i got my dipping tanks set up again for my bw negs! i used to process film ritually every day. i am happy i have it set up again for my black and white work.

i will most likely be in the darkroom tonight!=)

for some reason my epson scanner is reacting a bit strangely today and this scan is half positive and half negative creating an interesting effect...

please check out my stream on BLACK! i am so excited and am liking it very much!

www.fluidr.com/photos/21491133@N02

lianne just forward me this neat new link and way of exploring Flickr photos and videos!

thank you lianne!=)

toyo m 810

schneider 210mm xl

tri x

Verkeersknooppunt Prins Clausplein A4/A12. It dates from 1985.

Den Haag, Leidschenveen-Ypenburg, May 25, 2015.

© 2015 Sander Toonen Amsterdam | All Rights Reserved

I can't decide if I'm being incredibly productive today or not. The next level of Japanese classes starts on Tuesday, so I spent the better part of this morning studying Japanese again, before taking out the little mountain bike for a shred, then hitting up the grocery store for some fresh, wild BC salmon (none of that fish farm b*llshit) and a few other ingredients I'll need for dinner tonight, playing some more of the BF3 beta (it's amazing how addictive a single level can be...), and then playing with some strobez and FINALLY taking some shots of our (not so) new (anymore) couch.

In other news, I'm quite excited that the rain has held off today for as long as it has, and I've got my fingers crossed that it'll stay off long enough for another trail mapping tomorrow...

1 canon 430ex @ 1/32 and 105mm to the left and another to the right, both triggered with elinchrom skyports.

complexity in Design

"Non sono l’uomo vitruviano, racchiuso in un singolo cerchio perfetto, che guarda il mondo dalle coordinate della mia personale prospettiva (…). Io costruisco e sono costruito, in un processo mutuamente ricorsivo, che coinvolge continuamente i miei confini fluidi e permeabili e i miei network che si diramano all’infinito"

(Mitchell 2003)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Director, IIT,

And Friends

I thank the Ministry of External Affairs and the IIT for giving me the opportunity

to talk of Indian and West Asia – a region in which I spent over a decade of my

career dealing with its complexities and challenges. It is interesting that I speak to

you on West Asia here in Mumbai- I don’t know how many of you are aware that Iraq was administered from the Bombay Presidency during the early part of the British period. You have only to go to the Prince of Wales Museum - Chhatrapati Vastu Sangrahalaya - to see archaeological artefacts from ancient Iraqi sites which were brought to Mumbai then. But even more, Bombay has been, and remains, the first point of contact between the peoples of the Arab world- particularly the Gulf and Iran- and India. For decades we have seen Arabs in their traditional garb walking

and lounging on Marine Drive taking the air in the monsoon season- something

which is a rarity in their land.People who hail from Pune or Bangalore are equally

familiar with Iranians who have settled generations ago. In fact when I was doing my

PhD at Mumbai University Geroge’s Restaurant was a favourite for the Biryanis and

Pullav’s it served!

I do not need to mention to this gathering that contact between the Indian

people with those of West Asia goes back to centuries - even before Islam came to

that region; neither do I need to mention that this intercourse was two-way and

primarily benign. If we gave them the zero and the numeric system, we received

knowledge of navigation and sea-faring; if the tales of the panchatantra reached

them, in the Persian translation, as the stories of kalila wa dimna , then we received

the metre and the rhyme of sufi poetry not to mention its theology. There were

similar exchanges in the field of mathematics, astrology and astronomy, and

medicine as also in craft- skills like carpet-making and brocade weaving ( zardodzi

and kinkhab). The list is long but covers religion, culture, fine arts, sciences, music

and musical instruments, dance, language and literature, and cuisine. But above all

were the travel writings of Arab way-farers like al-Beruni and others who have left us

a wealth of record on India of that time. The essential driver was trade and

commercial exchanges. But for the water that separates us we are neighbours; the

relationship has been both enriching and enduring.

When one looks at the Asian land-mass to our West we see four separate

civilisations facing us- the Persian, the Arab, the Hebrew and the Turkish- all of them

were brought together under the Ottoman Empire which lasted 500 years and had

the widest spread of the then known world. It is interesting that while these four

cultures confronted one another, it was to India that they all aspired- through trade or

conquest or to escape from persecution in their native lands. It is even more

interesting that they do not seamlessly merge into one another at their peripherywhich

may possibly have something to do with the ethnicities and languages that go

with each culture: the Persians (or Iranians) are from Indo –Aryan stock, the Arabs

and Jews are both Semitic peoples and the Turks are themselves with a mixture of

the Mongol. Each of these cultures has had a unique historical relationship with

India.

