Egypt, Luxor and Karnak – Part 2
- At September 17, 2023
- By Jessica
- In Travel
0
Called the "Hundred-Gated City" by Greek Historian Homer, Luxor is set on the east bank of the Nile River. It is a pretty city with a French flavor. The city was once known as Waset, then as Thebes, now as Luxor, which means "City of Palaces" in Arabic. As Thebes, it served as the capital of Egypt's "New Kingdom." Today, the Nile hugging promenade of the City is lined with beautiful colonial hotels and some of the world's most ancient and significant ruins. Many consider this city, watched over by graceful single-sailed feluccas plying the Nile, one of the world's great open air museums. In the center of town, the vast ruins of the Temple of Luxor, dating back to 1392 BC, sit like the Plaza Hotel does in New York - just part of the scenery! The sprawling Temples of Luxor and Karnak on the east bank are linked by the ancient Avenue of the Sphinxes.
Ram head = health
Lion body = symbol of power.
On the west bank, in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, lie the tombs of Egypt's great pharaohs. The ancient Egyptians stopped building pyramids as royal tombs after thieves stripped them bare opting instead to bury their royalty in secret tombs in Thebes, today's West Bank of Luxor.
To walk among these testaments to time, history, and civilization is a profound experience. To stand, perhaps, in the same spots where Ramses II, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and Cleopatra may have stood.
During the time of the 18th dynasty, when Akhenaten was pharaoh, approximately 1351-1334 BC, he changed the religion from polytheism to a monotheistic system worshiping only the God Aman-Ra (God of the Air and the Sun). He created a holy triad: Aman-Ra, Mut, Khnoso, with Khnosu being the moon god and Mut being the sky goddess. Think about that - Akhenaten was the inventor of monotheism. The Egyptians have a theory, so far unproven, that Joseph of multi-colored coat fame, and known to be vizier to a pharaoh around this time, may have planted the idea of monotheism in Akhenaten's mind. Some Egyptologists believe that Joseph and Akhenaten were the same person! Anyway, Akhenaten made Karnak the center of religion but the Egyptian high priests didn't like this new idea of monotheism and ran Akhenaten out of town. He reestablished his kingdom in Amarna. The high priests hunted him down and murdered Akhenaten and destroyed Amarna. The renowned beauty Nefertiti was his wife. Nefer = beautiful one Titi = her name. (The wife of Ramses II was Nefertari - more on her later.) Akhenaten and Nefertiti had no sons, only two daughters. One daughter was married to nine year old King Tutankhamen. After killing Akhenaten, the high priests put King Tut in the position of King, moved the capital back to Luxor, where Tut ruled for ten years. He was controlled by the priests who killed him when he came into adulthood.
What followed was, in essence, a religious coup, placing a former high priest as Pharaoh - King Ay. An army general, Horemheb, killed King Ay and became King. In essence, a military coup. The son of Horemheb was Ramses I. King Siti I, whose tomb we describe in Part 3, was the son of Ramses I. Successive kings were from the military, including the famed Ramses II who reigned for 67 years and died at age 90.
Ramses II was married to Nefertari who was Nubian. Ramses II was the most famous of the 11 Ramses. Ra = (sun god) msw = beloved one. He "dethroned" the high priests, constructed many buildings and monuments, had 53 wives, 111 daughters and 67 sons.
Karnak Temple was built over 2000 years by generations of pharaohs. The 62-acre Temple of Karnak was dedicated to the god Aman.*
* Alternate spellings are Amon, Amon, et al. Same god.
The great " Hypostyle Hall," a colonnaded court for priests and nobles, is a forest of 134 giant pillars. It takes your breath away.
There is also a section of the temple for commoners to make their offerings and a Sanctuary only for the high priest and the Pharaoh where they present the offerings collected from the populace to Aman-Ra.
Fun Fact: Straight beard on iconography means king is alive. If curved beard king is dead.
Fun fact: Each cobra in iconography represents a kingdom. One cobra, king is from one part of Egypt. Two cobras, the king is ruling both north and south Egypt. Three cobras, the king rules north and south Egypt plus Nubia/kush.
