headquarters for the Omura branch of the Shingon school of Buddhism. We unfortunately had very little time (at sunset, under heavy rain) to see this beautiful temple. Seiryo-ji used to be a villa used by Minamoto-no Toru. In 945 a standing image of Buddha was enshrined and this temple was given its present name. Fukuoji-jinja is a tiny Shinto shrine on the road to Takao. Nison-in is known for its cemetery with many slopes. It contains the remains of three emperors and members of the aristocracy. It was built during the years 834-847 by Jikaku Daishi for Emperor Saga. RYOAN-JI (Kyoto) Ryoan-ji belong to the Rinzai school of Buddhism. It was created in 1450 and is extremely famous for its kare-sansui garden: an austere arrangement of 15 stones in a pool of sand -30mx10m-. (The unknown designer didn't leave any kind of explanation regarding his work!) FUSHIMI INARI TAISHA (Kyoto) Fushimi is the head of over 30000 Inari shrines. It is dedicated to the gods of rice and sake. A pathway climbing up the Inari-yama is lined with thousands of red torii (it's more than a single path, there are loops in it, and it's fairly long: we didn't follow it till its end). The mountain is covered by a forest, pretty dense, which gives a mysterious feel to any walk under the torii tunnel. With a light rain on top of that, it felt like the place was enchanted! TOFUKU-JI (Kyoto) Tofuku-ji belongs to the Rinzai school of Buddhism. It was founded in 1236, and was given a kanji name made of characters taken from the names of two famous Nara temples, TOdai-ji and KoFUKU-ji. The temple precincts contain 24 buildings today, but there were once 53 (many were destroyed by fire). The present main hall dates back to 1890, but Tofuku-ji's San-mon is the oldest remaining Zen main gate. VARIOUS (Kyoto) Gion, near the Kamo-gawa, is know for being the geisha neighborhood. But most of the geisha business is off limits for gaijin and the place has been invaded by modern buildings and modern nightlife. There are still some extremely charming streets though, with lovely 17th century wooden houses. Our ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) was on the road to Takao. It really was a neat place, with very kind owners who even offered us a drive in the morning to reach our first temple of the day and gave us umbrellas for the day when it was raining! MOMBETSU The name Mombetsu derives from "Moupetto" (calm river), an Ainu word. Japanese administration began in Mombetsu district in 1889. In 1930, a large vein of gold was discovered in Konomai, and this greatly benefited the economy of the area for the ensuing 40 years. The city of Mombetsu now has a population of about 36,000. Mombetsu has two main attractions: -the Garinko-go 2, a tourist boat which holds 70 persons which breaks its way through the Sea of Okhotsk when it is covered with drift ice. It operates from late January to mid-March, breaking the ice with the big drills installed at the front. -the Okhotsk Tower, with its underwater observation room which provides a view of the sea under ice. It also has exhibition rooms including an aquarium where they keep cliones: lovely little sea angels! NARA KOEN Nara, in the Yamato plain, was Japan's first capital city. The rulers of this fertile region were the first emperors of Japan. But it's only 646 that they decided to build a permanent capital: before that, Shinto customs ordered the capital to be moved at the death of each Emperor. The rise of Buddhism put an end to this practice and Nara was chosen in 710 (after two other locations were tried unsuccessfully). But Nara only kept its status for 75 years: the court then was moved to Kyoto. Nara-koen is a large park which contains most of the city's sights (many of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites). It's also home to 1200 deer which were awarded the title of National Treasures. Todai-ji has a huge Daibutsu-den hall, which was rebuilt in 1709 and is actually only two-third of the size of the original. Inside, the Daibutsu (great Buddha) is 16m high and weight 437 tons. Tofuku-ji has an elegant five-storey pagoda from 1426. VARIOUS (Nara) Not all of Nara's jewels are located in the Nara-koen: south-west of the city lie several major temples, among which Yakushi-ji. Inside its precinct, the East pagoda, dating back to 730, is an amazing structure which seems to have 6 storeys. It actually has only 3, the 3 others being decorative additions. NIKKO Nikko is the site of the tomb of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Shogun. (The Shogun ruled Japan till the Meiji Restoration). The present shrine, however, is not the original one. Ieyasu's grandson Iemitsu decided to rebuild it in 1634 in a grand way. It's not as simple and sober as other famous Japanese buildings: it's been built to impress and the overall effect is more extravagant than elegant. Looks maybe more Chinese than Japanese, actually! OTHER SIGHTS IN SAPPORO The summit of Moiwa-yama offers amazing views on the city and the mountains around. (a ropeway climbs there in just a few minutes, so there's no need for a hard walk to get there!) With the pristine winter weather, the scenery was truly superb! The Hokkaido-jingu, in Maruyama-koen is a fairly recent structure, but with snow on top of the traditional roofs, it looked very poetic! YUKI MATSURI When knowing that we had to go to Japan in February, we were immediately tempted to spend our free time in Hokkaido. The main reason for that was Sapporo's yuki matsuri (snow festival). I had heard so often about it that I was eager not to let go the chance to see it once! Though walking on ryuhyo and watching tancho tsuru produced a more lasting impression on me, I really enjoyed the grandiose the snow/ice sculptures of Odori-koen which often reproduced famous architectural masterpieces. The manga-inspired sculptures were fun and cute, with my favorite being the lovely "little" sitting bird (which was about 10m tall!). Sad to think it's all melted now! MISCELLANEOUS (Tokyo) Pachinko is a mixture between slot machines and pinball. Players are quite passive while playing: only controlling the speed with which the many small steel balls are thrown into the machine. Most of the balls just fall down the machine and disappear, but a few find their way into special holes. This activates a kind of slot machine : you only win if the same three pictures appear. This occurs quite rarely in pachinko, but if it happens, you win countless new balls. (playing for only 1000 yen means you are very likely just to lose all your balls within a few minutes). Balls can be exchanged for goods that are available in the pachinko parlor's gift shop. But the laws that prohibits gambling in Japan can be easily bypassed by first exchanging the balls for some special goods and then exchanging those goods for cash at a small window just outside the pachinko parlor. MIKOSHI (Tokyo) This celebration took place in early October in Asakusa, in the streets surrounding Senso-ji. (It was probably part of the Furusato Tokyo Matsuri, or Metropolitan Citizen's Day, though we're not quite sure). For hours, a large chanting crowd dressed in traditional cloths endured the rain to carry around ultra heavy mikoshi (portable shrines). NEW ARCHITECTURE (Tokyo) Shinjuku has Tokyo's highest concentration of high rise buildings, great numbers of huge expensive department stores, the city's most notorious red-light district, loads of bright neon signs: it's a summary of what you expect of modern Japan. Akasaka is a quiet district with many companies headquarters and ministries and official agencies. It's where I lived for two weeks, which gave me the chance to experiment with many of its good restaurants! The Tokyo International Forum, in Ginza, was designed by New York's Rafael Vinoly. Ginza is a very famous shopping district, with a clear luxury flavor. HISTORICAL SIGHTS (Tokyo) Senso-ji, in Asakusa, is Tokyo's most famous temple. It has a long history and was once on the road from the center of Edo (as Tokyo was named then) and Yoshiwara, the famous pleasure district. The present buildings, however, dates from 1950. Hamarikyu-teien is a large garden, with ponds, sand pools and lovely tea houses. One of my favorite places in Tokyo! It's very close to Tsukiji fish market. The Imperial Palace is the home of the imperial family (you had guessed, I suppose!). The public is only admitted to the gardens, the palace itself remaining off-limits except one two specific occasions (Jan 2nd and Dec 23rd). SUBCULTURE (Tokyo) Yoyogi-koen in Harajuku used to be host live music and shows every Sunday, but the Subculture Parade, as they called it, was banned by the authorities. A costumed young crowd, however, still meets on Sundays on the bridge in front of Meiji-jingu. SUMO (Tokyo) Sumo was originally used in Shinto divination rituals. It still retains flavors of these old times: the shrine-like roof suspended above the dohyo (raised fighting ring), the gyoji (referee) clothing and the purification ceremony during which salt is thrown on the dohyo. In contrast to those complicated rites, the wrestling rules are plain and simple: the first out of the ring or the first that touches the ground with any body part other than his feet has lost. These pictures were taken during one of the major bacho, in Kokusai Stadium, Tokyo (September 2001). TSUKIJI (Tokyo) Tsukiji is Tokyo's fish market. Though I never managed to be there early enough the see it really bustling (6am seems to be a good time), I really enjoyed this very lively place. Strange-looking fishes, octopuses, big cut-off tuna heads but also sushi and sashimi restaurants, and a small markets where they sell all kinds of goods…EZO DEER (Utoro) The Ezo deer (a subspecies of Sika deer, found throughout Japan) populates the entire island of Hokkaido. Its main habitat is in the eastern areas, and we saw many of them in Utoro. Males grow to be 90-190 cm tall and weigh 50-130 kg, while females grow to be 90-150 cm and 25-80 kg. Its summer coat is a light brown and its winter coat a dark gray-brown. The Ezo deer remain hidden in the forests during the day but often go out at night to feed. These deer were once on the verge of extinction due to over hunting in the early Meiji era. After the government passed laws against its hunting, populations increased sharply. Nowadays, Ezo deer are often linked with damage to agriculture and car accidents. Female deer hunting has been allowed since 1994 in designated areas. Due to poor catches of cod in the Shiretoko region in recent years, Steller's eagles and white-tailed eagles flying over in winter have come to eat Ezo deer carcasses left by hunters, which sometimes contain lead splinters from rifle bullets. This has led to eagles being lead-poisoned, and now lead bullets have been banned. MISCELLANEOUS (Utoro) Utoro is a tiny town on the northern side of Shiretoko-Hanto, a large remote peninsula which is almost completely covered by a National Park. Shiretoko-Hanto with its volcanic range (Rausu-dake is 1660m high), spectacular cliffs and wild animals (among which about 600 brown bears) is one of the most secluded areas in Japan. The south coast -where we didn't go, we would have needed a car- has a flying spot for white-tailed eagles where a large number of birds can be seen. RYUHYO (Utoro) Ryuhyo, or ice floes, arrives in Hokkaido in late January. In March, at its maximum expansion, it covers most of the sea of Okhotsk. All this ice comes from Siberia: the Amur river -a lovely name-, which empties into the Sea of Okhotsk , freezes and thus sends bigger and bigger ice blocks toward the Japanese coast. Winds break and move the layers of ice, and the ice layers get thicker. We saw ryuhyo in the three coastal cities we visited in early February 2003 (Mombetsu, Abashiri, Utoro), but Utoro definitely had more. Fishermen were staying ashore (thus it wasn't possible to eat uni at harbor restaurants!!). We went walking on the ryuhyo with a guide (who turns back into a fisherman when the ice melts). We looked like characters from "Bioman" or any other such Japanese series, which was quite appropriate since after all -despite these polar landscapes!- we were in Japan!
NORTH KOREA
COMMUNIST MONUMENTS Extract of " Monumental edifices convey the immortal achievements forever", out of "Korea" n°547 Juche 91 (2002) : President Kim Il Sung set out on the road of revolution in his early days and created the Juche idea. On the basis of this idea, he led the revolution and construction to victory, performing undying exploits on behalf of the times and history. The Korean people have built monuments across the country to commemorate his valuable revolutionary exploits through all eternity. The tower of the Juche Idea on the banks of the Taedong river in Pyongyang, the capital of socialist Korea, is devoted to the memory of the President's ideological and theoretical revolutionary exploits. The torch on the tower, symbolic of the rays of the Juche idea, shows the road ahead for the times and the revolution. (…) The President has accomplished the cause of building the party, state and armed forces in the liberated country. He led the Fatherland Liberation War to victory and built an independent, self-supporting and self-defensive powerful socialist country. The monument to the Party Founding, depicting a hammer, a sickle and a writing brush, symbol of the Worker's Party of Korea, is situated in the eastern part of Pyongyang. The monument tells about the President's exploits in founding and leading the WPK, the general staff of the Korean revolution and the organizer of all victories. (…) The monument to Victory in the Fatherland Liberation War was built (…) in memory of the victory in the war, in which the Korean People's Army destroyed the US imperialists and their allies and lackeys thanks to the outstanding strategy, tactics and leadership of the President. It consists of the main statue, "Victory", which depicts a KPA soldier shouting charge has he holds a fluttering flag in one hand, and a number of other group sculptures. (…) The grand monument on Mansudae hill was built on celebration of the 60th birthday of the President in 1972 to convey his exploits to future generations. The President's statue in the middle and the surrounding works depicting the periods of the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle and socialist revolution and construction provide a snapshot of his achievements. The Korean people have built monuments to President Kim Il Sung's eternal life across the country, including Kumsong street in Pyongyang, out of the desire to revere him for ages as the eternal leader of socialist Korea. They are firmly resolved to defend and develop his valuable revolutionary exploits. KAESONG Kaesong, south of Pyongyang (about 3 hours away), very near the DMZ, is one of the few cities of North Korea that wasn't completely flattened by the war (the city was taken by the northern side only at the end of the conflict). The old neighborhood (with traditional roofs) and the Confucian academy Songgyungwan are really picturesque. Kaesong was the capital of the Koryo dynasty (from the 10th to the 14th century). It used to be populous and wealthy, but this former grandeur has completely vanished. The large avenues with modern buildings are very dull. The hotel where we stayed, however had some flavor: yogwan style little houses occupying a whole street. About 13km away from downtown Kaesong is the tomb of king Kongmin (31st Koryo king, who ruled from 1352 to 1374). This very isolated site is almost poetic, surrounded by nice little hills and trees. MASS GAMES "Mass games" is the name given to a very special type of show with over 100000 performers. It takes place in a stadium, and more than half of the seats are occupied by performers holding big color cards that form an image. The rest of the performers are on the stadium field. The story told his that of the recent history of Korea starting with "the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle". There are also scenes on "the burning desire of the Korean people for reunification" and others about the modernization of the country (I loved those egg-costumes!). MYOHYANG Myohyang , 160km north of Pyongyang has a pristine mountainous scenery and one of Korea's most important temples: Pohyongsa. The hills are magnificent, dotted with waterfalls: a nice break from the concrete of the capital! But Myohyang is also the place where the IFE (International Friendship Exhibition) is set. This grand building is a shrine, and it is filled with gifts of world leaders and others less known individuals. Stalin, Mao, Castro, Ceasescu, Honecker, Khaddafi, Arafat are among those who offered presents. Madeleine Albright gave a basketball signed by Michael Jordan. There are 120 rooms in total, and electric display map where each country carries a diode: those positioned on the countries of provenance of each gift are lit. CHILDREN'S PALACE The children's palace, in Pyongyang, is another odd place. It's supposed to be where the kids can go after school to practice their favorite activity (they have everything from sports to arts, and even " presenter " which seemed to be something like hostess/guide/show introducer etc… Most kids there are incredibly gifted (they are selected of course). Our visit ended up with a grand show: kids playing music, dancing, singing and praising the intelligent leadership of the respected Great and Dear leaders. PANMUNJOM Panmunjom, in the DMZ is the place where the peace talks were held at the end of the war, and where they are still going on (blue and gray bungalows). It's one of the most preposterous sights on earth. On one side, North Koreans dressed up as Russians, on the other, South Koreans in GIs gears: the absurdity of the situation is very well summed up here. PARADES Extract of " Parade of the Korean People's Army", which bears on the front page the motto "Wipe out the US Imperialist Aggressors, the Sworn Enemy of the Korean People": "The Korean People's Army, with its long history and brilliant revolutionary traditions, is the glorious revolutionary armed force of the Workers' Party of Korea. In the flames of the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle, on April 25th 1932, the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung founded the KPA, a genuinely people's revolutionary armed force. Through a prolonged heroic struggle, the KPA crushed the Japanese imperialist aggressors and achieved the historic cause of national liberation. (…) During the grim Fatherland Liberation War decisive of the nation's destiny, the soldiers of the KPA displayed mass heroism and peerless self-sacrificing spirit and inflicted an ignominious defeat on the US imperialist invaders who would boast of their being the "most powerful" in the world, thereby honorably defending their national independence and revolutionary gains. (…) The respected Supreme Commander Comrade Kim Jong Il said: "The Party's leadership system has been firmly established in our People's Army today, and all its men and officers are fully prepared to lay down their lives in the fight for the Party and the leader." Under the intelligent leadership of the respected Supreme Commander, the whole of the KPA has been dyed with the Juche idea, and it has been strengthened into a revolutionary army in which the Party's leadership is firmly established, and into a people's army where a revolutionary military sprirt is established and which is pervaded with revolutionary comradeship and the fine way of unity between officers and men, between the armymen and the people and between the Party members and Socialist Working Youth League members. Today the KPA is demonstrating its dignity as an invincible iron-strong army equipped with military science and technology meeting the demands of modern warfare and the actual conditions of the country and with up-to-date combat material produced by the nation's munition industry.The (…) parade displayed the unshaken determination and will of all the men and officers of the People's Army to defend stoutly the Party and the revolution, the country and the people under the leadership of the respected Supreme Commander, and vividly demonstrated the strong resolve of the armymen and the people to fight on unremittingly for the reunification of the county and the ultimate victory of the socialist cause in single-minded unity around the Party and the leader. TRAIN The train journey from Beijing to Pyongyang takes 24 hours. That's the way we chose to enter North Korea. On the way back, we had the joy of experiencing a flight in one of the Il'yushin of Air Koryo. We were locked in our railway car. Even while still in China. Our car was the only one going to North Korea, and it was isolated from the rest of the train. The result was that getting food wasn't that easy. Arnaud had to beg the staff to let us go and fetch noodles in another car (of course we didn't take food with us!! Later on, a Chinese couple who boarded in Dandong with crates of fruits to sell in North Korea fed us with loads of their tasty fruits. We'll remain eternally grateful for this!). The border crossing took 4 hours (two hours on each side of the border). The customs officers were actually friendly: a Chinese one gave us his email address, while the North Koreans like our Chinese paintings and our Polaroid camera! In Dandong, the border city on the Chinese side, we bought flowers to present to the huge statue of Kim Il Sung on the Mansudae plaza (a very good trick to have North Korean guides well disposed towards you!!).