West Asia not Middle East

It would not be out of place here to digress briefly to the controversy that runs

like a common thread on discussions on the region in India: its nomenclature. Middle

East is what it is commonly called, even though West Asia is its correct geographic

location. It is so pervasive that even the computer dictionary gives you a prompt to

capitalise M and E if you have not done it). We invariably call it West Asia. From

where we are middle east will be Bangkok! So why WEST ASIA?

The term Middle East was first used by US Admiral Mahan in 1902 to

designate his strategic concept for the land bridge connecting Africa, Asia and

Europe. As our Vice President, Hamid Ansari,, another former diplomat, has written,

the term is a misnomer and legacy of an era when points on the globe were

indentified with reference to the location of the seats of power of the European

Empire. Nehru firmly distanced himself from calling it the ‘Middle East’ as Quite apart

from its geographical position, it tended to continue a Euro-centric view of the region

along with the attitudinal baggage that it implied.

Since Independence a lot has changed in the region- especially at the political

and geo-strategic level. The oil crisis of 1974 focused the international community’s

attention on the region as never before. When one super-imposes the monumental

political developments, the world sees the ‘Middle East’ as the fulcrum of future

political and economic stability in the world. The region’s nomenclature as ‘Middle

East’ has gained widespread acceptance and even people of the region see

themselves as from the Middle East first, and then as nationals from the country they

belong. The word Middle East now bundles in it religion, culture, language and

ethnicity. The term is now often used interchangeably with West Asia. .

Defining the Region

The West Asian region breaks down conveniently into concentric circles of proximity

:

• The innermost circle comprises Afghanistan, the Gulf Cooperation

Council countries, Iran, Iraq and Yemen.

• In the next circle are the countries of the Mashreq ( West Asia)–(

Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon) - to our west and those of Central

Asia to our north-west;

• next the circle comprising Turkey, countries of the Maghreb(

Mediterranean sea-board)- Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco- and

the countries in the Horn of Africa -Djibouti, Sudan and Somalia.

It is amazing that when one surveys the Asia continent from Istanbul – its

western most extremity - one is struck by how much India has received from, and

given to, each of the cultures we encounter in between- the Arab, the Persian and

the Turkish. With each the intensity and thrust of our bilateral relations has been

different.

Contours of India’s Policy

At Independence the first three decisions on India’s foreign policy concerned

West Asia:

• our active support to the Khilafat Movement;

• India’s stand in the UN Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) in

1947 when in a dissenting note we advocated the establishment of a

federal Palestine with internal autonomy for the Jewish population;

• and the decision on how we were going to deal with the state of Israel

when it became independent in 1948.

These decisions were conditioned by India’s Partition which had left a

traumatised, yet larger, Muslim community within India than went to Pakistan. The

importance of the region, particularly Mecca and Medina in fulfilling the spiritual and

religious needs of India’s Muslim population could not be under-estimated. These

early decisions by the Government of India illustrate the counter pressures which

have always led India to search for a middle ground in its policy towards the region.

They also illustrate the considerations which come into play even today in India’s

policy towards the region.

From an early concentration on looking at the region through the Islamic

prism, Indian policy considerations have evolved in the last sixty years. The prism

has shown other dimensions of the relationship: the oil-rich countries of the Gulf,

particularly Iran and Iraq, became increasingly important for India in the 1960s and

1970s and remain so for our energy security. From the 1980s the region became a

source of employment for Indian workers, who today number 5 million and

correspondingly a source for huge remittances of about $ 20 billion annually. The

history and current status of India’s Diaspora in the Gulf is unique in that it has

become the driving force of those economies. The considerations which have guided

our policy in these years remain valid today despite the change in the political,

economic and social matrix:

• Friendly relations with the people of the region on the basis of shared

history and culture;

• equidistance in intra-regional conflicts;

• support to the Palestinian cause;

• Desire to play an effective role in the region, even as a possible

intermediary;

• in this context, management of the relations with Israel;

• oppose both exclusivist religious ideologies and religious fanaticism;

• Develop economic, trade and investment ties;

• Energy security

As Prof. Girijesh Pant has written ‘for India, West Asia is the region to

augment its power rather than to display or assert its power.’ The thrust of India’s

West Asia policy and diplomacy thus has to be geared towards mobilizing resources

- political, strategic, economic and cultural - from the region to contribute in its

emergence as global power. .while India’s recent economic success has made this

possible at the political level, Indian policy makers need to recognize that West

Asian sensitivities have been offended and hurt by aggressive US intervention

in the region. Indian policy has to be shaped in consonance with regional concerns.