The Ankh, which is omnipresent, is a symbol of long life and eternity.
Egypt in a Nutshell
- At September 10, 2023
- By Jessica
- In Travel
- 0
Some of you may know that Jessica is working on a new novel called The Goddess Conference. Parts of the book take place in biblical times throughout the Middle East and a sizable chunk takes place in ancient Egypt. This part of the cruise is especially important because writers need to see, hear, touch, smell, and taste what they are writing about to be credible.
Egypt is bordered on the north by the Mediterranean, on the east by the Red Sea, Gaza, Israel, and Palestine*, in the west by the Sahara Desert, Chad, and Libya, and in the south by North Sudan and Nasser Lake, the largest artificial lake in the world created by the building of the Aswan Dam in 1971. Egypt is a beautiful country, far greener and more bucolic than Jordan or Saudi Arabia. A palm tree paradise.
We disembarked just before 8 AM. We were met by three people for our private tour: a PhD Egyptologist called Wael, whose English is perfect, a tour coordinator, and a driver.They were very happy to hear Jessica is 31 percent Egyptian. She wore her hajib. On our 145 mile journey to Luxor, which included dozens of security checkpoints and armed "tourism police," we passed lots of desert, home to gold and silver deposits including a 3500 year old gold mine from the time of the Pharaohs. We then passed by multiple farming villages where they grow sugar cane, wheat and alfalfa. The farms are irrigated by a natural tributary of the Nile. After the Mississippi, the Nile is the world's longest river. (Sorry Jeff Bezos, not the Amazon.) One of only a few rivers on Earth that runs south to north, its importance to the survival of Egypt is legendary. Due to the Nile's reverse flow, Upper Egypt is south (represented by the lotus) and Lower Egypt is north (represented by the papyrus.) We highly recommend the book River of the Gods by Candice Millard about the search for the source of the Nile. Non-fiction that reads like a thriller.
Fun fact: We see so many unfinished occupied houses without roofs. Why? Because no roof, no real estate tax.
Luxor's population is approximately 320,000. They enjoy special status as the "real Egyptians." 65 percent of all Egyptian treasures of antiquity are found in Luxor. This represents 32 percent of all the treasures of antiquity in the whole world. Wow! Even more amazing is that 68 percent of what is estimated to still exist has not yet been discovered. Our tour guide said he remembers eating at many restaurants in Luxor that are gone because the earth they sat on was concealing the Avenue of the Sphinxes or other antiquities and has since been excavated.
Even small villages have multiple mosques. All the women we saw are dressed devoutly in full burqa. Egyptians love to eat meat on Thursdays year round. Lots of pop-up butchers.
Here's 7000 years of history compressed into a virtual thumb drive:
The history of Egypt is broken down into dynasties. This really means periods, not specifically ties to royal dynasties as we understand them.
Pre-dynastic Egypt of 7000 years ago was a grassland coming out of the Ice Age. It got progressively drier until only the Nile River Valley supported life.
Dynasties 1 - 3 represent the "Early Period" starting 5000 years ago. The first Pharaoh was King Minie who united the two "countries" of Egypt into one.
Dynasties 3-7 began at the end of the third dynasty around 2,500 BC with King Joser. This marked the beginning of the "Old Kingdom." It was also known as the "Pyramid Period" and was based in Giza.
The 8th - 10th dynasties, from 2500-2200 BC, represented the first of several "Intermediate Periods" marked by inter family fights and invasions that weakened Egypt.
Dynasties 10 -15, from 2200 - 1800 BC, were known as the "Middle Kingdom." It was based in Amarna.
The 16th - 17th dynasties from 1800-1150 BC represented another "Intermediate Period," when Egypt was weak. This was the time when the Hyksos tribes invaded Egypt from Asia.
The 18th dynasty, from 1520 BC started the "New Kingdom." This was considered the Golden Age of Egypt and encompassed the 18th-20th dynasties. This period ended in 1200 BC.
Another "Intermediate Period, Dynasties 21 and 22, lasted 200 years. 70 kings ruled Egypt together for 70 days trying to contain the conflicts until 1000 BC.