NORWAY
THE CITY Oslo Rådhus (city hall) is definitely one of my favorite buildings. There's such an impression of strength coming from it. It's balanced and solid, yet elegant in an austere way. It was completed in 1950 though the design dates back to before WW2. It's here that the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded on each 10th of December. The Akershus Slott is a fortress from the 14th century which was turned into a Renaissance castle in the 17th century by Christian IV. The Domkirke (cathedral) dates from 1697. There are nice bazaar halls at the rear of the cathedral. FOLKEMUSEUM The "Norsk Folkemuseum" is an open-air museum set on the Bygdøy peninsula. It has about 150 buildings, mostly from the 17th and 18th centuries coming from all Norwegian regions. The most stunning one is the stave church, which was built in the 11th century in Gol and transferred to the museum in 1885. The old timbered farm houses with sod roofs where wildflowers grow are very poetic! VIGELAND Gustav Vigeland was born in 1869 in a farming family. He exhibited his first work in 1889 and soon he got public recognition, which allowed him to travel abroad. He was especially influenced by Rodin. In 1921, the city of Oslo built him a spacious studio against the promise to cede all his later works and original models to the city . The Vigeland park is the place where his sculptures are now displayed. The most impressive piece is a 14 meter high monolith, which required the daily work of 3 carvers from 1929 to 1943. The single granite pillar depicts 121 writhing human figures. The less visited Vigeland museum houses very nice plaster molds. NATURE An amazing fact in Oslo is that despite offering all the facilities of a capital city, it's actually fairly small, and very quick to get out of. The Nordmarka (northern woods) is great for hiking and it starts right from the last subway stop!! The Tryvannstårnet is an observation tower in Holmenkollen. It has great views of the fjord and woods. FJORDEN The Nærøyfjord and Aurlandsfjord are set to the north of Bergen. Visiting them is made easy by the presence of a railway link to Flåm, a tiny village at the head of Aurlandsfjord. The train track from Myrdal to Flåm, known as Flåmbanen descends a 856m with a 1/18 gradient. It includes a 360 degree turn inside a mountainous cliff: an engineer somehow must have got a green light to build whatever he found amusing there! THE CITY Bergen has a population of about 230,000, which makes it Norway's second largest city. Yet it's rather quiet, and charming with its stunning location on a peninsula surrounded by seven mountains. It's also one of the rainiest places on earth: 275 wet days per year on average. Yet we were lucky enough to see it under the sun! During the 12th and 13th centuries, Bergen was Norway's capital. It was hit hard by the Black Death in 1349: the population fell by 70%. Traces of this historical past are still very obvious, especially with the warehouses in Bryggen: they date back to the 13th century when the city was a member of the Hanseatic League.
The hike between Mt Ulriken and the top of the Fløibanen is a great way to see Bergen from the top: nice views of the fjords and of the mountains on the other side (they were still snowy though it was mid-May). Both the start and end are reached by cable-cars, which saves you a great deal of effort (I should have let you believed that we'd done the whole way walking!)
SLOVENIA
BLED Bled is the famous scenery of Slovenia. There is nothing there of real historical value, but it's the perfect romantic place! Both lakes (Bled and Bohinj) are wonderfully clear, and there's a castle and a church on a tiny island: the ideal setting for dreaming of knights and princesses. Unfortunately, we only got to see it under pouring spring rain. Vila Bled is worth a comment: it was Tito's residence (now transformed into a hotel) and the interior has impressive communist murals and terrific 50s furniture. LJUBLJANA Ljubljana has a village feel : it's tiny for a capital city and its people are quiet and relaxed -they really seem to enjoy spending time at cafes, no wonder seeing how tasty their cakes are!-. Along the Ljubljanica river, the city's old core dates from the Middle Ages. There are also many buildings from the 19th century when the Austrian Habsburgs controlled the city (then named "Laibach"). But the most striking buildings are probably those of the Art-Nouveau period. PIRAN Piran -population 4400, called Pirano in Italian- is a cute little harbor in Venetian-Gothic style, built between 16th century walls and the sea. It's clearly the highlight of the 45 km long coastline of Slovenia. The tall, straight bell tower of St George's church dominates the place, looking distinctly Venetian. Cypress trees and great risotto also helps you to feel like you're in Italy! ŠKOCJAN This lone picture looks a bit odd, I know. But the Škocjan caves are, by definition, under ground and don't come out nicely on pictures. This should not prevent you from visiting: the roar of the turbulent Reka river is truly impressive. No wonder when you see the size of the cave: it could contain several cathedrals!! At a point on the walk, a dizzying narrow bridge will have you cross over this immensely deep chasm... Still shivering!
SYRIA
DJEBEL ALALA Around Aleppo, scattered in an inhospitable, ruthless landscape lie plenty of ruins of Christian settlements from the Byzantine era, known as the "dead cities". The scenery is dominated by rugged stony hills with only here and there some pockets of weakly fertile land: it's hardy imaginable for us now that these mountains were once widely populated -more than 750 towns and villages have been found in the Belus massif-. The settlers seem to have been living on olive trees, using the revenues of olive oil to buy the goods they couldn't produce locally. The settlements were really prosperous between the 4th and the 7th century. But the Persian invasions of the 8th century brought instability to the area, cutting trading routes and forcing inhabitants out of their cities: they returned to more fertile land to be able to survive. Djebel A-Ala, is maybe the most secluded part of the Belus massif. The region is dotted with small Druze communities, which seem to have arrived in the 10th century. Qalb Lozeh ("the heart of the almond") is a tiny hamlet lost among burned hills. Its inhabitants are mostly Druze. It has a very special church: built in 450, it is the oldest large aisle basilica. This remote village is sure an awkward place to find such a building of such historical importance! The scale and state of preservation are amazing: the transepts still retain their flat roofs made of huge limestone slabs (the nave roof decayed: its large size implied that it had to be made of wood, a rare commodity in the Belus massif). The semi-domed stone roof above the altar is also still intact. On the skyline of the next hillside stand the jagged ruins of Behyo, another "dead city" which was started in the 5th century, i.e. later than most. Baqerba has a Greek temple dedicated to Zeus and the ruins of another ruined Byzantine settlement. ALEPPO Located in the arid plateau which stretches north of the central desert, Aleppo, the second largest city in Syria is challenging Damascus for the title of the oldest continuously populated city on the planet. Aleppo's most famous sight is its inexpugnable citadel, towering on a hill. But the labyrinth of covered souks and caravanserais are another attractive reason to hang around in the city for a while. Aleppo has always been a trading city and its prosperity followed the fluctuations of trade. The city clearly has once been beautiful, but it seems to be heading fast into decay. Aleppo's inhabitants are known to be much more conservative than those of Damascus who are more modern and cosmopolitan . Aleppo has a majority of Muslims, but there is also a Christian minority mostly made up of Armenians. The site of the citadel has been in use since the neo-Hittite period. It was the royal palace of the Hamdanid king Saif-Ud-Daula. Its most impressive features dates back to the ayyubid period (reign of the sons of Saladin). The Khusuwiye mosque south from the Citadel, was built by Sinan, the Ottoman architect who designed Takkiyeh as-Suleymaniye in Damascus, the Süleymaniye Camii in Istanbul and the Selimiye Camii in Edirne. Aleppo's main mosques, Jami Zakariye, was built on the foundations of a cathedral in the 7th century. At the time of our visit, it was being renovated. Much of the grandeur and atmosphere was lost due to the presence of scaffoldings and piles of building materials. DJEBEL SAMA'AN Around Aleppo, scattered in an inhospitable, ruthless landscape lie plenty of ruins of Christian settlements from the Byzantine era, known as the "dead cities". The scenery is dominated by rugged stony hills with only here and there some pockets of weakly fertile land: it's hardy imaginable for us now that these mountains were once widely populated -more than 750 towns and villages have been found in the Belus massif-. The settlers seem to have been living on olive trees, using the revenues of olive oil to buy the goods they couldn't produce locally. The settlements were really prosperous between the 4th and the 7th century. But the Persian invasions of the 8th century brought instability to the area, cutting trading routes and forcing inhabitants out of their cities: they returned to more fertile land to be able to survive. Djebel Sama'an, north of Aleppo, has the most spectacular of the "dead cities", St Simeon. Syrians call it Qala'at Sama'an. It's a large Basilica built in the 5th century and is considered the most important Christian building of the early Byzantine era, only surpassed by the Aya Sofia in the 6th century and without equivalent in Western Europe until the 11th century. The church of St Simeon is built on a abrupt hill towering above the Afrine valley, offering beautiful views far beyond the Turkish border. Saint Simeon was an ascetic born in 385 who lived on a platform on top of a column (which reached 20m at the end of his life), exposed to rain and wind, spending most of his time standing up arms lifted towards the sky. He continued like this for 42 years until his death in 459. He only received food once a month. His fame reached regions as far away of France and England. The Byzantine Emperor even asked for his advices. Ain Dara is not one of the Byzantine "dead cities". It's a Syro-Hittite temple from the 10th or 9th century B.C. The presence of a representation of Ishtar suggests that this temple was dedicated to Semitic fertility goddesses. I really liked these basaltic sculptures: it was magical to be surrounded by such old stones, in a temple of "Ishtar", a name that carries such a powerful capacity to awaken dreams. The rest of our day trip to Djebel Sama'an is a bit more adventurous. We decided to head towards Cyr, an ancient Seleucid city very close to the Turkish border in a zone inhabited mostly by Kurds. We followed the itinerary indicated in the guidebook. We were on a small road heading towards a bridge over river Afrine when we suddenly discovered that the river of the map had turned into a lake: a dam had been built, our map and guidebook were now useless!! We headed to Bulbul (see map) and then asked people for "Cyr". They had never heard of it. They said something like "nabihori", which we didn't understand. As the place is also sometimes called "Cyrrhus", we asked for that name as well. They replied something like "Shehruz" which we thought was the place we were looking for. For the next hour, we asked everyone in the area for "Shehruz", and many replied "nabihori?". We ended up in a small village at a dead end. Nice place though, with rugged stony hills, reddish soil and olive trees. We decided to give up. On our way back we discovered a sign which indicated "Sheik Hruze": the folks here had indeed led us to where we asked them!! That's when my brother decided to read further in the guidebook he had been holding to navigate our way thru the Kurdish hills: to discover one key sentence, "in Arabic, Cyr is named "Nebi Uri". I'm sure they all thought we were crazy, wanting to go to "Sheik Hruze" and not "Nebi Uri". Anyway, it was then pretty late to try and reach Cyr, and we were too dusty and discouraged: we went back to Aleppo without having seen the ruins of the Seleucid city... DJEBEL ZAWIYE Around Aleppo, scattered in an inhospitable, ruthless landscape lie plenty of ruins of Christian settlements from the Byzantine era, known as the "dead cities". The scenery is dominated by rugged stony hills with only here and there some pockets of weakly fertile land: it's hardy imaginable for us now that these mountains were once widely populated -more than 750 towns and villages have been found in the Belus massif-. The settlers seem to have been living on olive trees, using the revenues of olive oil to buy the goods they couldn't produce locally. The settlements were really prosperous between the 4th and the 7th century. But the Persian invasions of the 8th century brought instability to the area, cutting trading routes and forcing inhabitants out of their cities: they returned to more fertile land to be able to survive. Djebel Zawiye, also sometimes called Djebel Riha is located south-west of Aleppo. It's dotted with a myriad of "dead cities". Bara has ruins disseminated on a large area covered with clusters of olives trees separated by dozens of small stone walls. It's famous for its pyramidal tombs. An interesting fact : this colony remained populated even after the interruption of trading routes that forced settlers out of the other "dead cities". The Crusaders occupied it from 1098 to 1123, and it was then captured by the Muslim armies. Serjilla, just like Bara, was a huge and prosperous colony, rich in olive trees and vineyards. It has an admirably well preserved thermal bath house built dating back to 473: very uncommon for a Christian city. Bauda, only two kilometers away from Serjilla, has some interesting stone sarcophagi and a pyramidal tomb. It was a much smaller colony than Bara and Serjilla. CASTLES The Mediterranean coast and the Djebel Aamasriyeh, a narrow mountain chain which runs parallel to the sea, are sprinkled with all kinds of castles and strongholds from the medieval era. The Krak des Chevaliers is the most impressive of all the Crusaders' castles. It's been built on an existing fortress but its current state is mainly the work of the Hospitaller knights who occupied it from 1144 to 1271, when Baybars took it by ruse using a fake surrender letter allegedly coming from the Great Master of Tripoli. Qala'at Al-Marqab, on the coast near the city of Tartus, is another impressive Crusaders' castle. Dark and sinister, built of basaltic rocks, it's definitively a striking fortress. This castle was built by a local tribal leader. It was then occupied by the Byzantines and sold to the Hospitaller Order in 1186. The Crusaders called it Margat. It resisted many attacks, but after the surrender of the Krak des Chevaliers, its position was truly weakened. Qalâ Ûn, the heir of Baybars, besieged the place in 1285. Morale was low among the Knights and they soon surrendered. Misyaf was an Ismailian castle from 1140 -before that it had been owned by many, including the Crusader Raymond Saint Gilles. The Assassin sect, a sub-branch of the Shiah faith, used the castle until Baybars conquered it in 1270. Qala'at Salah Al-Din (Saône for the Crusaders) is situated in a stunning natural site: on a narrow hilltop, in a very isolated area, this castle has a romantic touch to it. Saône was a Crusaders' fortress from 1119 till 1188 when Saladin conquered it. It never belonged to any Knights' Order, like the Hospitallers or the Templars. Pretty surprising that Saladin managed to get hold of it, with such strong natural defenses! COASTAL CITIES The coast is definitively not Syria's strong point: scarce and dirty beaches, polluted water, industrial cities… Here the sea is a commodity: for factories, for cargo boats, and nowhere will you see a bucolic little creek to take a break for a day. Tartus (Tortosa) is the historical city of the coast, the last bastion of the Crusaders. But the old Tartus has been relentlessly crushed by the fist of modern development: inextricable circles of 4 lane roads and shabby industrial buildings swallowed the walls of old Tartus, erasing most traces of the past. Within the fail old walls, it's still possible to stroll thru narrow alleys, where people are invariably astonished to see a European there. Astonished, but smiling. The sea itself, where we had hoped to go for a swim, had a distinctive sewage smell that clearly warns any traveler that it would be insane to dip even just a finger! It doesn't seem to be enough to stop the locals though. They seem to consider the place as a kind of bathing resort. Of course, bathing in Syria, if you're a woman, means bathing with all your clothes on!! Another thing about Tartus: the choice of food in Syria is usually painfully limited (hummus, falafel, grilled chicken, fetouche)… but on the evening with spent in Tartus, we had fish and wine! Really enjoyed the treat!! (I didn't seem to consider the fact that the fish had to come out of the smelling sea for more than half a second!) Jableh, north from Tartus, was very prosperous during the Roman era: the remains of the Roman theater, which could hold 7000 people, are a good testimony to these glorious times. But today, just as Tartus, it's full of rather ugly modern constructions: not a very inspiring place. IRANI IN DAMASCUS Even though the Baath party is ruling the country, relations between Iran and Syria have been so good that Syria sided with the Irani during the Iran-Iraq war, and this despite Iraq also being ruled by Baathists. The Baath party was founded in 1947 by a Christian Arab, Michel Aflaq. Its doctrine is a mix of laicism, Arabic nationalism and socialism. The party was soon subject to harsh internal dissensions, paving the way to hostile relations between Syria and Iraq. This political situation has a visual consequence on the streets of Damascus: a large number of women in black chadors can been seen around the historical center, giving the city a little taste of Teheran . Indeed an impressive number of Irani pilgrims visit Damascus. There are a few important Shiah holy places: -inside the Omayyad mosque, Hussein's cenotaph is the place where Hussein's head, brought back from Kerbala, was allegedly placed by caliph Yazid. -the Saida Ruqqiyeh mosque, built in 1985 on the cenotaph of Saida, who died in 680. She was the sister of Hussein. -the Bab as-Seghir cemetery, where the tombs of Fatima (sister of the prophet and wife of Ali), and Soukeyna (daughter of Hussein, and grand-daughter of Mohammad). OMAYYAD MOSQUE The Omayyad mosque, the dazzling jewel of Damascus, is hidden in the heart of the old city, among the dedalus of caravanserais, souks roofed with arched corrugated iron and bustling narrow lanes. The site must have called for religious use: it was first a temple of Hadad (the Aramean god of storm and fertility) and Atargatis (his wife), Semitic deities which the Romans then identified with Jupiter and Venus. Romans enlarged their Jupiter temple in the 1st century. Then, Christianity eventually became the empire's official religion and the temple was turned into a church. 