This does not mean that Indian policy has to be hostage to West Asian expectations

but to underline that rise of India as a global player critically hinges upon its clout in

its immediate and extended neighbourhood. In defining India’s role we need to do so

within the geo-politics of a rising Asia.

It is important is to note that throughout this early period the India-West Asia

relationship remained one-sided. It was always India and Indians who were

dependant on the region and not so much in the reverse sense. It is only since this

Millennium that the relationship between India and West Asia has become twodimensional

on which more later, it is akin to a re-discovery of India by the countries

of West Asia.:

The Region in Crisis

Developments since 2000, the most provocative act being the 9/11 attack on

the World Trade Centre, changed the face of the region. The last ten years have

been described as ‘a bad decade’ by noted Lebanese journalist Rami. G. Khoury ..

Paradoxically, events and developments in the region had a profound influence on

the world and the way it thought of itself, yet the region could not itself rise above the

forces it unleashed.

The crisis in West Asia today can be traced to the long-term unresolved issue

of bringing about a secure and viable Palestinian state, and the short-term issue of

invasion and continuing presence of foreign forces. It has put pressure on national

sovereignty, national security and the authority of State. Yet unlike in Europe, after

fall of the Berlin Wall, centripetal rather than centrifugal forces have prevented the

region from imploding or the re-drawing of national boundaries and creation of new

states. The region presents the following challenges:

• Waning of the belief in Arab solidarity, unity and socialism which had blurred

,if not eliminated, differences of sects, beliefs and region and tribe; Change in

the social structure and mores in the region in favour of sect, tribe and

tradition; and a conscious desire to get away from western values. The

growing tension between the Sunni and Shia Muslims radiating westward

from Pakistan from which India has remained immune so far;

• The emergence of a ‘back-to-roots thinking which gives primacy to religious

belief in political matters; ;the sway of Al Qaeda and the Taliban;

• The consolidation of the state of Israel in the region, and internationally;

the unwritten edict which makes it taboo to mention Israeli nuclear

weapons while giving no quarter to Iran ( and Iraq earlier) on the

presumption that they either possess or seek to build them.

• the impotence of major players to find a way to establish an secure,

independent and viable Palestinian state causing a running sore on the

psyche of its peoples ; the dilemma of not having an honest broker to solve

the Palestinian issue coupled with growing disenchantment with US power

and ability to perform this role;

• The presence of foreign troops, in ever larger numbers, both on land

and sea- we now have US troops in bases in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar,

UAE and Western navies patrolling the Gulf, in particular the Hormuz

straits

• The passing of Arab leadership from Egypt, Syria, Libya , Iraq and Tunisia in

the post-colonial period to the growing clout of non-Arab players –Iran, US,

Turkey and Israel, – in the post-secular period;

• Iran is today the biggest beneficiary of US intervention in Iraq as well as the

policies of Israel and earlier US Administrations. With its ascendency its

neighbours, many with significant Shia minorities, are concerned, particularly

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Iran has now proxies in Lebanon, Gaza, Syria and

Palestine;

• The importance of energy resources of West Asia as the driver of political

and economic developments in a globalizing world: differences on their

security and their ownership;

• The coming into their own of the Gulf Sheikdoms on the back of high returns

from energy , growing stash of foreign exchange reserves and low population

bases leading leveraging these resources for internal and external

investments;

• Consolidation of authoritarian governments and suppression of dissent within

the trappings of democracy; the inability and unwillingness to hand political

power to Islamic- oriented parties; at the same time, an increasing recourse to

confessional type of governance- Lebanon no longer the exception but the

model;

• The increasing desire on the part of major Arab countries-Iraq, Saudi Arabia

and Egypt to seek nuclear and missile weapon capacity both to create

equities against Israel but to offset other regional players like Iran , all within

professed adherence to the NPT straitjacket;

• The use of Terror as an instrument of political negotiation :Internationalization

of the scourge of terrorism and terrorist groups after 9/11 ; by implication a

change from opposition of such groups to their placation through co-option

and clandestine support to achieve larger goals of religion or political

dominance;

• popular frustration at the inability to change systems and promote

participative governance;

• The passing by of West Asia by the most significant development of the 21st

century- the knowledge economy; West Asia is at most a recipient, but

neither an innovator, nor a provider;

• Moribund nature of Arab and Islamic institutions – Arab League and the OIC;

while the former is regarded by Egypt as an instrument f its foreign policy,

Saudi Arabia takes a similar view of the latter. Suffice it to say that in the face

of the tremendous pressure that Islam and Arabs have been under since 9/11

the two organisations have failed to take up the challenge to project the

universality of the Arab and the benign face of Islam.