During these conflicts, Egyptian Kings captured Libyan and Nubian tribesmen and forced them to be soldiers. Ironically, this gave rise to the Libyan Dynasties, 23-24, for 250 years up until 750 BC. Give a guy a sword and teach him how to use it and eventually he'll use it on you!
Along the same lines, Dynasties 25-27 were dynasties with Nubian Pharaohs.
Dynasties 28-30 are considered the "Late Intermediate Period," which suffered many invasions by the Persians who ruled Egypt from 750 BC - 332 BC. This is known, appropriately, as the Persian Age.
In 332 BC Alexander the Great from Greece said to the Egyptians, "I will save you from the Persians." He ruled Egypt from 332 BC - 323 BC. Alexander founded Alexandria (after himself of course) and created there a master library in Greek, which attracted scholars from the entire empire. This marked the end of Dynastic Egypt, the end of the Pharaohs, and the beginning of the Greco-Roman period in Egypt. The Greeks had 13 King Ptolemys and one lady Pharaoh - the famous Cleopatra (who was actually Cleopatra #7). The Greek period lasted for 180 years. See below for why the Greek period ended....or read about it in your copy of the Rosetta Stone.
The Roman period began with Mark Antony in 117 BC and lasted for 365 years. When the Romans ruled they defaced all the monuments of the Pharaohs. In 42 AD, Saint Mark (no relation to Mark Antony) brought Christianity to Egypt because he and other followers of Jesus were persecuted by the still polytheist Romans. Egypt was a Coptic Christian country from 41 AD - 641 AD while still a part of Roman Empire. Between the last Roman King in 280 AD and Ottoman rule from 1778-1980, Egypt was ruled by a succession of Royal Muslim Families, mostly from Iraq. The French briefly occupied Egypt from 1799 -1802 during which time they discovered and later deciphered the Rosetta Stone (more on this later) and the English defeated the French in Alexandria. Egypt was a British Protectorate from 1882 - 1952 with a sultanate. In 1952 King Farouk was king of Egypt and Sudan and the last King from the Ottoman time. He was deposed by the Egyptian military, in a revolution led by Nasser. Muhammad Naguib, whose mother was from Sudan, was Egypt's first president, but only served a few months before being arrested by Gama Abdul Nasser, who "served" as Egypt's president from 1956-1970. Sudan was so furious about the ouster of Naguib that they seceded. From 1952 - 1970 Nasser, a "hidden" dictator, was kept in power with military support. Nasser expelled all the Jews and nationalized their businesses as well as the Suez Canal, which resulted in a war in 1956. We strongly recommend the book Out of Egypt by Andre Aciman for more on this subject. When Nasser died of a heart attack, Anwar Sadat became president of Egypt from 1971-1981. When Sadat was assassinated, 1981-2011 Hosni Mubarak was president from 1981-2011. He was called a "modern pharaoh." Mohamed Morsi was president for two years. Abdul Farrah El-Sisi is currently president since 2014. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was just in the news for cutting a secret deal with Putin to produce missiles for Russia.
Phew!
One of Napoleon's soldiers, Pierre Bouchard, discovered the Rosetta Stone during the French Campaign of 1798 - 1801. In it, Ptolemy V recorded the revolution against his father Ptolemy IV who for the first time imposed taxes on the Egyptian people. Prior to that Egyptians only made offerings.
Ptolemy V recorded these travails, which effectively ended the Greek period in Egypt, in three languages: hieroglyphics, Demotic (the Egyptian language during Greek times, and Latin. Using the Rosetta Stone, Jean-Francois Champollion was able to translate the hieroglyphic alphabet in 1822. The Rosetta Stone now sits in the British Museum in London where we plan to view it in May.
Egyptians are trying to reclaim their antiquities including the Rosetta Stone, the Obelisk on the Place de La Concorde (Ramses II) in Paris, and Cleopatra's Needle (Tutmoses) in Hyde Park, London. Your thoughts?
Two Sea Days coming up and Egypt was such a rich experience that we will spread our reporting over three days. Stay tuned for Karnak, The Valley of the Kings, and The Valley of the Queens.