663 saw the Muslim armies conquering Damascus. They allowed the Christians to continue worshiping in what was now a mosque, though. Yet things changed in 661 when Damascus was made capital of the Islamic empire. Khaled ibn Al-Walid built the first huge mosque on the site in 708. It was then altered centuries after centuries, changing appearances as style evolved. The mosque survived many disasters among which earthquakes and fires (in 1893, most of the prayer room was devastated and many mosaics were irretrievably lost). Wars and invasions also brought their share of destruction, but never managed to bring down this unique building: with its golden mosaics and immense yard, it still is truly magnificent. The atmosphere inside changes with the hours of the day: fresh active mornings, burning heat at noon, burning faith at prayer times, and the very friendly family-like ambiance at night fall -not only a religious place, but an open space living room... OTHER DAMASCUS SIGHTS Built between 1749 and 1752, beautiful Azem palace was the royal residence of the Ottoman governor of Damascus, and one of the largest and most majestic palaces of the Ottoman era in Syria. Abruptly rising north-west of the city, mount Qassiun is an arid mountainous ridge. At night, the densely built first slopes are like a shining web in the background of the Damascus skyline. Takkiyah as-Suleymaniye, a Turkish-styled mosque, was built by Sinan, the Ottoman architect who designed the Khusuwiye mosque in Aleppo, the Süleymaniye Camii in Istanbul and the Selimiye Camii in Edirne. The role of the Takkiyah as-Suleymaniye was to be a starting point for the great pilgrimage to Mecca, which was traditionally organized by the governor of Damascus. The Bâb-as-Seghir cemetery is situated southwest of the walled old city. It's often crowded with troops of Irani pilgrims, with women wearing floor-length chadors who seems to float rather than walk. The cemetery has two Shiah shrines: the tombs of Fatima (sister of the prophet and wife of Ali), and Soukeyna (daughter of Hussein, and grand-daughter of Mohammad). ROAD TO BAGHDAD The road from Damascus to Palmyra is also the road to Baghdad. The rumors of a war to be in Iraq were already very loud and insistent in this fall 2002, keeping many travelers away from Syria. We went much closer to Iraq than this signpost, actually. Deir-ez-Zor on the Euphrates (in Arabic, Al-Furat) is only 136km away from Abul Kamal, the border town. Even closer to Iraq are two very important historical sights, Doura Europos and Mari, which we opted not to go and see as our time was limited to two weeks. I have rather nice memories of Deir-ez-Zor, with its well presented and highly interesting museum. My two fellow travelers seem to remember more the hostile feeling of some of the inhabitants: that's indeed the only place in Syria where people voiced clearly their animosity towards Israel and the United States. The black Djellabah I'm wearing on this picture is a gift from Moroccan friends. Proved very handy, especially in the country side where people are more conservative. Several Syrian women had questions on the design as this design seems not to be known in their country. PALMYRA The site where Palmyra bloomed, an oasis in the central Syrian desert, seems to have been populated since the 2nd millennium BC. It's been occupied by a wide variety of peoples, including Assyrians and Persians. It eventually became part of the Greco-Macedonian empire of Alexander the Great. At his death in 323, general Seleucos received the Babylonian side of his empire, including Palmyra. Soon, the Seleucid empire found itself surrounded by enemies: Romans in the West and Parthians in the East. The Seleucid empire finally disappeared, leaving Palmyra in a no man's land between Parthians and Romans. Yet the Palmyreans managed to survive in this precarious situation and even blossomed: both enemies needed a safe trade route between East and West and Palmyra was a major stop on this route. As hundreds of caravans stopped in the desert oasis, the Palmyrean traders became prosperous and Palmyrean diplomats were called up to ease tension between the two larger powers. First a Greek city and then submitted to the opposite influences of the Parthians and Romans, the Palmyrean style and architecture clearly was inspired by all these influences, but managed to retain its own specificities. The Palmyrean religion was as well a synthesis of various influences. The Babylonian god Bel was one of the most important deities. But local gods Yarhibol and Aglibol (gods of sun and moon) were also among principal the divinities. Phoenician god Baal Shamin and Nabatean god Allat also had their sanctuaries in Palmyra, among many others. Palmyra was integrated in the Roman empire around 60 AD. The Sassanids then replaced the Parthians in the East. The Roman empire slowly weakened in Syria and Palmyra regained more independence. Odheinat, a local notable, proclaimed himself king, starting the most glorious and tumultuous period in Palmyrean history. He defeated king Shapur in 260. This Sassanid king had won an important battle against the Roman emperor Valerian the very same year. Thus, Odheinat's victory was an enormous relief for the Romans who granted him some privileges. Odheinat continued his offensive against the Sassanids, even reaching their capital. After neutralizing the Sassanid menace, he campaigned against the Goths in what is presently Turkey, but was murdered there in 268. Some believe the assassination was ordered by his own wife, Zenobia. Odheinat's only surviving son, Wahballat, was still a child: thus Zenobia was now reigning. She was a mythical figure even during her times: her beauty and intelligence seem to have been renowned in the whole antique world. Thus Rome was worried and decided to send troops to recover Palmyra. She defeated them easily and then continued campaigning against the Romans till she annexed Busra, the capital of the Roman province of Arabia. The Roman emperor Aurelian tried then to negotiate, but Zenobia never agreed to any concession, even when the situation became desperate. In 271, the Romans launched a massive attack and captured both Palmyra and Zenobia herself. Legend says that she was paraded in the streets of Rome, tied up in golden chains. Palmyra never recovered from this major defeat. Even if the city continued to exist for centuries, it only declined. Christianity appeared in the area at the end of the 3rd century, then the oriental Roman empire collapsed and the city was captured by the Muslim armies of Khalid ibn Al Walid. It was then only a small garrison town which Hassan Yussef ibn Fairuz fortified as a strategic outpost in the desert. SHARQI About 120km away from Palmyra, standing alone in the middle of the desert, lies Qasr al-Hayr ash-Sharqi. It's so isolated that it's even difficult to get there. We took the precaution of having the castle name written for us in Arabic on a piece of paper, and headed on the hunt for the lone castle. We lost the track in Sokhneh, a smallish desert town, and started asking around. But the answers we got were rather confusing, if not totally contradictory!! But we were lucky that day: a bus of culture lovers was on its way to Qasr al-Hayr ash-Sharqi, and once we had miraculously spotted it, we only needed to follow it to get to the remote desert castle.(not that easy, considering the speed it drove through rough desert roads and the many weaknesses of our 10 years old rented car!). I must confess that there were a couple of turns which the bus took that we would never have been able to guess, so without this providential bus, we would have been likely never to reach our goal. (plus we got a free explanation of the castle history when we got there!) Historians actually do not agree on who founded this castle. Some see it as a Byzantine construction, while others maintain that it's 100% Arabic: the builders who then have scavenged Roman and Byzantine materials on other sites around Palmyra. The function of Qasr al-Hayr ash-Sharqi seems to have been that of a hunting pavilion. Hard to believe there was anything to hunt in this arid surrounding scenery. But there seems to have been either gardens or vegetable fields in this area: a radical climate change must have occurred here! Most of the remaining castle was built by the Omayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik around 728. RESAFEH In the course of the 3rd century, emperor Diocletian founded a fortified city in Resafeh: it was situated on an old trade route from Damascus to the Euphrates valley, via Palmyra. Resafeh was for a while on the border between the Roman and Sassanid empires. In 305, a Roman soldier name Sergius, who had converted to Christianity, was executed in Resafeh for refusing to perform sacrifices to Jupiter. In 313, Christianity was officially recognized and Sergius was honored as a Saint. Resafeh attracted such crowds of pilgrims that its name was changed to Sergiopolis. New walls and a basilica dedicated to Saint Sergius were built, and the reign of Justinian (527-565) was the apogee of the city. But the Sassanids attacked it many times to finally plunder it in 616. After the conquest of Syria by the armies of Islam, the Omayyad caliph Hisham restored Resafeh in the 8th century, building a sumptuous palace which was later destroyed by the Abassids in 750. At the end of the 8th century, a massive earthquake sent the city into fast decline. It continued being inhabited till the 13th century, when a Mongol invasion finally wiped it from the map. EUPHRATES Lake Assad is artificial. Works to build a dam on the Euphrates started in 1963, and the dam was functional 10 years later. It was supposed to bring irrigation to 640000 hectares of desert, but this was put in jeopardy by the construction of the Atatürk dam in Turkey: the flow of the Euphrates in Syria was considerably reduced, weakening the impact of the dam in terms of electricity produced as well as irrigation potential. A second huge dam is currently under construction in Turkey, and Syria fears that its own dam will as a result become useless. Qala'at Ja'abar was built before the Islamic era. It was rebuilt by Nur al-Din in the 12th century and stayed in Ayyubid hands till the Mongol invasion of the 13th century. It was then modified by the Mamelouks before being finally abandoned. Halabiyyeh was first fortified by queen Zenobia of Palmyra and then again by emperor Diocletian. The ruins which can be seen today are those Justinian built in the 7th century. The Sassanids conquered the place in 610 and left it forsaken. APAMEA After the death of Alexander the Great, the Greco-Macedonian empire was divided and Syria was attributed to General Seleucos. Apamea was named after Seleucos' wife. It is one of the Greek colonies of the area which expanded the most, together with Antioch (today Antakya in Turkey) and Laodicea (Today Lattakia in Syria). Apamea even reached a population of 120000. But the Seleucid empire collapsed in the 1st century BC and in 54 BC the armies of Pompey conquered Apamea. A violent earthquake caused a lot of damage in 115 AD. The Romans reconstructed the city during the reigns of Trojan (98-117) and Marcus Aurelius (161-180). Thus, most of the remains which can be seen today date back to these periods. Apamea then reached a population of 500000 and was an important cultural center where the syncretism between Greco-Roman philosophy and oriental thinking gave birth to a school of Neo-Platonism. Apamea prospered thru the Byzantine era, but the Sassanid armies plundered it both in 540 and 612. Then, in 636, the Muslim armies definitely chased the Byzantines away and Apamea started declining. Crusaders and Muslims fought for it for a while but an earthquake finally flattened it in 1157. HAMA Hama was the capital of the Syro-Hittite kingdom of the Arameans at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. It was totally destroyed by the Assyrian armies of Sargon in 720 BC and only reemerged as a Seleucid city, under the name of Epiphania more than 8 centuries after. It went thru Roman and Byzantine eras as an unimportant city. It's only when Saladin gave it to one of his nephews that it managed to get some independence as a sovereign principality. It remained so during the Mamelouk period. This was then time when the first norias were built. Hama has indeed a very special geographical situation: it's located in a hollow with all the surrounding land well above the level of the Orontes river. The norias are giant wooden wheels, driven by the flow of the river. They carry water up to aqueducts which provide a water-course to the fields. The recent history of Hama has been rather violent. The city indeed developed into the center of Sunni hard-line thinking in Syria, and thus a major seat of the contestation to the regime of president Assad, which ideology is rather modernist and secular. The Muslim Brotherhood, well-implanted in Hama, had been carrying for years a terror campaign against the Alouites, the sect the president was belonging to. In February 1982, an army unit was ambushed in the narrow alleys of the souks of Hama. The Muslim Brotherhood called for a general uprising. The government reacted swiftly and with brutal force. The following battle raged for 3 weeks and thoroughly devastated the city center. Thousands of inhabitants subsequently died. The topology of the city was forever altered: where densely populated souks stood up before, now lie parks and a modern hotel. This gives to Hama a very different atmosphere compared to other major Syrian cities. But you still very frequently spot Hamawi women wearing the strange black cotton veil which covers the entire face: no eye, nose or mouth hole at all… BEEHIVE HOUSES The beehive houses were for a long time the traditional habitations of northern Syria and southern Turkey. They are disappearing fast, due to the widespread availability and ease of use of concrete. This region goes thru extreme climatic variations: harsh winter and burning summers called for specific architecture. The ovoid shaped beehive houses, made of mud, can stay fresh on very hot days (we tested that part!) and keep the warmth inside during cold winter nights (allegedly). Today, most of the remaining beehive houses are used as storage, except in Hama area, especially on the way to Qasr ibn Wardan. SHMEMIS Qala'at Shmemis is just a ruin : the 13th century fort built by the Ayyubid governor of Hama, Assad ud-Din Shirkoh is in a poor state, really. But the site is stunning: the castle is set on top of a perfectly conical volcano. It's meant to be even more spectacular in the spring, when the fields around are all green and the volcano still gray and barren. WARDAN 60km away from Hama, in an arid step, lies Qasr ibn Wardan, a striking Byzantine vestige. It seems to have been part of a network of fortifications against the Persians. But the stunning bit about this construction is its style, absolutely unique in Syria. It has probably been wholly imported from Constantinople, construction materials included. It might have aimed at inspiring respect from the local Bedouin population: like a little piece of Constantinople's grandeur lost in the middle of a remote austere desert. The way from Hama to Qasr ibn Wardan goes thru little villages with a very typical type of habitations: the beehive houses. BOSRA Bosra can be spelled in an amazing number of ways (Busra, Basra, Bosr al'Sham etc…). I just picked one spelling randomly… It's extremely famous for its theater but there's more to it (very friendly Druze inhabitants for instance!)
Bosra, spelled "Busrna" (why not) is mentioned in Egyptian texts from the 15th century BC. It then became a Greek city under Alexander the Great and was passed (along with the rest of Syria) to general Seleucos after his death. In 163BC, the city, then called "Bosorra" was taken by Judah Maccabi during his campaign against the Ammonites. It later fell to Nabatean rule. But the true beginning of Bosra history is in 106AD, when Roman Emperor Trojan subjected the city to his rule. It became the capital of "provincia Arabia", and renamed "Nova Traiana Bostra" (nice and easy!). Prosperity came as the city was located on important trade routes (north/south Damascus-Amman, and west/east Rome-Mesopotamia).Trojan built the most impressive of Bosra's remaining monuments, the theater. The reason why it's so well conserved is the presence all around it of Ayyubid fortifications (built by Adil and his son Ali, both sultans of Damascus). The theater has 37 rows and can contain an audience of about 9000. Roman Emperor Phillip The Arab, a Syrian, developed the region a lot with huge irrigation projects. Phillip was first a soldier, rising fast in the hierarchy. When Emperor Gordian died fighting the Persians in the Euphrates area, Phillip was proclaimed Emperor by his legions. But he only reigned for 5 years: he was murdered during a mutiny. During the Byzantine era, the city got one of the largest cathedrals of the Middle East (now only ruins are visible), and later Mohammad allegedly visited the place. The Muslim armies conquered Bosra as early as 632, building some of the first mosques of Syria. But the city's economy was to decline for the next centuries, leaving the place almost deserted. It's only around 1860, with the Druze migration, that it came back to life. SOUTHERN CITIES Qanawat is a small city in the Hauran massif. Its name is mentioned in the Book of Numbers as "Qenath". It was included in the Kingdom of Palestine of Herode Agrippa the 1st (who ruled between 37 and 44 AD). Nabateans and Israelites also fought for it. But Qanawat's remaining monuments are Roman, mostly from Trojan's reign (98-117 AD). The Seraya, Qanawat's main sight, is a set of Roman buildings which were turned into basilicas during the Byzantine era. The region was christianized in the 4th and 5th centuries, and then conquered by the Muslims. Then, just as Bosra, it declined and was abandoned till the Druze migration of the 19th century. Shabbah is situated in what is now called the Djebel Druze, at an elevation of 1050m. It's the birthplace of Phillip the Arab, a Syrian who became a Roman emperor. Phillip was first a soldier, who rose fast in the hierarchy. When Emperor Gordian died fighting the Persians in the Euphrates area, Phillip was proclaimed Emperor by his legions. But he only reigned for 5 years: he was murdered during a mutiny. He wanted to turn his home place into a grandiose Roman city, starting from scratch (and not extending an existing town, as is the case in Bosra). But the project was never completed, and like many cities in the Hauran, it was abandoned till the Druze migration. DRUZE The Druze are a branch of the Ismailian sect (which is in turn a branch of the Shiah sect). It all started when Hakim, a Fatimid caliph of Cairo, began considering himself as an incarnation of God. He also rejected Ramadan and the pilgrimage to Mecca. He was banned from the Ismailian sect and vanished in the desert in 1021 (where he was probably murdered). His followers think it was a divine occultation (Ghayba). One of his most faithful disciples, Mohammad ibn Ismail al-Darazi, left Egypt for Syria to preach the new faith. The present name of the sect, "Druze", comes from the name "Darazi". The Druze religion is extremely secretive and based on initiation. Very few elements about Druze beliefs and way of living filter to the outside. Even the Druzes divide themselves into Djuhhal (novices) and Uqqal (initiated), with only Uqqal having access to the whole theological knowledge. They form a close-knit community where members only marry among themselves. They even stopped accepting new converts only 20 years after the occultation of Hakim. The Druze today make up about 3% of the Syrian population (they are about 430000). In 1860, violent troubles took place in Lebanon , where most of the Druze lived. It's estimated that the Druze slaughtered 10000 Christians. France intervened and many Druze fled to Syria to settle down in the Hauran. MALOULA Maloula was an important center of Christian faith. It's one of the very few places where Aramean was still spoken until recently. (Aramean is the language Jesus spoke). Maloula is still a Christian town, with a convent and a monastery. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to explore it much: we were on our back way to Damascus (and about to complete our great loop thru Syria) and had to reach the city before night fall (too dangerous to drive at night!)