From India’s point of view India’s Gulf Security rests on three pillars: Iran, Iraq

and Saudi Arabia. These pillars have never looked as much in flux as during the last

decade. The strategic importance of the region will continue to lie in its geography

and it’s much demanded natural resource petroleum and natural gas even though

according to one estimate global dependence on West Asian oil is declining – as of

2007 the region produced fewer than 30 per cent of the world’s crude oil compared

to 40 per cent in 1974-75.

India and the Region

India has always believed that its relations with the West Asian region are sui

generis and immune from the effects of relations of other regional and global powers.

This accounts for our relative unconcern with the role of other major and regional

powers in the region. We have tended to believe that our role does not compete with

any of the great powers, and to a large extent it does not. In the last decade this

sanguine belief has received a rude shock. Issues like terrorism, money-laundering

and safety of oil lanes have imposed new imperatives. With our energy requirements

expected to grow exponentially we will come into conflict with China and the US for

the oil and gas resources of the region.

The developments which have defined the shape of the region in the recent

past have necessarily centred on US policy particularly since 2000. It is the

articulation of US policy towards Palestine, Israel, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia

which has set the agenda for the region in the forthcoming decades. The period has

equally seen US- India relations getting closer and diverse with the beginnings of a

global strategic partnership. It has been both an asset and a liability.

How much was India influenced by the developments in the region and did it

play any role in them? What has been India’s position on the seminal events of the

decade? How is India perceived in the region as we start the second decade of the

21st century?

The answer to some of these questions will decide whether India’s West Asia

policy has adapted with the times or suffered from cognitive disability. It is axiomatic

that ties dating from antiquity of culture and religion, commerce and economics,

politics and security, oil and gas and people-to-people bind us and make it

incumbent to maintain forward-looking relations with the countries of the region.

While Mahatma Gandhi articulated it early on, since Independence India, as

the leader of the nonaligned movement, has always been counted on for its

steadfast support of the Palestinian cause. The political capital that Jawaharlal

Nehru built for us in the region nurtures our relations to this day. People of the region

rarely forget India’s support on a host of causes dear to the people of the region.

I will illustrate this with a personal reminiscence. Soon after the fall of

Baghdad to US forces on 8 April 2003 I visited Iraq incognito to make an assessment

on the vexed question of sending Indian troops to Northern Iraq to help the US and

coalition forces . We were under relentless pressure from George Bush and Donald

Rumsfeld. I vividly recall meeting Jalal Talabani (now President of Iraq) in his

northern redoubt of Dhokan and Massoud Barzani (now President of of Iraqi

Kurdistan) in his lair in salubrious Salahaddin to get their views.. Their opening

remarks to me were identical: both quoted verbatim Nehru on the Kurdish cause in

his Glimpses of World History. A cause which subsequent Indian governments could

do nothing about. It evocatively brought out how much we had achieved in the

opening years of our nation and how much we had distanced ourselves from our

core causes. The question which arises: have we built on this legacy, adapted it or

squandered it?

With 9/11 we found that finally our continuous 20-year old refrain on crossborder

terrorism finally found a receptive audience: but it became the global war on

terror and by the end of the decade we found that the perpetrators- Pakistan- had

assumed the mantle of victims. Nevertheless our view Pakistan is the epicentre of

terrorism has become conventional wisdom today although, and once again, no one

–not even the US –was interested to bell the cat. The country remains far too

important to fighting the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, never

mind the terror groups it continues to nurture to continue its proxy war with us..

9/11 provoked a re-think on the Islamic ideology in much of the West Asian

region, above all, in Saudi Arabia which saw the terrorism sponsored through its

inspiration come home to roost. We found an increased willingness for the first time

on the part of the Gulf Sheikdoms to co-operate with us on counter-terrorism,

restricting flow of funds to institutions with dual agendas and defence co-operation.

The lead was given by UAE which fully assisted us in the deportation of Aftab Ansari,

the perpetrator of the attack on the American Centre in Kolkata who like Afzal Guru

and Murugan remains on death row..

In the last decade the character of our relations with the Arab world became

genuinely two-way. Till then our relations were unidirectional: it was India which

needed their political support on Kashmir and their oil and gas; and Indians who

found jobs boosting the economy with large remittances and spiritual sustenance

from the Two Holy Cities and other places of pilgrimage. As an economy moving at

the much reviled ‘Hindu rate of growth’ there was precious little that India could

fundamentally contribute to the region. The shoe was always on the other foot

notwithstanding the salience of the political factor.