Mumbai, Day 3
- At September 03, 2023
- By Jessica
- In Travel
- 0
In our opinion, no place better underscores the travesty of relying on news headlines for your impression of a place than Mumbai. You've just got to see it for yourself.
Take the slums, for instance. They do not fit our preconception of a slum. They are beehives of small industries such as leather tanning, embroidery, pottery, recycling, and others. The children all go to school and the adults all have jobs. Even begging is an organized industry. These people just have no place to live due to a scarcity of housing exacerbated by government policies we elaborate on below. Think of the slum-dwellers as the pioneers of the work-from-home movement.
India has no welfare, food stamps, or social security. Everyone has to scratch out their own living however they can.
There are some people living on the street but, frankly, it's not much different from the US homeless problem.
Every residential building 3-4 stories high contains rental apartments. All rents have been frozen since 1947. Rents are between $3-10 a month. Crazy, right? That's why the buildings are in such disrepair; landlords have no money or incentive to maintain their properties or retain tenants. We had a similar situation in New York for many years due to archaic rent control laws. Finally, the laws were changed.
It comes down to supply and demand. Not enough housing for 22m people. The housing stock that does exist is either astronomically expensive or tied up for many generations by the price freeze mentioned earlier. And incomes do not support costs of available housing.
In contrast, Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Group and the richest man in India, built a 27 story home for $2B. He hired 600 staff from the Oberei hotel to wait on him, his wife, his mother, and his one remaining son who is soon getting married and moving out.
There are several private hospitals that are so good Mumbai enjoys a thriving medical tourism business. We saw one Muslim hospital built by the Aga Kahn that looks like a palace. It is open to anyone who can pay. The Parsi private hospital is also very good but only available to Parsis. If the mother is a Parsi and the father is not, or vice-versa, the issue of that marriage cannot be delivered in the Parsi hospital. If you are poor there are government hospitals that are not considered to be very good.
Mumbai is currently the 5th largest city in the world. It is the most European city in India and strikes us as such. It is laid out like a European city, with trees and parks, and all those gorgeous architectural masterpieces.
This morning we started out at the Gateway of India. It was built in 1911 to welcome King George V and Queen Mary. It is also the gate through which the last British soldiers left in 1948. The locals love to underscore the irony that the same gate was used to welcome the British and to usher them out.
Gateway of India
We passed by several other of the 94 historic buildings in Mumbai including the Reserve Bank of India, the Town Hall built in 1804, Barracks of British soldiers, the Natural History Society, the Police Headquarters, Mumbai University from 1857, and the Indian Naval Headquarters. The navy is very important in India because it is surrounded by water on three sides by the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean.
The British ruled for almost 250 years. They left behind fabulous structures, a legal system, a form of government, it's language, and infrastructure such as trains and a postal system.
Feeding cows and pigeons satisfies the Hindu custom of doing a good deed every day. Cow feeding stations exist throughout the city.
A fleet of 55,000 yellow and black taxis run on compressed gas cylinders that drivers keep in their trunk. In addition, there are 75,000 licensed Uber cabs. It is said there are eight religions in Mumbai. 64 percent of the population is Hindu, 15-18 percent are Muslim and the rest are Jain, Buddhist, Jewish, Parsi, and others. There is a ninth religion worshipped by all - cricket!
The Parsi religion, known outside of Mumbai as Zoroastrian, is fascinating. There are only 110,000 Zoroastrians in the world of which 50,000 live in India. The sect fled from Persia to India between 785 and 936 to avoid religious persecution by the Muslim majority. The Dadar Parsi colony in Mumbai numbers about 15,000 but includes some of India's wealthiest families including the Tatas, who own more than 100 Indian companies. The Parsis worship the elements of nature, not gods. Their places of worship are called Fire Temples where a fire burns 24/7. Only Parsis may enter a fire temple.
Hidden by Mumbai's Hanging Garden, so named because it hangs over a reservoir not because people are lynched there, are 55 acres of land (in the middle of Mumbai!!) owned by the Parsi. On this plot of land are the five Towers of Silence - or dakhma. Parsis do not cremate or bury their dead but place the bodies in these towers to be eaten by vultures. The bones turn into powder. This procedure is only and still performed in Mumbai.