TUNISIA
TUNIS Tunis history really began with the Arabs, before it had just been an insignificant neighbor of Carthage. The great mosque was built by the Aghlabids, who used the city as their capital. The Fatimids on the other hand, ruled from Mahdia. The Hilalian invasion of the 11th century brought the city back on the main scene and it naturally became the capital of the completely independent kingdom of the Hafsids in 1258. It then grew into the western Arab world's leading metropolis. Arab rule came to an end however, and the Ottoman gave the city a different character: fortifications were built to enclose it. Foreign influence grew and by the 1860s, several thousand European traders lived in Tunis. In 1881, French occupation began. My pictures hardly do justice to Tunis: weather and timing both played against it. It's a big city, which in fact seems made of juxtaposed smaller ones. There's the old Arab town, the medina, with its maze of narrow lanes. It didn't awake my enthusiasm, in fact: too touristy, almost artificial, nothing like Damascus or Aleppo. Then there is the French colonial city, with some fine buildings (iron balconies, fancy stuccowork), and more modern constructions. The Bardo museum, housed in a former royal palace, has a huge collection of Roman mosaics and is truly impressive. One could spend a day in it (which we almost did!) or even several. The only downside is the way the exhibits are arranged: there seem to be several different forces competing to arrange the museum according to their own logic. The result is a bit chaotic! SIDI BOU SAID Sidi Bou Saïd is Tunisia's chic place, where the wealthy live behind high white walls and closed blue doors. But it's also an extraordinary charming little place, with its narrow lanes and grand view on Cap Bon. Most visitors come for a day trip (cruise passengers even only stay a few hours, and shop owners know the detailed schedule of cruise boats calling in!) and then the place suddenly empties: if staying the night, you can get a very tranquil evening wandering around. There is no building or museum striking in itself, just an homogeneity that makes the place very special. SBEITLA Sbeïtla is the site of ancient Sufutela, a Roman city which was once, even though for a very short while, Tunisia's capital. This happened in 646 AD, when the Byzantine Prefect Gregory declared the African province independent. The Arabs won a massive victory there in 647, however, conquering the land once and for all. The forum is the most striking remaining feature: it's the best preserved one in Tunisia. Seen from the back, in the afternoon sun, its walls truly have a mighty look. The temple in the middle (Jupiter's) stood on a platform, while the two side temples were approached by a flight of steps. The three temples form one side of a large plaza surrounded by walls, with an arched entrance gate. But there is more to see in this huge site than merely the forum: a triumphal arch which marked the start of the Roman highway to Hadrumetum (today's Sousse), fortified villas, remains of churches (though very damaged) and well-preserved baths… The site is vast and strolling alone through the old stones is plainly enchanting. The rest of the city however is very dull. Hard to find a restaurant, and impossible to get a hotel with en-suite bathroom: yet this contributes to keeping the tour groups away, which I won't complain about! THUBURBO MAJUS Thuburbo Majus, close to Al Fahs, was an important Roman market center. It was first settled by Berbers and Carthaginians, and its name is not purely Roman. As a wealthy provincial town, it acquired all the attributes of a Roman city: forum, capitol, orderly grid plan… It was abandoned after the 7th century Arab conquest, and was only rediscovered in 1875. There isn't any major building still standing, but some nice large mosaics are still in place and the scenery, with the Zaghouan mountains in the background, is lovely. The site is vast and not so many visitors come (we saw about 5 people in the at least 3 hours we spent there). The abundance of tall green grass makes it quite different from the usual dead Roman city. ZAGHOUAN Zaghouan, 60km south of Tunis, is a little mountain city : clear air and spectacular mountain scenery. Not that the Djebel Zaghouan is so high (1300m), but it's steep and rising alone in the middle of a vast plain (it's visible within a 70 km radius). The place has Roman ruins (a monumental arch of modest dimensions in the old town center, and the "temple des eaux" a few kilometers away from the city), but they aren't really worth the trip. What is nice is the Friday market, lively and authentic. We didn't try climbing the mountain (we just happened to drive through Zaghouan and stopped as it was the market day): it does look like a very tough ascent!! MOSQUE OF OQBA Kairouan's Great Mosque, the Mosque of Oqba, is one of the jewels of Islamic architecture worldwide. In its grand simplicity, it possesses a harmony that later, more elaborately decorated buildings often miss. It is true that is has something of a fortress, with its mighty buttressed walls. Being inside means going thru one of the monumental gates, leaving the bustling medina outside and penetrating into a realm of calm and serenity. The Mosque of Oqba is a hypostyle mosque, a layout that dominated mosque architecture till the 10th century. Famous examples include the more formalized Omayyad mosque in Damascus, and the beautiful Ibn Tulun at Cairo. (Samarra, which I haven't seen yet, has the remains of most monumental hypostyle mosques, but the place is pretty unreachable given the political situation.) Most of the present mosque was erected by Ziyadatallah (an Aghlabid) in 836. The Lalla Rihana gate (on the east side) though, is a Hafsid structure dating from 1294. The minaret (which has something of a light house, standing tall and seeming to have been built to defy the elements) seems to have been part of an earlier mosque (the lowest storey dates from 730) and has blocks bearing Roman inscriptions. The prayer hall is stunning: huge, with wooden doors and roman columns. Kairouan is also sometimes spelled al-Qayrawan. MEDINA OF KAIROUAN Kairouan's medina isn't very spread, yet it has a much more authentic feel. Its appeal is immense. Every turn in this maze of little lanes will uncover another street of white houses, a dome or a little mosque. Green moucharabieh and pale blue doors: you can guess there is active life behind the high walls but will hardly ever get a glimpse inside! The medina walls were originally built from 761 by the Zirids, and have undergone consecutive destructions and reconstructions ever since. KAIROUAN Set on an unattractive barren plain, with uninspiring suburbs, the core of the city of Kairouan is a surprise to the arriving traveler. The whole old city is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and Kairouan (also spelled al-Qayrawan) is Islam's fourth holiest city. It was the first Arab city of Tunisia, founded in 670 when Oqba Ibn Nafi stopped here with his advancing army. The extremist Kharijite Berbers took Kairouan in 757, but after slaughtering their opponents and stabling horses in the Great Mosque, they lost the support of the rest of the Kharijites and lost power at the same time. In 761, Egyptian forces took the city on behalf of the Caliph. As the Aghlabids' capital, Kairouan grew in to one of the world's great cities, with a large influence in the Arab world. The Fatimids moved the capital to Mahdia, and the city declined, though its religious status remained. For a long while, Christians even had to get a permit the enter the city. Today the city is open and friendly to visitors, but is still intensely religious. PEOPLE OF KAIROUAN Kairouan has a very lively daily food market between Bab Tunis and Place de Tunis. It's said there is another, on Mondays only, distinctly untouristy, but we weren't in town that day. Some Berber women come to sell stuffs on the food market. They wear their draped traditional dress held with khlal (buckles consisting of a pin and a crescent) and a belt. Tunisian women who dress traditionally wear a sifsari: a long outer garment with loose folds and a head covering. ZAOUIAS Zaouias, also named Marabouts, are tombs of holy men. If famous, they attract pilgrims, especially on moussem days (i.e. local festivals). Zaouias are believed to bestow baraka (luck) on those who pray there and on those who give alms. The Zaouia of Sidi el Ghariani, set within the medina, was built in the 14th century, but is named after a native of Gharian in Libya who died in the 15th century. The first courtyard is very elaborate though harmonious. The delicate tile pattern on the floor is lovely. Outside the medina but very near, the Zaouia of Sidi Amor Abbada, with its numerous white domes, was named after a 19th century blacksmith. It is now a museum, but the exhibits aren't that interesting. The Zaouia of Sidi Sahab is set a greater distance away from the medina. It's a much larger complex than the two other, including the mausoleum of Abou Zammaa el Belaoui and the mosque of the Barber. "Sahab" means "companion", as el Belaoui was a companion of the prophet. He used to carry three hairs of the prophet's beard on him, thus his nickname "the barber". Most of the buildings were built quite late (17th to 19th century) in a very ornate manner which is in sharp contrast with the simplicity of the Great Mosque. EL JEM El Jem is mostly known for its extraordinary amphitheater, of which there is strictly no picture on this site. This is due to grayish weather conditions and massive amount of visitors scattered around the whole site. The very rich archeological museum, on the other hand, suffers none of these two drawbacks, and that's where all our pictures come from. They have a stunning mosaics collection, and even a Roman villa which was entirely transported here from downtown El Jem. It's way better organized than the Bardo museum. MAHDIA Mahdia is a city of high historical importance: it became the capital of Fatimid ruler Obaidallah, after he defeated the last of the Aghlabids in 909. A Syrian Ismaili (a sect of Shi'ism), he ended up declaring himself to be the mahdi (thus the city name "Mahdia"). He claimed descent from Fatima (the daughter of the prophet), which is why his dynasty is referred to as Fatimid. The concept of mahdi is based on some hadith, but they are considered as unreliable by many. The mahdi is a sort of messiah who should come from the family of the prophet. This belief is especially strong among the Shi'ites, for whom the occulted 12th Imam (who was a direct descendant of Ali) is meant to come back some day as the mahdi. Mahdia's medina is set on a narrow peninsula. It's most striking feature is the Skifa el Kahla ("the dark passage"), the entrance gate. The city's defence walls were 10m thick, but none remain today. The Spaniards blew them up in 1554, and today's gateway is a reconstruction from the 16th century. There is also the fortress-like Great Mosque, near the sea. It looks tidy and well kept, maybe because it was entirely reconstructed in the 60s as it had been left to fall to ruins. SFAX Sfax is the most prosperous city of Tunisia, a place for trade which doesn't rely on tourism to make its living. Its wealth comes from the trade of Sahel olives, textiles and from its harbor. Curiously, it's named after a species of cucumber (faqous). Travelers are scarce, thus the locals don't mind their presence (while in other places in Tunisia you can really see that locals are fed up). We found the Sfaxians welcoming and friendly, and the atmosphere very relaxed. The French part of town has some interesting Art Nouveau buildings, and some nice ones from the 50s as well. But the highlight of the place is the completely walled medina. At its heart stands the Great mosque, with its carefully decorated minaret. The mosque was built by the Aghlabids in 849 but was extensively rebuilt under Fatimid influence in the 10th century. AROUND TAMERZA Leaving Sbeïtla, we decided to head towards Tamerza. We didn't follow the main road till Gafsa : we thought it would be more fun and also faster to cut via Om Laksab. The way was indeed shorter, but suddenly the road vanished: we lost the sealed road and were driving on a dust road. Near Om Laksab (deliberate?) false indications from the locals got us bogged in dried oued El Kebir. The locals helped us (for money of course, this must be a local scam) to get out and we reached Tamerza without further difficulty (travel tip: don't ride in oueds when you rent a Fiat! Alternative travel trip: don't rent Fiats). The landscape near Om Laksab is really dull, and going towards Tamerza, we crossed several uninspiring mining towns. The way from Tmerza to Tozeur, on the other hand, in stunning: nice gorges and mountains oasis, and then a grand view on the flat Jerid salt pans from the south side of the djebel. TAMERZA Tamerza is a mountain oasis, densely cultivated : a dark green spot among the ocher hues of the djebel. The old village, with its mud and stone houses, has been abandoned in 1969 after torrential floods. It remains there on a hill at the confluence of two oueds, a poetic ghost which your imagination can fill up freely. There is a classy hotel facing the old village, perched above the main oued. It is a good distance away from the new town, great for tranquillity, and the views are plainly stunning (the sunrise pictures where taken directly from our room there). TOZEUR Tozeur, with its huge oasis, is very much a tourist town, ringed by huge holiday resorts, golf courses etc.. The airport sure doesn't help keeping it remote and unspoiled. The old fourteenth century quarter still remains charming though, because one can still feel lost and alone in this maze of narrow winding streets. The brickwork is amazing: yellowish handmade bricks forming stunning designs. This technique comes from Syria and Iraq and was brought to Tunisia by the Arab invasion. Tozeur remains in history as a center for revolts and unrest until the 14th century. Then it mostly acted as a major trading post for dates, wool and slaves (in 1757, an English traveler reported that the exchange rate for a slave was between 200 and 300kg of dates). PEOPLE OF THE DJERID Traditionally, the women in Tozeur wear a distinctive black gown, decorated with a single white stripe, while those of Nefta have a blue stripe. We did see blue stripes in Tozeur though. Narrow stripes are for unmarried women, broader ones for the wed ones. In the Nefzaoua (southern side of the Chott el Djerid), live four traditionally nomadic tribes, descendents of a tribe of the Arabian peninsula who migrated to Egypt in the 8th century, and then reached Tunisia through Libya in the 13th century. Round El Faouar and Es Sabria are the Ghrib, while in Zagraane are the Adhara. LANDSCAPES OF THE DJERID Dunes, fine windblown sand… That's the Sahara as I always imagined, and the typical landscape I was looking for. Not that easy to see, in fact: roads are protected by vegetation barriers to avoid the sand covering them, and easily accessible dunes near the main roads are plagued by tourists on "safari" (i.e. driven around in a 4WD that stays on the sealed road!), or even on coaches. Zaafrane is a good example of such disappointing places, with camel rides, horse rides, cart rides… The Djerid isn't maybe as crowded by tour groups as the Djebel Dahar, but the pressure is huge. Hardly could sit down and relax watching evening colors on the dunes: there's always a guy ready to sell you something nearby, appearing out of nowhere. Maybe we should have insisted and stayed longer in the area, or maybe we should have had a 4WD instead of a Fiat Palio (do not rent a Fiat Palio! Never ever!). We have to confess we did camel riding near Nefta. The weather was grayish and the dunes were kind of flat. Landscape there was mostly dominated by the flat Chott-el-Djerid. This ride was part of a tour organized by the local tourist office. Wouldn't recommend doing that tour. If you have you own car you can do it all by yourself, except the dune bit. We ended up finding our lovely accessible dune without crowd in the way. It's somewhere near Blidet, on a road between Kebili and El Faouar that avoids Douz. NEFTA Nefta has a very peculiar oasis: "la Corbeille", a crater-like depression full of palm trees. The old quarters have very fine brickwork, and it's probably worth wandering around at a leisurely pace. Unfortunately, we opted for a tour organized by the local tourist office, which included a walk in some parts of the old town (unfortunately quite short), the oasis, riding on the Chott el Djerid and the dunes south of the city. That's way too much for half a day, besides, the light was really bad that day and we decided to cut it short and drive far away (we made it to El Faouar before sunset). I had expected much of Nefta and was disappointed, but it's certainly because of the rushing around that I felt such a lack of atmosphere in what is supposed to be a very atmospheric sufi religious center. CHOTT EL DJERID The Chott el Djerid is Tunisia's largest salt pan, a vast plain shimmering with shifting colors. It usually is covered with water for some time between December and March. The rest of the time it is absolutely dry. The road from Tozeur to Kebili cuts right through it, giving travelers a chance to admire kilometers of crystals glittering in the sunlight. The chott tends to be covered with sand, though, as the sweeping wind carries it from the nearby Great Eastern Erg. EZZAHRA The ksar at Ezzahra is set in the middle of the village and unlike Chenini or Douiret, it is not at all a fortress. It consists of two very well preserved courtyards. The second yard has four stories of ghorfas. A ghorfa is a ksar basic unit: a cell shaped as a half cylinder with a single door set towards the yard. Ghorfas are usually 4 to 5 meter deep and about 2 meter high and wide. Two neighboring ghorfas can be in communication if they belong to the same person. Holes in the outer and inner walls allow for air circulation. GHOUMRASSEN Ghoumrassen is a market town, with a very lively souk on Fridays. It is an ancient settlement (traces of prehistoric cave paintings and Roman fort have been found in the area), but nothing really worthy of attention still remains today. Part of the city consisted of troglodyte dwellings, but these are now in such a bad state that they are deemed dangerous. Most people now have moved out to newly built uninspiring constructions. TATAOUINE AND AROUND Guermassa, like Chenini and Douiret, is a Berber village located to the West of Tataouine: it has a kala'a (citadel ksar) and clungs to its mountain. Beni Barka is only 4 km away from Tataouine, pitched atop an escarpment. A little bit further (7 km), Matzouria is a bigger village with several Ksour. Ksar Dahar we found especially scenic, while over-restored Ksar Kedim appealed to us far less. Gatouffa, 10 km south of Tataouine, has two interesting Ksour. The light was poor the day we were there though, thus we have only one picture of Ksar Jellidet. KSAR OULED SOLTANE Ksar Ouled Soltane is one of the best preserved ksour. Its ghorfa has been restored (with help the of cement). It was built by the Ouled Chehida, of which the Ouled Soltane are the descendants. It