After the Hanging Garden we visited the Mahalakshmi Dhobi Ghat. Dhobi = washerman. It is the largest open air laundry in the world. Over 8000 men work together where each man has his own cubicle, beats the clothes on a rock, air dries, then irons. Home pick up and delivery included. The Dhobi Ghat has been in existence for 120 and started as a service for the British.
Our last stop today was the former home of Mahatma Gandhi. It is now a museum. It was such a rich and moving experience we will dedicate a post just to that.
Mumbai, Day 2
- At August 27, 2023
- By Jessica
- In Travel
- 0
Slightly exhausted from last night's reveling we woke up early to attend a Mumbai Mela. A "mela" can best be described as a cross between a folkloric and a bar mitzvah.
It was great fun! Colorful entertainment, turban tying, bangle making, henna painting, and more.
We rushed back to the ship to shower and eat lunch then off to what was billed as a custom tour of private art collections and high tea at the Taj Mahal Hotel.
Upon returning to the pier, we had the following conversation :
Jessica: I wonder what happened to all the dogs we saw last night.
Eberhard: Check your lunch.
Our first stop after lunch (chicken, not dog) was the city's arts district. There are many cultural institutions here, such as the National Gallery, Institute of Science, and Prince of Wales Museum. The architecture is a mix of Victorian Gothic (late 19th c) mixed with Art Deco (early 20th c). The Prince of Wales Museum was built in 1904 for the then POW's 1905 visit. We saw art and artifacts very steeped in Hinduism. No private art collections. Duped again.
Then we headed to the Taj Mahal Hotel for high tea. Taj = crown, Mahal = palace. The story goes that Jamshetji Tata, an Indian salt, cotton, and opium tycoon was turned away by all the elegant hotels in Bombay despite his vast wealth and prominence. During colonial times these hotels posted the following notice: Dogs and Indians not allowed. He decided he would build his own hotel. The Taj, opened in 1903, was the first Indian-owned hotel in Bombay, the first building in Bombay to have electricity, and the first licensed bar in Bombay (the latter not until 1946.)
Tata traveled around Europe, cherry-picking the best each country had to offer, such as elevators from Germany. The current management proudly boasted that its German equipment is still functioning. Eberhard could say the same.
Lots of famous people stayed here from Alfred Hitchcock to Barack Obama.
George Harrison got guitar lessons from Ravi Shankar here.
This really is the trip of a lifetime. If our ashes are strewn in the Ganges River think we get to do it again?
Not planning to test that theory any time soon!
Mumbai, Day 1
- At August 20, 2023
- By Jessica
- In Travel
- 0
Victoria Terminus
We were completely unprepared for how stunning Mumbai is. We've read many books about the slums, political and religious strife, gang rapes, hotel massacres, and vast disparity between rich and poor. All of that exists amidst architecture that is magnificent and grand, thousands of trees, a beautiful beach that runs the length of the city like a sparkling collar. It is extremely painful, however, to see barefoot children and babies living on trash-strewn streets.
An astonishing 62 percent of Mumbai's 22 million population live in slums or on the street. Many others live in dilapidated housing with no gas lines and toilets without water. Yet every other building looks like it's part of Oxford University.
Imagine walking down Fifth Avenue and a cow is blocking rush hour traffic. That's just what happened to us today in Mumbai. Alas.... Bovines, bovines everywhere, but not a steak to eat in this mostly vegetarian culture.
It was a beautiful, breezy, not so humid day in Mumbai or what is still called Bombay by the locals. In 1534, the Portuguese named the city Bom (big) bahai (postal area) - not very glamorous when you dissect it, is it? The city came under the control of the British Crown in 1661 and was immediately leased to The East India Company for 10 pounds per year. The name was changed to Mumbai, as part of the Decolonization Act in 1995. The city's name is derived from Mumbadevi, the patron goddess of the fisherfolk who migrated to the islands from Gujarat centuries ago.
Mumbai is India's wealthiest city, home to Bollywood, and beautiful art deco cinema palaces and hotels reminiscent of Miami Beach. Originally, the city was seven islands inhabited mostly by fisherman and salt merchants. Fortification and land reclamation efforts undertaken by the British made one land mass. This project was completed in 1918, which explains the preponderance of art deco buildings along the shore.
Victoria Terminus Train Station is a magnificent building melding multiple architectural styles. It is beautifully lit up at night, apparently electrified for the G20 meeting.
Trains are the city's lifeline, where 8 million people commute daily. Local trains leave every three minutes and have NO AC. Each train has twelve coaches of which three are exclusively for women. During the lengthy security procedures every time we get on or off the boat, men and woman must be separated.
It is fascinating to us how common it is to have many generations of family living together under the same roof of a rambling old apartment. Our dinner hosts have a 50 year old son, his wife and child, and their 45 year old unmarried son all living with them. She says, "It's a party all the time." We just read a book called Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry (yes the same author as A Fine Balance) on this subject. It was terrific.
Mumbai is known for its diversity of neighborhoods so we embarked on a walking tour to get a first hand feel. One area looks like Embassy Row in Washington, DC, lined as it is by former English private clubs. We were invited by friends to fine at their club last night. The club is still named after British Lord Willington.
The Malabar Hill neighborhood faces the Arabian Sea. One of Jessica's book groups read The Widows of Malabar Hill a couple of years ago. Another interesting read.
According to Hindu religion, ashes of dead persons must run through the waters of the sacred River Ganges in order to return to the cycle of life to be reborn. The Ganges does not run through Mumbai but human beings are nothing if not resourceful so we visited this lake fed by a fresh water spring reputed to originate at the Ganges.
Before 10 am every morning Mumbai residents can be found performing these death rituals. First they immerse the ashes of the deceased, then they shave their heads, (there is an enterprising barber at the lake,) then they bathe, then they go to temple but only after ten days of mourning.
After our fascinating walking tour of Old Mumbai, we proceeded to a fashion designer's home/showroom. The charming Portuguese style home has been in the designer's family for 220 years. Jessica made a new friend in the dressing room - Sangeeta. We will meet her again. Needless to say, we made a huge contribution to the Indian economy before leaving the shop.
Certainly the highlight of the day was a wonderful dinner with our friends mentioned earlier. Their club is gorgeous, like stepping back in time to the Raj era. And we let them order for us so we sampled a smorgasbord of Indian delicacies. We wonder how you say smorgasbord in Hindi?
It was a little creepy coming back late at night. The port is abandoned save for starving packs of stray dogs (and we don't just mean the cab drivers). Next time we travel abroad we're going to pack a suitcase full of dog biscuits.
Goa, Southern India
- At August 13, 2023
- By Jessica
- In Travel
- 0
The state of Goa was the cultural center of Portuguese India for 450 years. Its capital is called Vasco da Gama City. This was the first region in India colonized by Europe, and the last to get its freedom in 1961. Nowhere in India, we've been told, is the colonial influence so prominent. About a third of Goans are Catholic and the colonial styles of the Old Town extend to many private homes. Among its magnificent cathedrals and monasteries, the Sé Cathedral is one of the largest churches in Asia. The Basilica of Bom Jesus, one of India's finest examples of baroque architecture, holds the remains of St.Francis Xavier, the city's patron saint. Hindu mosques and temples are also ubiquitous here….as are slums and heaps of trash.
Cave drawings prove that hunter/gatherers lived here at least 30,000 years ago. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the town was ravaged by malaria.It is one of the wettest areas in India and one of the most fertile. The climate lends itself perfectly to growing spices, especially pepper. It also provides the ideal habitat for crocodiles.
As an adjunct to the spice trade, Ayurvedic medicine is big here. Goa has 33 beaches (and 300 churches) and is known for having been a hippie Mecca in the 1960s. Goans are entitled to Portuguese passports and pride themselves on equal legal and financial protection for every man, woman, and child. Prior to Portuguese colonization, the Arab countries bought spices from Goan Muslims. The plantations were and are Hindu owned, often for hundreds of years in the same family. The local Muslims acted as middlemen due to the language barrier. When the Portuguese came they by-passed the local traders and dealt directly with the Hindus. They were desperate for pepper because salt cured meat only stays edible for 6 months but pepper preserved meat and fish for over two years. Also, pepper killed threadworm and other parasites. Feeding all those sailors during the Age of Exploration was no easy feat.