is set on low land (like Ezzahra). There are two courtyards dating back to the 15th and 19th centuries respectfully. The traditional community way of life centered on the ksar seems still existent here, an extremely rare situation in the south of Tunisia. Some say the explanation lies in the fact that locals seem unwilling to resettle in big cities or emigrate. MATMATA AND AROUND Matmata's specificity is its pit dwellings: a courtyard dug straight into the sandstone with rooms excavated into the surrounding walls (this type of construction was made famous by Star Wars). It sounds like a promising place, however mass tourism has hurt it seriously: now people either fence the surroundings of their pits to get some privacy, or they make you pay to visit. Many people moved to "Nouvelle Matmata", in conventional housing, but there are about 5000 people still living in crater-like dwellings. The villages around are a bit quieter. Some see no coach tours at all, maybe because the roads, while those on the main roads can see hordes of westerners (in T shirts and tank tops, of course) suddenly invade them to then disappear just as quickly. That's the case in Tamezret, where we saw the phenomenon happen 3 times during our visit! As a result the people just run and hide in their houses each time a tourist bus arrives. The people we met complained a lot about the drought, telling us that the jessour were all completely dry and that water had to be brought to the olive trees using tank trucks. As a result only those set close enough to roads could be watered (Jessour are clever hydraulic constructions made of shallow ditches and walls that collects rain water and prevents it to flood the plains. Water is forced to infiltrate through the soil and won't evaporate during the dry season.). No wonder that the region is losing a lot of its young inhabitants who are heading to bigger cities or emigrating to Europe. Haddej has some pit dwellings which were abandoned after floods in 1969 (thus you can look at them without intruding in anybody's private life! The road from Tamezret to Taoujout (4km) is nice with views into the desert. Toujane is a larger community, set in a spectacular site, spreading on both sides of a gorge. People here are selling crafts and seem to get some money out of the continuous flow of tour groups. BETWEEN MATMATA AND TATAOUINE The rocky plateau of Djebel Haouaia, around Beni Kheddache looked hostile when we drove through. The severe drought prevented the olive and fig trees to give it hues of green, leaving ochre as the only color. Beni Kheddache is a large village, which used to be a mountain ksar (plural "ksour", and actually pronounced "gsar/gsour". Ksour are fortified granaries which belonged to Berber tribes where they could defend their storage if needed. They consist of cells called ghorfas, constructed on top of one another. Most are set on top of hills). Ksar Jouama has a dramatic location, with sheer cliffs on three sides. Ksar Kerachfa is in ruins but is still mighty and impressive as the hill where it stands is set amid a relatively flat piece of land. It dates from either the 15th or the 16th century. Ksar Hallouf is smaller, from the 13th century, and well restored as a small rustic hotel is now occupying part of it. DOUIRET Inhabited by 3500 in 1850, the troglodyte dwellings of Douiret are now mostly unoccupied. A new village was built on the plain nearby in the 60s, with electricity and running water, attracting the villagers that hadn't yet moved to Tunis or France. Yet the site is impressive, with the kalâa perched on a peak at the very top of the village. From a distance, you almost don't notice that a village is built on the hill: only the whit Nakhla mosque sets off the ochre color of the rock. CHENINI Chenini stands alone, clinging to its hill, in a desolate ochre landscape. It is one of the most scenic Berber villages, where older people still know the native language (something that is increasingly rare in modern Tunisia). It is crowned by its citadel ksar (these type of ksour are also called kalâa). It is a rather large place, and you can wander a long while amidst the broken and inhabited troglodyte dwellings, being rewarded by greats views all along the way. In Chenini, the troglodyte dwellings are lateral and consist of the cave itself, or rhar, and a smaller room called khzana, used for storage. In front of the cave, an open-air yard is surrounded by a high wall. It is worth noting that most tour groups visit the place in the morning and that it is way quieter later in the day. KSAR GHILANE Ksar Ghilane is an oasis set at the limit between the stony desert and the great erg. The Romans built a fort here, but the real draw of the place are its sand dunes. A camel ride thru the 3 km of dunes between the oasis and the Roman fort is a real experience: it's long enough to give you a taste of what it would be to cross the desert on camel back, yet you still see the palm trees in a distance, thus not feeling cut off and vulnerable!
TURKEY
BEYAZIT CAMII (Istanbul) Beyazit Camii was the second imperial mosque built after the conquest of the city (Fatih Camii was the first) and was used as a model for the future mosques. Beyazit is a key link in the chain that leads from Aya Sofya to Süleymaniye Camii. SULTAN AHMET CAMII Sultan Ahmet Camii -aka Blue Mosque-, built by architect Mehmet Aga between 1606 and 1616, is one of the landmarks of Istanbul. Though it was built over 1000 years after neighboring Aya Sofya, its internal design was less ambitious: four huge pillars hold the less audacious dome, a less elaborate solution. The outside look, though, is refined and harmonious, especially with Aya Sofya's bulky outer appearance. BUYUK VALIDE HAN SHIITE MOSQUE Büyük Valide Han mosque is a very tiny mosque, situated in the yard of an old caravanserai (the Büyük Valide Han, which was the biggest in the city, built in 1651). Though there are groups of Shiites in the East and South East of Turkey, the vast majority of the population is Sunni. Büyük Valide Han mosque is one of the very few Shiite mosques in Istanbul. EYUP The present Eyüp mosque was built in 1800 by Sultan Selim III, on the site of Mehmet the Conqueror's original mosque (constructed within 5 years of his victory) which was flattened by an earthquake in 1766. The tomb of Eyüp Ensari (Ayoub al-Ansari in Arabic) is within the mosque compound. He was a friend of the prophet and died in the battle of Constantinople (674-78). The "rediscovery" of his tomb played a role in the later conquest of 1453. The Eyüp mosque is also where each Ottoman sultan received, upon his coronation, the sword of Osman, the founded of the Empire, a symbol of their authority as "king of kings". FATIH CAMII Fatih Camii (also called Mosque of the Conqueror,) is set on top of a hill, on the site of the ruined church of the Apostles. It was the first great imperial mosque built in Istanbul after the Conquest. The original mosque was completed in 1470, but it was destroyed by the 1766 earthquake (just as the Eyüp Sultan mosque). It was rebuilt right away but was ravaged by fire in 1782. Today's structure dates back to the reign of Abdül Hamit I, and its plans were greatly changed compared to the original. MIRHIMAH SULTAN CAMII Mirhimah Sultan Camii is another of Sinan's works. But he clearly took some distance from his usual style: he played with light, letting it flow thru the 19 large windows set in each arched tympanum (when counting the round ones) round. It really conveys an impression of grace. Mirhimah was Sultan Süleyman's favorite daughter -she married her father's mighty grand vizier Rüstem Pasa-. Her mosque was built around 1560. RUSTEM PASA CAMII Attractive Rüstem Pasa Camii is mostly know for its tilework. It was built in 1561 by Sinan for Rüstem Pasa, who was both son-in-law and grand vizier of Süleyman the Magnificent. It is set among the busy arcades of shops of Eminönü, and its entrance is quite elusive: the mosque is actually not at ground level but perched on a terrace. Going up the flight of steps and through the portal means leaving the overwhelming noise of buses (Eminönü is one of Istanbul's major transport hub) to enter a serene atmosphere: the bluish dominant color of the tiles makes you think of water, an impression still reinforced by the large amount of light coming from the mosque's many windows. Sinan's amazing works spread across the whole Ottoman empire and some of them are on this website: Süleymaniye Camii, Sokollu Mehmet Pasa Camii and Sehzade Mehmet Camii, all in Istanbul, Selimiye Camii in Edirne, Walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, Khusuwiye mosque in Aleppo and Takkiyah as-Suleymaniye in Damascus. SEHZADE MEHMET CAMII This mosque is a memorial to Süleyman's son Mehmet (who died aged 22). Works started a year after the prince's death, in 1544 and finished in 1548. It was the first important mosque designed by Sinan, who had mainly worked as a military architect so far (he for instance built the Walls of the Old City of Jerusalem). Sinan's amazing works spread across the whole Ottoman empire and some of them are on this website: Süleymaniye Camii, Sokollu Mehmet Pasa Camii and Rüstem Pasa Camii, all in Istanbul, Selimiye Camii in Edirne, Khusuwiye mosque in Aleppo and Takkiyah as-Suleymaniye in Damascus. SISLI CAMII Sisli Camii is not an imperial mosque. It's a modern structure, and a neighborhood mosque. SOKOLLU MEHMET PASA CAMII Sokollu Mehmet Pasa Camii is one of Sinan's later buildings (1571). It is named after Süleyman's last grand vizier, Sokollu Mehmet Pasa (who eventually died assassinated in an intrigue of Nur Banu, the mother of Sultan Murat III) but was actually more sponsored by his wife Esmahan. The mosque small courtyard is surrounded by a medrese (while in most mosque complexes, medrese are built separately). The interior is an opulent display of Iznik tiles with a dominant blue hue. The tiled conical cap of the mimbar is very unusual. Sinan's amazing works spread across the whole Ottoman empire and some of them are on this website: Süleymaniye Camii, Rüstem Pasa Camii, and Sehzade Mehmet Camii, all in Istanbul, Selimiye Camii in Edirne, Walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, Khusuwiye mosque in Aleppo and Takkiyah as-Suleymaniye in Damascus. SULEYMANIYE CAMII Süleymaniye Camii (the Mosque of Süleyman) is Istanbul largest mosque and it's also my favorite. It's set on a hill, towering above the Golden Horn, and you catch sights of its marvelous silhouette from many points of the city. Süleymaniye Camii is one of the two masterpieces of the brilliant architect Sinan. Patronized by Sultan Süleyman, Sinan amazing works spread across the whole Ottoman empire: Selimiye Camii in Edirne, of course, but also the walls of Jerusalem, Khusuwiye mosque in Aleppo and Takkiyah as-Suleymaniye in Damascus. Süleymaniye Camii was built between 1550 and 1557. Its floor plan was based on the one of Aya Sofya and modified to fit to the needs of a Muslim sanctuary. YENI CAMII Yeni Camii means " new mosque ", but it's 400 years old (a bit like the Pont Neuf in Paris which is actually the oldest bridge). It's construction began in 1597 for Valide Sultan Safiye, mother of Sultan Mehmet III. The site was previously used by Karaite Jews. They then had to move to Hasköy. Safiye lost her privileges when her son died, and the mosque was only completed in 1663 by Valide Sultan Turhan Hatice, the mother of Sultan Mehmet IV. The floor plan of Yeni Camii bears many resemblances to Sultan Ahmet Camii and Süleymaniye Camii. INSIDE AYA SOFYA Aya Sofya means "holy wisdom" (Hagia Sofia in Greek). It was built by Emperor Justinian (completed in 537) who filled it with fine mosaics. There was later a big quarrel on whether the images were allowable or not, a quarrel which eventually ended up in a civil war. The iconoclasts were finally defeated, but after the Islamic conquest, the mosaics were bound to disappear. Fortunately, there were plastered and not taken out, thus many have been saved. OUTSIDE AYA SOFYA Aya Sofya means "holy wisdom" (Hagia Sofia in Greek). It was built by Emperor Justinian. He chose the site of Byzantium's acropolis in an attempt to restore the grandeur of the Roman Emperor. It was completed in 537 and remained the greatest church of the whole Christian world till the conquest of Constantinople. The dome is supported by 40 huge ribs made of special hollow bricks. They rest on massive pillars hidden inside the walls. But the dome was brought down several times by earthquakes. Support members were added, making the silhouette bulky. The church was converted into a mosque after the conquest, and remained so till Atatürk turned it into a museum in 1935. OTHER BYZANTINE BUILDINGS Kariye Müzesi, or Chora Chuch, was built around 333 by Constantine. But today's building dates back to the 11th century. It houses amazing mural paintings and striking mosaics from the 14th century. The Sunken cistern was built by Justinian, the Emperor who erected Aya Sofya. It's 70 meters wide and 140 meters long, has 336 columns and can hold 80000 cubic meters of water. Tekfur Sarayi is a 14th century Byzantine castle, one of the only secular buildings of theses times that survived thru the ages. TOPKAPI The first Topkapi palace was built by Mehmet right after his conquest of the city. It was the Palace of the Ottoman Sultans till the reign of Mahmut II (which ended in 1839). Latter Sultans moved into the European-styled Dolmabahce, Ciragan and Yildiz, on the Bosphorus shores. The palace was a place of many intrigues as the Ottoman dynasty didn't grant the throne to the first-born child or son: every imperial son was a potential candidate. Their mothers would then strive to get their son on the throne to become the new "Valide Sultan", i.e. the head of the Harem, a title which went to the mother of the ruling Sultan. The Islamic law gave the Sultans the right to have 4 legitimate wives. But they could also have concubines (as long as they were not Muslim, as enslaving a Muslim was forbidden), sometimes more than 300. Mehmet was actually the last Sultan to officially get married. His followers just kept concubines, hence getting rid of all the legal problems linked with marriage. Succession battles often ended up in fratricidal bloodbaths (sometimes even starting before the Sultan was actually dead!). Ahmet I brought a new trend in the succession fights: he kept his brother imprisoned in the Harem. This was to lead to a situation where Sultans were raised in ignorance of state affairs and war. In this period, grand viziers were those who actually made the political choices for the Empire. PEOPLE Istanbuli, especially young ones, tend to dress in the same way as Western Europeans: when walking in Taksim, you could believe you're strolling in Athens. That might be the reason why I didn't snap many portraits while in Istanbul. I did bring back pictures of the conservative neighborhood of Fatih though, coz people do dress very differently there. The Turkish version of Chador is different from the Irani one: the head scarf covers the body till below the waist, and a skirt is worn with it. I did not see this type of cloths in Arabic countries, so I am assuming that it is typically Turkish. ESKI CAMII Eski Camii was built in 1414, i.e. before the conquest of Istanbul. It's a good example of one of the two styles of mosques which the Ottomans built during the Bursa era. (Busra was the Ottoman capital until the fall of Constantinople). Eski Camii does not have a large dome, as later Turkish mosques do. Instead it has many cupolas supported by a great number of pillars. This creates a much more intimate, cozy atmosphere. SELIMIYE CAMII Selimiye Camii is considered as the Masterpiece of Sinan, the most brilliant of all Ottoman architects. Though not as large as his Süleymaniye Camii in Istanbul, Selimiye Camii is a real jewel: delicate and harmonious, almost perfectly symmetric, it's also very luminous compared with many mosques. (This is achieved because external buttresses support part of the weight of the dome, thus allowing the presence of more windows in the walls). There is an unusual "kürsü" (prayer-reader platform) in the center of mosque, and the circles of lamps are centered on it. The minarets are very tall (over 70m), and this combined with Selimiye Camii's location on top of a hill contributes largely to the overall impression of elegance it conveys.Other works by Sinan include Khusuwiye mosque in Aleppo and Takkiyah as-Suleymaniye in Damascus. ÜCSEREFELI CAMII Üçserefeli Camii was completed in 1447, and its style is half Selçuk half Ottoman. The previous mosques of Selçuk design, like those built in Bursa or Eski Camii in Edirne, had smaller domes elevated on square rooms. Üçserefeli Camii's dome shows a clear departure from that style with the wider dome (24m) which is partly supported by pillars. The mosque's four minarets have all been constructed at different times and have very dissimilar makes. SULTAN BEYAZIT II CAMII (Amasya) Set in a spacious garden, Sultan Beyazit Camii is Amsya's biggest mosque. It was built in 1486. Its plan is a bit unusual, with two large central domes: its structural harmony and special design makes it one of my favourite Turkish mosques. Unfortunately, my interior pictures hardly do justice to this lovely building. Another very attractive feature of this mosque is its position at the riverside. On some of the pictures (those taken from the south), you can see the rock tombs of the Pontic Kings, carved into the cliff. High above the rock tombs is the "kale", or citadel, which is especially interesting for its stupendous views on the city. MEDRESE Amasya has several medrese. Starting from the West, one will first encounter the Gök medrese camii, a thirteen century Selcuk building, which is both a mosque and a seminary. Its most appealing features are its intricate carvings and its octagonal turret with remains of turquoise tiles. Going towards East along the Yesilirmak, one then reaches the Birmahane Medresesi, which was built by the Mongols in 1308 as a lunatic asylum. They used music therapy to pacify the patients and the medrese has been used as a music school throughout its subsequent history and still is (though the concert we heard there was not so brilliant). The river then bends towards the North, and following it one gets to a bridge. Over that bridge is another medrese, Büyük Aga medresesi. It was founded in 1488 by the Chief White Eunuch of Sultan Beyazit II. Its octagonal shape with a big octagonal yard in the center is very different from all other medrese we saw in Turkey. It still nowadays fulfill its role as a Koran school, but they were happy to let us in to have a look. OTHER MOSQUES Aside from magnificent Sultan Beyazit II Camii, there are some other very interesting mosques in Amasya. Burmali Minare Camii (which translates into "twisted minaret mosque", a reference to the spiralling effect in the stonework of its minaret) is maybe the most stunning: more massive and sober, with a uniform sandy stone color. It dates back to 1242, though it was restored in the 18th century. Beyazit Pasa Camii is from the early 15th century. Its delicate red and white carved stones and its location at the river bank make it a truly lovely place. Mehmet Pasa