In light of this thirst for spices, and because we're maxed out on pagodas, temples, and mosques, we decided to visit an actual spice plantation.
Here's a synopsis of what we learned down on the farm:
- Betelnuts were the first CBD gummies
- Fenni is a 40 proof alcoholic beverage made from the fruit of the cashew tree after the nut is removed.
- The biggest cash crop in Goa is the cashew!
- Pepper is a terrestrial parasitic plant. It has no leaves or chlorophyll of its own. The flowers smell terrible and are pollinated by flies and beetles.
- Pepper mixed with honey cures a cough.
- Pepper brewed as tea "eliminates" an upset stomach.
- Vanilla is also a parasite. The best vanilla comes from Madagascar where tiny indigenous hummingbirds pollinate the vanilla plants. Vanilla grows in Goa but the hummingbirds do not so the plantation uses toothpicks to pollinate the plants manually.
- The best cure for migraines is a tea brewed from lemongrass, ginger, and cardamom.
- Coconut trees live up to 300 years. They have no season and produce fruit four times a year
- Turmeric is used as an anti-bacterial and anti-cancer agent. Indian women mix it with yogurt to use as a face mask
- Cinnamon comes from the bark of the cinnamon but the leaves are used as a bay leaf substitute and the oil, called Indian Magic Oil, is extracted and applied for pain relief.
- Nutmeg (fruit) and mace (leaf) are from the same tree.
- Basil is called "holy" and the "Queen of Spices" because it increases the oxygen in the body and is basically good for everything (especially with tomatoes and mozzarella.)
- Chewing on green cardamom relieves motion sickness
A couple of other observations, not related to spices:
We have seen swastikas liberally painted throughout India and Sri Lanka.
According to our guide, it is a Hindu symbol of peace. According to Google,
"The word swastika comes from Sanskrit, meaning 'conducive to well-being'. In Hinduism, the right-facing symbol (clockwise) is called swastika, symbolizing surya('sun'), prosperity and good luck, while the left-facing symbol (counter-clockwise) is called sauwastika, symbolising night. In Jain symbolism, it represents Suparshvanatha – the seventh of 24 Tirthankaras (spiritual teachers and saviours), while in Buddhist symbolism it represents the auspicious footprints of the Buddha."
Delightfully, there are little cows sitting everywhere along the roads like household pets sit on porches elsewhere.
Milkbones for Bovines, anyone?
Cartagena, Spain
- At August 06, 2023
- By Jessica
- In Travel
- 0
Port of Cartegna as we docked
The Old City is a marble paved pedestrian zone, lined with outdoor cafes and beautiful art nouveau architecture from Cartegna's heyday as a mining center.
Surrounded by farmland and market gardens, the locals are never at a loss for fresh produce from "Europe's orchard," as this fertile corner of Spain is often called. Our guide said that within a day of picking fruit and vegetables from Cartegna they are for sale in Paris, London, and Rome.
The city was founded in 227 BC by the Carthaginians. They called it Qart-Hadast = New City. Ancient Carthage is now modern day Tunisia. The Punic Wars took place over 43 years between 264 BC and 146 BC between Carthage in North Africa wanting to expand North and Rome wanting to expand South. It's all a bit confusing but the Carthaginians are the same people as the Phoenicians, from whom the name of the Punic Wars is derived.
Hannibal, real name Anibal Barca, was head of the Carthaginian Army. I'd always heard of him and his elephants but could never really place him in context until now. He and his elephants marched from Cartegna to Rome in 219 BC over the Pyrenees in an attempt to capture Rome.
During the first Punic War Rome won Sicily and Carthage won Cartegna. They kept it for 20 years. In the second Punic War Rome won Carthage in three days. In the third Punic War, Rome destroyed Carthage completely.
The Punic Wall rampart in Cartegna is the only remains of the Carthaginians in Europe.