Camii, constructed in 1486, is a bit less evocative. Gümüslü Camii ("silvery mosque") founded in 1326 but reconstructed many times, has a very unusual internal cupola design. VIEWS OF AMASYA Amasya is set in a gorge of the Yesilirmak river. It is a very old settlement, probably dating back to Hittite times. After the death of Alexander the Great, who had conquered the region, a number of small kingdoms dotted his former Empire. One of these was Pontus, founded by Mithridates. It survived for 200 years before being absorbed into the Roman sphere of influence. It then became Byzantine, Seljuk (when it acquired many distinctive buildings) before being invaded by the Mongols in the mid thirteenth century. Later, it enjoyed great prosperity under the Ottomans as the city was used as training ground for crown princes before they were given power over the Empire. The city had a wealthy Armenian population, but in the vilayet of Sivas, to which Amasya belonged, April 1915 marked the start of the genocide active phase, first in Mersivan and then through the vilayet. In Amasya, the Armenians revolted and were thus murdered on the spot. You might find it a bit odd to recall this particular event when writing about this city, but while in Amasya we stayed in an Armenian mansion that was renovated and turned into a hotel. The Pontic kings had their tombs carved into the cliff of the river gorge and they are still a distinctive feature of the town center today. The passages cut out of the rock which links the tombs are especially impressive. Amasya also has a great number of lovely half timbered Ottoman houses (called konak in Turkish), and some of them have been turned into museums, restaurants or shops. BARHAL CHURCH Barhal church (Parkhali in Georgian) dates back to the tenth century. It was built by David Magistros, a Bagratid lord, just as many other Georgian churches of the area. It is very similar to the church at Dörtkilise, but smaller and in much better condition (this being due to having been used as a village mosque for a long time). The Bagratids are the founders of the first effective Georgian state, which mainly developed in the Byzantine districts of Tao (around present day Yusufeli and Oltu) and Klarjeti (Ardanuç and Ardahan). Only in 1125 did it move to Tbilisi, after the Seljuk invasion. YAYLA FESTIVAL Yayla are high plateaus used for summer pastures.They are amazingly green compared with the burned out landscapes down in the valley. Starting from June, many locals still move to their yayla, bringing their entire families with them. This is the occasion for holding festivals. The ones in Barhal valley might not be as colourful as those of the Hemsinlis, or as famous as the one in Artvin. But the one we attended had a famous guest:Kadir Topbas, the Mayor of Istanbul, who was born in the village (just like Leylà's best friend, which was one of our reasons to stop there). An art history student, Kadir Topbas worked as an architect before entering politics. The funny thing was that villagers treated us as famous guests as well, and we even had a tour of the mayor's summer house (very reasonable in size and style, not at all the megalomaniac type one might expect, though his 4WD does have a licence plate bearing his initials!). People of Barhal have been amazingly kind to us (even refusing to make us pay for the shampoo we wanted to buy in the shop!!!). We felt as if the village had adopted us! PANORAMA Kaçkar Daglari are the eastern end of the Pontic coastal ranges that lie along the Black Sea coast. They also are the highest portion (highest peak 3972m) of those ranges and form an imposing barrier between the north-eastern Anatolian plateau and the sea. The word Kaçkar is the Turkish spelling of Khatchkar, the sculptured Armenian cross gravestone. The panoramic view from the mountain across the river from Barhal yields an explanation for that name: the gray color and the way the peaks stand almost vertically unambiguously remind anyone who set foot in Armenia of the votive Khatchkars. The Kaçkar are a young granite-diorite range, full of lakes and with remnants of glaciers. Bears are said to inhabit the lower forested slopes (a group of lumbermen told they saw one the month before we met them).
Such awesome scenery obviously invites one to trekking, but because of the way our trip was (un)planned, we did not have time for any serious walking. A pity, really! From the Barhal valley it is possible to reach Ayder, in the Çamilhemsin valley: an incredible change of scenery since the Hemsin region is one of the wettest, while Barhal valley is really dry. BARHAL VALLEY Barhal, at 1300m, is a small well-watered mountain village in a narrow dry-looking valley where the Barhal river ("stream" might be more appropriate!) flows. From Yusufeli, the 11 kilometer winding road is unsealed, and quite bumpy, so it takes a while to reach Barhal. A very scenic drive though! DÖRTKILISE A cathedral-sized church standing all alone in an unpopulated valley, amidst walnut grooves, this is Dörtkilise. Getting there means spending a long while shaken in your car on a barely drivable road, or walking 6 kilometers (sounds like a much better option if you've got time!). The architecture is very similar to Barhal church (domeless, with a steep gable roof), but Dörtkilise is much more damaged. Dörtkilise is also older: it was built several decades earlier and renovated by David Magistros. Being far from villages, it's never been used as a mosque and thus never been repaired. Dörtkilise means "four churches", but the three other are rather ruined. ERZURUM At an altitude of nearly 2000m and surrounded by mountains 1000m higher, Erzurum lies amidst splendid landscapes. If the city itself can seem a bit dull -as it's been rebuilt many times due to frequent earthquakes-, it has some highly interesting buildings. Yakutiye medresesi was built in 1310 by a local governor of the Ilhanid Mongols and it's thus logical that it has a distinctive central Asian look (especially the tile work). Cifte Minareli medrese (probably dating back to 1253) is the most famous building in Erzurum, with a very peculiar silhouette with its two massive towers without balcony. It was the biggest theological academy of its time, but its construction was never completed. Üç Kümbetler (3 tombs) are 3 mausoleums with a lovely design and stone color, the oldest being from the 12th century. Its style shows the influences of Armenian and Georgian style into early Turkish architecture. Ulu Camii is a mosque built in 1179, with a big square hall and many columns. Erzurum is also a conservative city, with many women wearing the çarsaf (a sand colored full-length robe with a veil over the head reminding of an Indian sari) which I never saw in other cities so far. ISHAN The village of Ishan is set in an unlikely lush oasis set on a hill, well above the valley bottom, in a totally arid landscape. Apple, mulberry and walnuts grow there. A church, among the oldest of Georgian architecture, also grew here. It still stands even though large parts of the roof are missing. The 42 meter high red-tiled dome remains, resting acrobatically on four columns. There are exquisite carvings on the outside walls, like for instance an inscription of King Bagrat III (it states 1032 as the building date). ÖSKVANK Öskvank is the most elaborate Georgian gothic church in eastern Turkey. Built in 973, it is considered the climax of Georgian culture in the area, before the Bagratid moved northeast and the start of the Georgian golden age (1125). It is set in the village of Çamliyamaç, at the end of a wide and scenic valley. Its interior is lit through its partly collapsed dome and rich carvings (scallops shell, archangels) adorn both the inside and outside. KASTAMONU Kastamonu certainly is bit dull, but it has many old konaks waiting to be restored. It probably looks like what Safranbolu was before they started working on the whole place. Actually, what I liked the most in town was the restored konak turned hotel in which we stayed. I think it was called Osmanli Sarayi. Else, the city has scores of minor historic monuments, none of which is really stunning. The Kale Hamami, half ruined, has a nice series of brick domes, though... Kasaba, a little village 14 km away from Kastamonu, has a lovely wooden mosque: Mahmut Bey Camii. Built in 1366, without using nails, it has 12 meter high carved timber pillars. SAFRANBOLU Old Safranbolu is set in a ravine, with remarkably intact old konaks (half timbered houses) lining its slopes. There are a few historical buildings (like the Cinci Han, a huge 17th century caravanserai, or the Izzet Mahmet Pasa Camii, a mosque from the late 18th century), but what you really come here for is the atmosphere. Safranbolu's houses are the most famous surviving ensemble of such Ottoman buildings (about 150 historic houses, mostly from late 19th century), many of which are fully restored. It hasn't turned into a kitschy tourist park yet (though on the verge of!). Many of the houses can be visited, with perhaps the most stunning one being the Asmazlar House, which has a huge indoor pool. The city was named after saffron, as the plant was the town's main resource in Ottoman times. Yörük köyü is a little village about 20 km away from Safranbolu. It has about 140 Ottoman houses, which are mostly unrestored. Locals are really friendly and sing quite well! (it rained so much that we spent quite a while listening to them in the local coffee place). BLACK SEA COAST The Black Sea coast, between Byzantine/Genoese harbour of Amasra and Sinop, is truly quiet and magnificent. The coastal ranges are impressive, especially since they are oriented parallel to the sea shore. The little travelled road that links these two cities has many sharp switch-backs and the trip takes two days. The way is dotted with peaceful bays, sleepy villages and views from high up points. There really aren't any important historical sights in the area, but the landscapes are charming. The town of Kurucasile is renowned for its boat making (and there are really people working on wooden boats all over!). Inebolu, where we slept, has a few Konaks with a style different from those of Safranbolu. The little village of Denizkonak had its mosque carried away by landslides, and it now stands dangerously slanted. Sinop is a bigger city, with a 13th century Selçuk mosque (Alâeddin Camii) and the Alaiye Medresesi which also dates to same period. None of them is really that enticing though. About 40km inland, south from Sinop lie the Tatlica waterfalls. I guess it could be a magical place to discover alone, but the day we got there it was packed with locals to a point that it didn't feel like being in a natural environment. SIVAS Sivas has a stunning concentration of Selçuk buildings: the city served intermittently as the Selçuk capital in the mid-twelfth century and is still dotted with medrese of these times. During the 13th century, the city passed to the Ilhanid Mongols, and then it became Ottoman in 1396. Tamerlane captured it again for the Mongols in 1400 (seizing the occasion to put all the Christian population to the sword). In 1408, the Ottoman returned and the city slowly faded away from the front of the historical scene. Most of the Selçuk monuments in town are concentrated around a little park. The Bürüciye medresesi, was founded in 1271, just as neighboring Cifte Minare mederese (of which only the façade survives). On top of having an elaborate carved portal and lovely stonework inside, it also has a very nice café! Directly facing Cifte Minare mederese is Sifaye Medresesi (1217), which is now turned into a bazaar. Gök Medrese is further away from the center, with ornate brickwork and little blue tiles (hence its name!). It dates back to 1271 and has an amazing white portal. HITTITE SITES The Hittites were an Indo-European people who settled in Anatolia around 2000BC. Hattusas was their capital for most of their history. Hittite history is made of expansion and declines, with Mursili I even capturing Babylon in 1595 BC. Their empire was a rival to Egypt, Assyria and Akkad. At one point, a daughter of Ramses II married Hattusilis III to try to solve the dispute with the Egyptians. But the people who finally crushed the Hittite empire and destroyed Hattusas were not a big inland empire: they actually came from the sea. The Phrygians replaced the Hittites as rulers of Anatolia around 1200 BC, and the Hittite culture survived only in southern Anatolia and northern Syria (where they left remains like Ain Dara). The Assyrians finally made them disappear from history completely around 700 BC. Hittite religion seems to have been adopted from the Hatti, who were former occupants of Anatolia. Their main deities are the weather god Teshuba and the sun goddess Hebut. The site of Hattusas impresses more because of its sheer size and historical importance than by its actual remains. The beautiful carvings of Yazilikaya, about 3km away from Hattusas, are in fact more appealing. About a hundred carved figures can be seen on the two ravines. There was also a large temple building of which only the foundation remains. The place was most probably used for new year celebrations which took place at the beginning of the spring. THE HEMSIN VALLEYS The isolated Hemsin valleys are a little wonder: they are the dampest and mistiest part of Turkey, and receive a prodigious amount of rain (250 rainy days a year). Deep forest vegetation with a great deal of moss is a very present feature of the landscapes of these two steep valleys. The inhabitants, called the Hemsinlis, have a disputed origin: some think they are ethnic Armenians, while others consider them natives descending from Heptacomete tribesmen. There are actually far more Hemsinlis living in the Diaspora than those permanently inhabiting the area. The owner of the hotel we stayed in in Yolkiyi had actually lived in France for a long while. Traditionally, Hemsinlis go to their yaylas (above the tree line) in the summer (and those who live abroad often come back at that time), where they have built stone and timber dwellings. The valleys also have very characteristic hunchback bridges: over 30 of these graceful arches dot the rivers. They are most of the time attributed to Armenian craftsmen, but as many other things linked with the Hemsinlis, it is subject to debate. RIZE Rize itself isn't a very interesting city. But its surroundings are much more appealing: this is the land of tea, to the exclusion of all other crops. From sea level to hill tops, tea gardens spread everywhere. Surprisingly for the visitor who feels lost in this sea of tea, the tea plant is a recent introduction in the area (just before WWII). The process to make the final product out of the tea leaves is clearly faster and simpler than the one used in Darjeeling (they only make black tea in Rize). I can't say that I'm fond of this kind of tea, but Turkish people definitely are: the whole production is easily sold within the country! Rize is also famous for its weavers. Some women of the area wear a very distinctive clothing, including black/white/red stripped shawls or Kesan. Another highlight of the region is "Husrev", a restaurant in Cayeli, 20 km east of Rize where they do a great dish based on beans! Real tasty! SUMELA The monastery of Sumela was one of the largest of the Greek Orthodox monasteries that dotted the mountainous land behind Trabzon during the Byzantine era. After the fall of Constantinople, during the Trapezuntine Empire, even more monasteries were built in such locations as they doubled as military outposts. Sumela clearly is the highlight of the Black Sea region, with its incredible position hanging on a cliff. Its magnificent frescoes (even if in far from perfect condition) are an extra reason to come here. Though it was founded somewhere around the 6th century, what remains today dates back to the 13th and 14th centuries. Its name is a Pontic Greek shortening and corruption of Panayia tou Melas ("Vigrin of the black rock"). The monastery was evacuated in 1923, along with all others in the Pontus, after Greece and Turkey agreed to an exchange of minority populations. UZUNGÖL Uzungöl, at an altitude of 1030m, is a pretty highland lake. Some say it used to be a lovely hideaway remote from the well beaten tourist track. It no longer is that way, but it hasn't lost all its charm. Funnily, it is especially popular with Arabic families from the Gulf countries: it's a bit strange to see those fully clad women in the alpine scenery! There are a lot of hiking possibilities in the area (nearby peaks of Ziyarets and Halizden respectively reach the respectable heights of 3111m and 3376m), but we didn't make use of them unfortunately, due to lack of time caused by our too ambitious schedule. TRABZON Trabzon, ancient Trebizond, is now only a disappointing Turkish provincial capital: of the luxury and exotics of old, almost nothing remains. The city's golden age, the 13th and 14th centuries, seems almost completely erased from the bland modern city. This golden age started when Alexios, who escaped the Crusaders' sacking of Constantinople in 1204, proclaimed himself Byzantine emperor and reigned from Trebizond. The trade with Genovese and Venetians turned the area into a cosmopolitan island where knowledge and art reached high levels. But the empire was constantly beset by internal struggles, and in 1341 a civil war completely destroyed the city and sent it into its final decline. Mehmet the Conqueror finished the job in 1461. Today, Trabzon is a contact point between Turkish culture and Eurasia. Many Natashas do business here, and people from former USSR come to try and sell old or low quality stuffs on so called Russian markets. The most interesting building in town is the Aya Sofya monastery, set in a little park overlooking the Black Sea. The present structure was built between 1238 and 1263, though the site was used as a pagan temple long before. It was converted to a mosque in 1461, and then even served as a hospital and an ammunition store. It was nicely restored between 1957 and 1964 by a team from the UK. The frescoes are truly beautiful. Another interesting building, though in poor condition, is the Armenian Kaymakli monastery. It's difficult to find, set on farm ground and still used to keep cattle. It lay roofless for a while which damaged the frescoes a great deal, and has now been covered with corrugated iron. Some nice cross stones decorate the outside walls. It was built in 1424, but the frescoes inside are from the 17th century. As an Armenian monument, it's not awarded the official recognition which it deserves. Speaking about Armenians, in the vilayet of Trabzon, their community was clearly a minority (73000 Armenians for a population of more than 1 million). On June 26th 1915, the deportation order was put up on the walls of the city. Women and children were organized in convoys, but men stayed and were then led away in groups of 15 to 20, lined up along ditches and executed. Most of those who left on convoys were killed on the way. Some reached Aleppo via Erzingan, Arabkir and Malatia. The Russian troops entered Trabzon on April 18th 1916 and found only 2 Armenian families and 14 women hidden in Greek families. In the neighboring villages, only about 1000 Armenians were still alive.
VIETNAM
CAT BA Cat Ba is the largest island in Halong Bay. And unlike most such islands, it is inhabited. Tiny fishing villages dot the place but the most of the terrain is too rocky for agriculture and thus most residents earn their living from the sea, or from tourism. Life has been hard on Cat Ba in the past, and many have joined the "boat people" in the 70ies and 80ies. Our local guide Dung also joined the exodus: he was a fisherman from Haiphong and one night at sea he saw a boat full of immigrants leaving for Hong Kong. The crew got scared that Dung might tell the coastal guards about the boat and forced Dung to come along to Hong Kong. That's where he learned to speak English! He stayed a few years, but then when the Vietnamese government allowed "boat people" to come back unharmed, he went back to his native country. He did so even if he had no family to go back to: indeed he is an ethnic Chinese and during the Sino-Vietnamese conflict, Vietnam forced many adult ethnic Chinese to go to China. Thus his parents were deported and he remained alone in Vietnam. Cat Ba is still very laid back compared with other parts of Halong bay. But travellers are starting to be more numerous and mini hotels are now being built everywhere near the main harbour. The island was declared a national park in 1986. We hiked thru it, on a 18km long (6 hours) trail that took us into the jungle. A unique experience was the noise made by the insects at this time of the year. Noisier than in a factory, in fact!! The rocks on which we walked were highly slippery and extremely sharp, so we had to be really careful not to fall. We saw some nasty looking insects, but they didn't seem keen on harming us. We heard monkeys but never managed to see them. The hike ended in Viet Hai, a charming little village where they do cultivate paddy fields. COASTAL CITIES The pictures on this page were taken in Haiphong and Hon Gai. Haiphong is now Vietnam's third biggest city. It's a very important industrial center and also one of the country's main seaports. But the atmosphere is not the usual city frenzy. It's more like a half sleepy place with relatively little noise and traffic. Buildings from the colonial time are now in a dingy state but that's still enough to give some character to the place. Hon Gai is a district of Halong city, and the main port of the area (coal, one of the region's major products, is exported from here). It's also the port where the ferry from Haiphong docks, which was our reason for being here. I really enjoyed the arrival in Hon Gai, with the incredibly numerous tiny bamboo boats (sometimes called "basket boats", especially when they come in a circular shape) moving in all directions. A bustling floating market: that was one of the many images which had attracted me to Vietnam! HALONG BAY Beautiful Halong Bay is THE famous landscape of Vietnam. With more than 3000 islands scattered around in the emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin, it is a truly magical sight. We weren't disappointed for a minute, the bay kept all its promises. (We hired one of the only boats which is authorized to remain in the bay at night with foreigners sleeping on board.) We had a very sunny afternoon: the water was glittering (so many shades of green!) and the limestone islands looked marvellous. We had a fresh seafood dinner on the boat, with the sun slowly setting down between two vertical limestone rocks. Then the next morning was foggy and the silhouettes of the islands had a mysterious look: it was absolutely fantastic to cruise around in this quasi-mystical atmosphere! Halong means "where the dragon descends into the sea". Well, actually, at this point I wouldn't have been surprised to encounter a dragon! HANOI PAGODAS These pictures show pagodas and temples of the Hanoi area. In the city itself, the most famous one is undoubtably the Temple of literature (Van Mieu). Built in 1070, it was dedicated to Confucius to honor scholars. Vietnam's first university was established here in 1076, to educate the sons of Mandarins. But from the 15th century, the best two students of each province were admitted here, whatever their social background. Still inside Hanoi, the one pillar pagoda (chua mot cot) was funded by emperor Ly Thai To in 1049. It was destroyed by the French in 1954 and rebuilt by the new government: the pillar however is now in concrete instead of the original wood. In the southern suburbs of Hanoi, is the rarely visited Hung Ky pagoda. It's a rather recent structure (built in 1932) which copies ancient Chinese pagodas. The representations of hell are particularly picturesque: various tortures and punitions are shown in great details. Outside Hanoi, about 60km south-west, amid rice fields and limestone rocks is the Perfume Pagoda (chua hong). Reaching the shrine complex requires a one hour long boat trip on the Yen river. It's a particularly scenic place with many little boats, women wearing conical hats and fishermen using electricity to catch their prey. The Perfume pagoda is in fact a group of several of Buddhist shrines and pagodas and even a very spectacular grotto. HANOI STREETS Hanoi has over one million inhabitants. It's a bustling place with its share of traffic, but also a city of lakes and parks. It is also home to the world best ice cream shop (Chez Fanny, 48 Ly Thai To): definitely a reason to go again!!!! The old quarter keeps traditional ways alive: a reminder that the city has over 1000 years of history. It's made of 36 streets, each bearing the name of the certain type of wares, which used to be sold there. Although the street names may no longer correspond to the good available, most streets are still almost mono product. Examples: bamboo still sold in the Hang Tre (bamboo street, of course) and votive papers in Hang Ma… Roasted fishes, sweet potatoes, fans, drums and coffins also each have their street. BLACK HMONG (1) The road from Laichâu to MuongTè is 50 kilometers long. It's a rough road where the traffic is scarce. Only some parts are asphalted and most of the way, it's just an earthy path. The road follows the Da river all the way. On this series of pictures, a group of Hmôngs loads goods from a truck, to carry them back to their village, several kilometers away. Their village is on the opposite side of the Da river. Thus, to reach the road, they have to walk to the closest bridge, which is a fair distance away. That's one way for them to get goods delivered (this group bought a huge amount of rice alcohol and various other products manufactured in cities, such as plastic shoes). The alternative is to go to Laichâu by boat, but at this time of the year, the flow is too strong if one does not have an engine on the boat. (2) The Hmông (this text is a description of all Hmông groups, not only the Black Hmông) The Hmông were part of the San Miao (Tam Miêu) group in South China. In the 18th and 19th century, driven by their struggle against the Chinese feudal authorities, they migrated to the high altitude areas of northern Vietnam. About 1870, the armed conflict with China culminated with the disappearance of the 'independent Hmông" as a fighting entity. The Hmông now number around 560000 in the provinces of Cao Bang, Lang Son, Bac Can, Thái Nguyên, Hà Giang, Lào Cai, Yên Bái, Son La, Lai Châu, Hòa Bình, Thanh Hóa and Nghê An. Their fellow tribesmen are also present in China, Myanmar (Burma), Laos and Thailand. In some of those countries, they are referred to as "Meo", "Miao" or "Meau". Linguists classify the Hmông as a Hmông-Dao language (also named Miao-Yao), in the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. They also used many words borrowed from Yunnanese, Laotian, Thai and Vietnamese, depending on where they settled down. Hmông like to locate their villages at high altitude (especially since they sometimes grow opium poppies as their cash crop) Corn is then their main food crop. However, some now live at lower altitudes and farm paddy fields. The site for each house in the village is chosen with great care, as it is important that the site is acceptable by the ancestors. The ground should be as level as possible, as it will constitute the floor of the house. The Hmông houses are made of wooden planks. Houses are built only on auspicious days, after the head of the house has formally announced: "I am living here, from now on let all the evil spirits stay away". When the house is completed, 2 chicken are sacrificed on the ancestor altar, a rooster and a hen are offered at the main door for the "door spirits" to bring good fortune upon the family. There are differences between the houses of different Hmông groups, as well as in their clothing. Family and clan are very important in Hmông social life. Respect for age is an essential feature. The patrilineal clan system ties together all aspects of Hmông behavior. Twelve clans are supposed to exist, but not all of them are present in Vietnam. Girls must marry in a clan different from her own. Taboos vary from clan to clan. Polygamy is common and men hold a clearly superior status. Some customs say that a widow must marry her late husband's younger brother or if he had no younger brother, one of his cousins. In the case of divorce, the woman does not go back to her parents house, but must ask the protection of an elder with whom she will stay until she marries again. Marriage by kidnapping is still common practice in the Hmông society. Hmông women give birth while seated. The placenta is placed under the bed if the child is a girl, and near the ancestor altar if it's a boy. Before a deceased is buried, several holes are made in his cloths as a symbolic destruction gesture: he now belongs to the world of the dead. The Hmông worship various spirits and supernatural beings are involved in every aspect of Hmông life. They practice curing ceremonies and exorcism. Shamans are needed to cure supernatural illnesses, which are mostly due to the soul leaving the body and wandering around. Hmông tie cotton string around the wrists of patients and also sacrify animals. The three major religions (Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism) also have shaped Hmông spiritual life. The Hmông never developed their own script and used mostly oral transmission for their legends, proverbs and songs. The French transformed the Hmông administration into a tool to control northern Vietnam. Hmông fought together with the French soldiers during the war. This lead to a repression towards them once the independent Vietnamese government was established. Hmông women are really skilled at embroidery. They have developed an amazing variety of techniques using needle and thread. All piece of clothing are decorated, but women knee-length skirts are probably their most well known item. Some groups wear stripped jackets. In some other groups, women wearing impressive turbans. All Hmông wear many silver ornaments, especially neck rings. For more info on the Hmông, turn to: "Les ethnies minoritaires du Vietnam", by Dang Nghiem Van, Chu Thai Son and Luu Hung, The Gioi (Hanoi) "People of the Golden Triangle", by Paul and Elaine Lewis, Thames and Hudson, ISBN 0-500-97472-1 (3) Mo is a thirteen year old Hmông girl from the Sapa valley. Sapa is the only town of Northern Vietnam where tourism is developed (i.e., many hotels, some group tours stopping there, even an internet café!). This is partly due to the railway that stops nearby, to the specific architecture of the town (founded by the French, with lots of Basque looking big houses), and also to the incredible beauty of valley with its numerous terrace fields. The local Hmông have quickly understood that they could make money out of the travellers: many sell embroidery specially made for foreigners (bigger sizes!). Some even learned enough words in foreign languages to help their business. Mo, at 13, could speak decent French, while our Vietnamese guide, who had been a French teacher, had a lot of troubles sometimes. HANHI (1) After being "arrested" in the Thái village of Ban Buom, very near Muòng Tè, we missed the market which had been the true reason of our coming to this district. Moral was low, and we decided to eat in one of the shabby restaurants before heading back to Lai Châu. The restaurant owner asked why we looked so depressed, and our guide explained. The woman's daughter overheard the conversation and came up with a great idea: one of her classmates was a HàNhì CôChô, and her village was pretty close from Muòng Tè. She offered to take us to this village. The HàNhì CôChô girl dressed up for us. She said she usually wore such clothes only for special occasions. (2) The HàNhì The HàNhì migrated from Yunnan (China) at various times in history. Those who now live in the Lai Châu province (in Muòng Tè district) came first, maybe 2 or 3 centuries ago. Those now settled in the Lào Cai province (in Bát Xát district) arrived about 150 years ago. About 13000 HàNhì live in Vietnam. The same ethnic group is still present in China. Linguists classify the HàNhì language in the Sino-Tibetan family. The HàNhì usually build their houses directly on the ground, though some groups have followed the Thái influence and build their houses on pillars. Some HàNhì groups are sedentary and live in villages of 50 to 60 houses, while other groups have a nomadic lifestyle, building scattered little groups of houses. Most HàNhì grow rice, either in irrigated terrace fields or on slashed-and-burned fields. Each HàNhì clan has 2 to 4 branches, each referred to with a specific name derived from the name of the ancestor. Brothers celebrate the parents' cult together, in the house of the oldest. The society is patrilineal. In some cases, the parents live with all their married sons. The oldest son will inherit his father's house. In some communities, the marriage among people of the same branch of a clan is accepted, after the 7th generation. The husbands are allowed to stay and work in the house of his wife's parents for 3 or 4 years instead of paying what was asked for him to marry his bride. To chose a burial site, an egg is thrown, and the earth is dug where the egg breaks. Around the grave, stones are piled. The HàNhì also worship the spirits of their parents-in-law and spirits of the nature like the Thunder Spirit or the Wind Spirit. In the Muòng Tè district, we almost never saw HàNhì wearing their traditional clothes. It seems they only wear them to go to the market (see in the "Towns" section of the "Northern Loop" menu), and on festive occasions. Traveling within the Muòng Tè district was difficult at the time we were there and we did not get the opportunity to go and visit more remote villages. For more info on the HàNhì, turn to: "Les ethnies minoritaires du Vietnam", by Dang Nghiem Van, Chu Thai Son and Luu Hung, The Gioi (Hanoi) OTHER HMONG The Hmông (this text is a description of all Hmông groups, including the Black Hmông) The Hmông were part of the San Miao (Tam Miêu) group in South China. In the 18th and 19th century, driven by their struggle against the Chinese feudal authorities, they migrated to the high altitude areas of northern Vietnam. About 1870, the armed conflict with China culminated with the disappearance of the 'independent Hmông" as a fighting entity. The Hmông now number around 560000 in the provinces of Cao Bang, Lang Son, Bac Can, Thái Nguyên, Hà Giang, Lào Cai, Yên Bái, Son La, Lai Châu, Hòa Bình, Thanh Hóa and Nghê An. Their fellow tribesmen are also present in China, Myanmar (Burma), Laos and Thailand. In some of those countries, they are referred to as "Meo", "Miao" or "Meau". Linguists classify the Hmông as a Hmông-Dao language (also named Miao-Yao), in the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. They also used many words borrowed from Yunnanese, Laotian, Thai and Vietnamese, depending on where they settled down. Hmông like to locate their villages at high altitude (especially since they sometimes grow opium poppies as their cash crop) Corn is then their main food crop. However, some now live at lower altitudes and farm paddy fields. The site for each house in the village is chosen with great care, as it is important that the site is acceptable by the ancestors. The ground should be as level as possible, as it will constitute the floor of the house. The Hmông houses are made of wooden planks. Houses are built only on auspicious days, after the head of the house has formally announced: "I am living here, from now on let all the evil spirits stay away". When the house is completed, 2 chicken are sacrificed on the ancestor altar, a rooster and a hen are offered at the main door for the "door spirits" to bring good fortune upon the family. There are differences between the houses of different Hmông groups, as well as in their clothing. Family and clan are very important in Hmông social life. Respect for age is an essential feature. The patrilineal clan system ties together all aspects of Hmông behavior. Twelve clans are supposed to exist, but not all of them are present in Vietnam. Girls must marry in a clan different from her own. Taboos vary from clan to clan. Polygamy is common and men hold a clearly superior status. Some customs say that a widow must marry her late husband's younger brother or if he had no younger brother, one of his cousins. In the case of divorce, the woman does not go back to her parents house, but must ask the protection of an elder with whom she will stay until she marries again. Marriage by kidnapping is still common practice in the Hmông society. Hmông women give birth while seated. The placenta is placed under the bed if the child is a girl, and near the ancestor altar if it's a boy. Before a deceased is buried, several holes are made in his cloths as a symbolic destruction gesture: he now belongs to the world of the dead. The Hmông worship various spirits and supernatural beings are involved in every aspect of Hmông life. They practice curing ceremonies and exorcism. Shamans are needed to cure supernatural illnesses, which are mostly due to the soul leaving the body and wandering around. Hmông tie cotton string around the wrists of patients and also sacrify animals. The three major religions (Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism) also have shaped Hmông spiritual life. The Hmông never developed their own script and used mostly oral transmission for their legends, proverbs and songs. The French transformed the Hmông administration into a tool to control northern Vietnam. Hmông fought together with the French soldiers during the war. This lead to a repression towards them once the independent Vietnamese government was established. Hmông women are really skilled at embroidery. They have developed an amazing variety of techniques using needle and thread. All piece of clothing are decorated, but women knee-length skirts are probably their most well known item. Some groups wear stripped jackets. In some other groups, women wearing impressive turbans. All Hmông wear many silver ornaments, especially neck rings. For more info on the Hmông, turn to: "Les ethnies minoritaires du Vietnam", by Dang Nghiem Van, Chu Thai Son and Luu Hung, The Gioi (Hanoi) "People of the Golden Triangle", by Paul and Elaine Lewis, Thames and Hudson, ISBN 0-500-97472-1 LANDSCAPES In this picture, all seems good and well. BUT, during the five or so hours that the boat trip lasted, I was actually sitting where Arnaud is on this picture. And in the roof of the boat, just above