The Moors occupied the city from 825 AD and introduced a vast irrigation network for crops and for city use. They were expelled from Cartegna by Ferdinand Ill of Castile in 1243. Up until then, the residents used the sewers installed by the Romans. In 1243, the Christians abandoned the use of sewers bringing upon themselves all kinds of disease. The victory gave Castile access to the Mediterranean. 200 plus years later, Ferdinand of Castile and Isabella of Aragon married and in 1492 captured the last city, Granada, still under Muslim control. They expelled all Muslims and Jews from Spain.
Cartegna's province of Murcia remained a vassal kingdom until 1812 and became an autonomous region of Spain in 1982.
FUN FACT: The expression "Heads will roll" comes from Ancient Rome and refers to the removable heads on marble statues that were replaced when a new emperor came to power.
The 19th century gave rise to enormous lead, zinc, and iron mining fortunes. (The Romans depleted the silver mines during their tenure.) the last mine in Cartegna was closed in 1994. These tycoons built fabulous homes in the Art Nouveau style in the beginning of the 20th century. Most of them are bank branches today. (No surprise)
Franco ruled Spain under a fascist iron fist for 40 years. Only when he died in 1975 did Spain become a democracy. The fascists had no interest in preserving antiquities, which may explain why the Punic Wall, Roman Theater (1988), and House of Fortune (1971) weren't excavated until recently. The fascinating Crypt of San Jose was discovered at the same time as the Punic Wall.
EW FACT: The ancient Romans crushed black flies to use as mascara.
Found this sweet reminder of home:
Sydney, Australia
- At July 30, 2023
- By Jessica
- In Travel
- 0
YA-MA (means hello in the Gamilleroi aboriginal language) Family and Friends,
As lovers of the written word, we are fascinated by the fact that none of the 250 aboriginal languages have an alphabet or any written language. In addition to their oral tradition of storytelling, they express themselves through dance, music, and painting.
This means that it is impossible to misspell a word. As long as you pronounce it properly, the aboriginal interpreters are happy.
In book group we recently discussed the subject of cultural appropriation. This is evident in force here. White guides refuse to interpret aboriginal culture. There seems to be a national understanding of how destructive colonialism has been to the aboriginals and new-found efforts to show respect and make amends.
Today we continued our deep-dive into aboriginal culture with an authentic "interpreter." We sailed to Balangliwoh Island.
E-ora means "the people."
The aboriginal flag, seen more often now flying side by side with the Australian one, is red, yellow, and black. Red for land, yellow for sun, black for the people.
Just think....today the aboriginal tribes comprise two percent of the population. Just 250 years ago it was 100 percent.
No travel experience is complete with sampling the local cuisine. We tasted "bush takka," kangaroo pie and emu sausage rolls.
There are just too many facts and stories to recount here but one of my favorites is about the kasarian trees:
Aborigines call these trees "nature's mothers." Mothers told their children that if they got lost in the bush to find one of these trees to sit under until they're found. The reason is the needles of the Kasarian tree repel snakes.
The Digeradoo not only makes music but attracts emus! Contrary to what we thought, it is not carved. The wood is hollowed out by termites.
Auckland, New Zealand
- At July 23, 2023
- By Jessica
- In Travel
- 1
It's official. We love Auckland.
It rained again today so we sampled the culinary offerings beginning with a cheese platter at Debrett Kitchens. Dairy products represent 40% of New Zealand's exports (as compared with 11% for lamb). The cheeses were spectacular. We tried cheddar, Brie, and a local Stilton.
We then moved on to the Honest Chocolate Company.
Our favorite was Manuka honey and pear.
We walked through the drizzle to the fish market in the Wynyard section of town where we lunched on oysters and mussels.
After lunch we grabbed a cab to The Art Gallery, a contemporary art museum. Loved the Māori Art.
Tomorrow we arrive in Rotarua, which Jessica refers to as Roto-Rooter.
Crossing the Pacific – Day 1
- At July 16, 2023
- By Jessica
- In Travel
- 0
Did you know the Pacific Ocean is 64 million square miles? It’s twice the size of the Atlantic, a third of Earth’s surface, 46% of the world’s total water surface, and as deep as 35,797 feet deep at the Mariana Trench.