me, was a huge spider (more than 5 cm diameter with its legs, and with a BIG inner body). I never saw it. Arnaud just told me afterward. He thought telling me during the trip would have frightened me for no reason: he was watching it, and if it had moved, he would have acted... (!?) Well, I am still shivering! LU (1) This little girl is the daughter of the police chief of a Lu village in the Phong Thô district. How do we know that? Well, we were kind of arrested by her father, who took us to his house, and the little girl was playing around, spying on the stranger who spoke a strange language and were sitting in her home. Why arrested? Well, at the time it was very unclear which villages foreigners were allowed to visit and which were off limit. So local policemen tried to make money charging us for being in forbidden areas, and Son, our guide, who found this revolting, always insisted for discussing a very long time to try to talk them out of this. In this particular village, he didn't succeed at all: the little girl's father resisted the 30 minutes of endless talking and still insisted on getting his money! (2) The Lu (pronounced as "Lü" in German) The Lu probably originated from the Xizhangbanna region in China. They already lived in the Dien Bien region in the 1st century. When the Black Thái arrived in the area in the 9th century, they noticed the Lu citadel of Xam Mun (Tam Van). At the end of the 13th century, the Lu came under attack of the Phe, a tribe coming from Myanmar (Burma). They had to flee the areas of Muòng Thanh and Tuan Giáo. Most Lu then resettled in the Phong Thô and Sìn Hô areas. There are nowadays about 4000 Lu living in Vietnam. Lu also live in China, Myanmar (Burma) and Laos. The Lu language is a member of the Tày-Thái branch, in the Thái-Kadai linguistic family. Lu villages are generally quite big, from 40 to 60 houses. All houses are built on pillars and have a single staircase used both for entering and exiting. Most house fronts face the stream of water that goes thru the village. The Lu farm irrigated rice fields, they live in valleys. They are sedentary and have developed a well organized administrative system. But they are not so numerous and are often under the authority of the White Thái. Generally, they are facing a cultural decline. The Lu society is patrilineal. Marriage depends on the will of the parents, however, the final decision is taken by the châu ho, a Buddhist monk from a local sect. The same châu ho celebrates all the villages ceremonies, mixing Buddhist ritual with superstitious practices. The Lu also worship spirits like the House Spirit, the Village Spirit and the Mountain Spirit. The Lu literature consists of tales, proverbs, poems and historical stories. But their most famous cultural features are their songs (Kháp Lu) and dances (Xòe Lu). The Lu are often considered more skilled at embroidery than the Thái. The Lu women still lacquer their teeth black. For more info on the Lu, turn to: "Les ethnies minoritaires du Vietnam", by Dang Nghiem Van, Chu Thai Son and Luu Hung, The Gioi (Hanoi) THAI (1) The Thái The Thái have inhabited North West Vietnam since the 2nd millennium B.C. The White Thái came first, followed by the Black Thái. They soon constituted the majority of the population from the Red river to the Lam river. Today, more than 1.040.000 Thái live in Vietnam. Other Thái also live in Laos, Thailand and Southern China. The Shan in Myanmar (Burma) are also related to the Thái. The Thái live in houses made of bamboo or wood, build on pillars. The Black Thái house roofs have the shape of a turtle. White Thái houses are rectangular and ornamented with a balcony. The Thái cultivate irrigated rice fields in fertile valleys. They have done so for a considerable number of years. They now often use little hydroelectric devices to improve the yield of their fields. The Thái are known for their weaving abilities. Costumes do not vary from group to group: women always wear a long skirt (sarong style) and a short top closed with a row of silver buttons. An average Thái village has about 50 houses, but some even number over 100 houses. Thái villages are called Ban. They consist of rural communities comprising several patrilineal families from different lineages. Several Ban are grouped to make a Muòng, which used to be under the authority of a feudal lord. This lord was distributing the land and fixing the duties of each member of the Muòng. The lords used to own 20 to 30 times more land than common peasants, thus the Thái society had huge differences of classes and wealth. The notion of "nobles" and "commoners" was very present. Lineage used to be a very determinant factor to choose a wife/husband. Wives were always considered as strangers in their husbands family: they had to sleep in the side of the house reserved for visitors. Since the 5th century, the Thái have their own script, based on Sanskrit. (This script was used in parallel to Vietnamese during the war against the French to transmit orders for the Dien Bien Phu battle). Their spiritual and cultural heritage is rich, with parts stemming from the common people and others from the higher classes. Some Thái sagas have more than a 1000 pages. Thái literature has been influenced by the Vietnamese and also by the Chinese and Laotians. Folk arts include very famous dances (Xòe Vòng). For more info on the Thái, turn to: "Les ethnies minoritaires du Vietnam", by Dang Nghiem Van, Chu Thai Son and Luu Hung, The Gioi (Hanoi) (2) I bought a Thái headscarf at Thuao Chao market. (Thuao Chao is a small town, but it is famous for its market. On certain days, an impressive number of different tribe members come down from the hills to sell their goods. Unfortunately, the day we passed by was not a big market day, and most sellers and customers were Thái) The Thái woman on this picture was real helpful giving me a hand to tie my newly bought Thái headcarf. It is a single piece of cloth!! Notice the silver buttons fastening her blouse: this is a very distinctive feature of the Thái costume. TOWNS Ban Buom is a Thái village, extremely close to Muòng Tè (it could be considered as a neighborhood of the town, in fact) On the picture, you can see, Arnaud, our guide Son and the chiefs of police, communist party, district etc.. who fined us for being there and then gave us their phone number for us to send them this picture!! (they were completely, utterly drunk, at in was only lunch time!) At the time, it was very unclear which villages foreigners were allowed to visit and which were off limit. So local policemen tried to make money charging us for being in forbidden areas, and Son, our guide, who found this revolting, always insisted on discussing a very long time to try to talk them out of this. In this particular village, he partly succeed: he got the fine down to 3 US $. But it took such a long time to reach this result that the Muòng Tè market (which was our first on our sight target list for this district) was over before we could get out of Ban Buom! GIAY The Giáy (pronounced Zaï) The Giáy inhabit mostly the provinces of Lào Cai, Hà Giang and Lai Châu. They started leaving China about 200 years ago to settle in Northern Vietnam. The Giáy present many similarities with the Thái: way of living, clothing, language and traditions. Some Giáy villages even got integrated into Thái villages and it is now difficult to distinguish Giáy and Thái villagers. Giáy houses are generally built on pillars. However, in Lai Châu province, Giáy houses built on the ground can also be found. Many families own a second house, located in the fields (most of the time slashed-and-burned fields), which is used as a storage. Old family members live in those secondary houses: they are in charge of guarding the fields. Every year, the Giáy organize a big ceremony called "roóng pooc" which coincides with the beginning of field labor. Rice is the main crop, and the Giáy know the irrigation techniques well. Class differences are accentuated, and the village administrative hierarchy is well defined. The "lý truong" and the "phó lý", who head local administration, have many privileges, such as keeping the profit from the community fields farmed by the villagers. Some "lý truong" have their own "xòe" dancer groups to entertain themselves. The other villagers must pay taxes and unpaid labor is also required from them. Each Giáy village has a "forbidden forest", called "doong xía", in which the tallest tree is the most sacred. Each year, the Spirit of the village is worshiped twice around this tree. The costs of this ceremony are covered by the profits from the community fields farmed by the villagers. During the ceremony, strangers are denied access to the village. A bamboo stick with sacrificed animals hanging from it is installed at the village entrance (this includes pig ears, hens' feet and animal hair). The Giáy family is patrilineal. The husband decides on every matter and his wife must respect the rule of the "three obediences": at home, she obeys her father, married, she obeys her husband, widow, she obeys her son. The Giáy woman gives birth while seated in a room where a Fairy altar was first installed. The placenta is buried directly under her bed. When the baby is one month old, a ceremony is held to inform the ancestors of the baby's birth and to give him a name. The Giáy believe that the soul of children who died in the very first months of their life reincarnates. To avoid this inauspicious event, they make a mark behind their babies' ears. When somebody dies, the dead body is kept 3 to 5 days inside the house. The villagers then form a procession which hurries (this even involves running sometimes) to the burial ground: they are afraid that the body might be taken away from them by supernatural forces. The body of those who dies violent deaths are buried right away: this a very inauspicious event. The Giáy do not cut their hairs for 90 days after the death of their father, and for 120 after the death of their mother. The Giáy cosmological vision of the world has three levels, and men inhabit the medium level while the underground level is occupied by demons and the upper level is a type of paradise. The Giáy women today mostly wear indigo trousers, while their original costume included a loose knee-length skirt. Their blouses are buttoned on the right side. Craft making is less developed than in other hill tribes For more info on the Giáy, turn to: "Les ethnies minoritaires du Vietnam", by Dang Nghiem Van, Chu Thai Son and Luu Hung, The Gioi (Hanoi) DAO (1) DAO (pronounced Zao and also sometimes spelled Yao.) The Dao are known by many names, as their frequent migrations took them to various places where different names were given to them. The most wide spread of those names are Mien, Mun and Miao. The Dao live in China, Laos, Thailand and of course Vietnam. Today the Dao group living in Vietnam numbers around 480.000. They migrated from the Chinese provinces of Fukien, Guangdong and Guangxi from the 13th century onwards. They are now settled in Northern Vietnam and are cultivating land at a high altitude. They have managed to retain their original religion (Taoism) but spirit worship has also been integrated in their beliefs. Moreover, ancestor worship plays a primordial role in Dao spiritual life: Ban Vuong (or Pan Hung), the mythical original ancestor is worshipped by al Dao, while each clan lineage worships their own ancestors. Women have to adopt their husband ancestors when they get married. The Dao language belongs to the Hmong-Dao language group. The Dao houses are built normally directly on the ground as imposed by Dao customs. However, in Northern Vietnam, many Dao groups have opted for houses built on pillars. This is especially true of nomadic Dao groups. Yao society is patrilineal. Monogamy is the rule, brides have to come and live in their husband's family. Different Dao groups have different wedding customs. Generally, the couple has to obtain agreement from both families but the couple must also have concording birthdates. The young man asks the the girl's family if he can stay with them and work for them for 3 or 4 days. Then, after a couple of months, he comes back for a second stay: this time he can talk to his future wife and share her bed. He then heads home to prepare the wedding. He will have to provide the girl's family with all the presents they require. If all the presents cannot be given, the marriage will still be celebrated, but as a temporary one. Very often, even when the couple's children already have grown to adult age, the final marriage has still not been celebrated! Dao women give birth while seated, and pregnant women must respect a very strict ritual diet. When the baby is 30 days old, a name giving ceremony is organized: the child will get the name of a protective spirit. It's only when the kid is 10 years old that his final name will be given to him. To this personal name, a particle is added: it is chosen according to a Taoist ritual during a very important ceremony when the child is 15 to 20 years old. Women wear elaborate headdress. Some pluck their hairs from their foreheads as well as their eyebrows, the rest of the hair being kept short and hidden behind a scarf. The Dao have a rich culture. They use the Chinese alphabet for their literature and have also many oral traditions like legends, tales, fables, funny stories and songs. The Yao also are very skilled at embroidery and they wear elaborate costumes. Dress is used as an identifier for the subgroup each Dao belongs to. (We mostly met Red Dao, but also Black Dao and Lan Tien, near Phong Tho) For more info on the Dao, turn to: "Les ethnies minoritaires du Vietnam", by Dang Nghiem Van, Chu Thai Son and Luu Hung, The Gioi (Hanoi) "The Yao", by Jess G. Pourret, Thames & Hudson, ISBN 0-500-97599-X "People of the Golden Triangle", by Paul and Elaine Lewis, Thames and Hudson, ISBN 0-500-97472-1 "Lao Mien embroidery", by Ann Yarwood Goldman, White Lotus, ISBN 974-8496-41-4 (2) Tavan is a tiny village in the Sapa valley. It is on the opposite side of the river from the Sapa town. The area is mostly occupied by Black Hmông villages. We started from Sapa early in the morning, and we only reached Tavan in the afternoon, but we were quite slow that day: the amount of photo opportunities on the way really did slow us down! I bought a Dao headdress in Tavan. The girls tried to teach me how to put it in place, but with my eyes half covered with the red fabric most of the time, I didn't really get the trick. Arnaud tried to help by taking pictures of the process, but even with these vital pieces of information, we never ever managed to tie it the right way. (3) We met this group of Black Dao while hiking back to Phong Thô after a visit to a Hmông village. They had been in town for the market that day and were heading back home, about 10 kilometers away. It was already getting late and they had no chance to reach their village before night fall. Tribe members tend to wear their traditional clothes on market days: it is some sort of advertising since some tribes are famous for some particular products (wearing clothes of this tribe automatically implies that the product will be good!). In the Phong Thô area, some tribe members cross the border with China very often to buy and sell things on both sides of the border. The Chinese-Vietnamese war had made this pretty dangerous and as a result many Dao settled higher up in the hills where it was safer to live. These days, the villages have resettled at lower altitude and trans-border trade has resumed. (4) This is the Dao girl who sold me her headdress in Tavan, a tiny village in the Sapa valley. This is one of my favorite pictures out of our Vietnam lot. It was taken with an angled mirror device which allows to take pictures at a 90°. Quite handy in a crowd like the one that assembled around us in Tavan! HOALU Hoa Lu was the capital of Vietnam under the Dinh dynasty (968-980) and the early Le dynasty (980-1009). The site was chosen for its proximity to China and the natural protection offered by the local relief. There used to be a huge citadel which sheltered temples, shrines and a smaller royal citadel. Only two temples now remain: Dinh Tien Hoang (restored in the 17th century and dedicated to the Dinh family) and Dai Hanh (dedicated to the ruler of the early Le dynasty) TAMCOC Tam Coc is often referred to as "Dry Halong Bay". The breathtaking scenery indeed has similarities! Tam Coc means " three caves", and there are actually 3 caves, one of which is 127m long. We took a rowboat trip which led us into the caves (you enter on one side of the mountain and exit on the opposite side!). Of course, we bought some embroidery on the boat (very few travellers manage to keep saying "no" "no" "no" during 2 or 3 hours of the trip!). We definitively enjoyed the scenery at Tam Coc, but the aggressive souvenir sellers and the amount of big tour groups there were truely a nuisance. KEO The Keo pagoda is probably the only sight in the Thai Binh province. Very few travellers come this way. If this pagoda were closer to Hanoi, no doubt it would be crowded with tourists on every single day: the finely carved wood of the bell tower is indeed one of the masterpieces of Vietnamese architecture. The whole complex was assembled without using metal nails. It is truly beautiful and quiet, definitely worth the trouble of driving all the way from Ninh Binh, using overcrowded ferries to cross rivers, and asking a dozen people for the way! (the great idea was to ask in neighborhoods where they sell Buddhist goods like altar clothes and incense: they do know all about pagodas in these streets indeed!) NINHBINH Ninh Binh is 93km south west of Hanoi. It would be a sleepy provincial town if its proximity to sights like Tam Coc and Hoa Lu didn't bring hordes of travellers. Basically, people sleep there for a night and wander around in the evening, before hitting the neighboring highlights. We remained a bit longer as Ninh Binh also made a convenient stop over for visiting Phat Diem and the Keo pagoda. The whole city seems messier than the capital and the shabby modern buildings do not help create a charming atmosphere. Many quickly built and badly finished small hotels for backpackers dot the place, adding ugly bright colors to the dusty chaos. Yet I really enjoyed the extremely present propaganda posters in Ninh Binh: you don't come across so many of them in Old Hanoi. PHATDIEM Phat Diem is a surprising district : several dozens churches dot the usual Vietnamese paddy field scenery. Current estimates are that about 120000 Catholics live in the area. The most remarkable of these churches is the cathedral of Phat Diem which was completed in 1891. It is characterized by its unique Asian style and its huge dimensions: 16 meters high, with supporting 10 meter high supporting pillars (their diameter is about 1 meter). Many of the stones used for its construction were transported from more that 200km away, using only primitive means. The carvings are especially beautiful. It used to be the main Catholic center during the colonial era, then in 1954 Catholics fled south and the cathedral was closed. Since the 1990ies, the government has taken a more liberal line and the cathedral is now reopened. In sharp contrast to this active catholic worship, we stopped by a Phat Diem school where pupils were celebrating Ho Chi Minh's birthday (May 19th) in the purest communist style.