If one surveys our relations with the region they fall into two broad categories:

• With West Asia and North Africa, the thrust remains primarily political

based on India’s status as a leader of the Nonaligned crowned by our

consistent support to the Palestinians. It was only in the latter half of

the decade that the economic content of our relations with Morocco,

Algeria, Tunisia, Libya became more significant ;

• With the Gulf, the thrust is mainly economic engendered by our

consistently high rates of growth since 1997. Talk of ‘strategic

economic partnerships’ became current and an FTA between the GCC

and India was gone through. The increasing realisation in these

countries that their hydrocarbon resources needed to be up valued

through long-term and stable returns made India a natural partner with

its growing market, its thirst for hydrocarbons and its highly skilled

professionals. The last decade has spurred inward investment and

resource-based projects both in situ and in India. The lead given by the

Gulf countries was taken up by Syria, Jordan, Morocco and others.

India’s economic success was the driver of this change. It was greatly

assisted by two major developments:

• India’s growing relationship with the US made India attractive as a

partner to others also, and

• secondly, the growing tension in relations between the West and West

Asia exacerbated by the impasse in the Arab-Israeli situation had a

positive influence on its relations with India. The need to tie up viable

economic and investment projects catering to the Indian market or to

Indians became the over-riding concern;.

We saw a significant improvement in the ambient tenor of our relations with

the countries of the region although Gulf Security became even more complicated.

The spawning of terror outfits which received inspiration, sanctuary and funds from

the region became a matter of major concern with the rise of terror attacks in India

culminating with the Mumbai attack of 26/11.

For India, increased attention by the major countries in West Asia was an

interesting development and took place at a time when the country was trying

to cope with the growing terrorist threat and its inability to deal with it. India’s

focus on developing beneficial economic and investment projects was only

marginally successful and foundered on the perception of an absence of

reciprocity in the relationship, particularly high-level visits. It is no surprise that

the goodwill engendered by the factors noted above was almost dissipated

given the repeated postponements of PM’s visits to region, especially to Saudi

Arabia which finally took place in March 2010.

On the whole the tenor of our relations with each of the countries in the

region was positive and there appeared less of an incentive on their part to

flog the issues of Kashmir. To some extent this was helped by two factors:

first, India decided to embark on a Dialogue relationship with the Arab League

based in Cairo which helped to clear the air on India’s nuclear policy, relations

with Israel and related issues; second, for the first time there was a move by

some OIC countries to take a more positive view of India and the success of

its secular model with the second largest Muslim community in the world.

During his visit to India Saudi King Abdullah proposed that India should be

made an Observer ruffling the placid waters of an organisation which has

primarily moved to Saudi signals. Furthermore, OIC ‘s own fixation on making

itself more relevant against the Western onslaught following repeated Al

Qaeda terror attacks put its Pakistan-inspired India baiting on the back

burner. There was also a realisation at the popular level in the region that

more than political creed, most needed was regimes which would promote

greater prosperity and participatory governance.

Having considered the general trend of our relations with the region it is

useful to focus on some of the critical points in the region in order to

understand how our relations have developed at the micro level.

1. The AFPAK Region

Today the region which encompasses the border between Pakistan and

Afghanistan has become the fulcrum in terms of future security in the

region and indeed internationally. Despite the expenditure of close to US $

31 billion since 2001 and the presence of 130000-140000 foreign, mainly

US troops there is no end in sight for the War In Afghanistan. Even with the

scaling down of US war aims to a single point of defeating Al Qaeda so

that it cannot attack the US homeland again, we see a losing scenario.

While cooperation with Pakistan is crucial for this goal it has blind-sided the

US on Pakistan’s sponsorship of terror against India, its pandering to the

Afghan Taliban to hold a strategic asset in that country, facilitating the regrouping

of the Taliban and its pursuit of nuclear weaponisation.

India has worked within its policy of close friendship and assistance to the

Afghan people. We are working on a project investment of USD 1.3 billion

which will go to the Afghan people. We have persisted in this despite

repeated ISI-sponsored attacks against our projects and Embassy in

Kabul. At the political level we have had to acquiesce with recent USPakistan-

Afghanistan discussions on reconciliation with elements of the

Taliban even though their coming back into government is anathema to us

given our experience of 1996. From our point of view Taliban’s implacable

hostility makes it impossible for us to do business with them.

More important, however, is the fact that its link with ISI makes it a part of

the larger issue of India-Pakistan relations. We have now re-started the

bilateral dialogue accepting that in the face of Pakistan’s terrorist agenda

against India it is still better to keep talking to them. Despite US pressure

Pakistan is not inclined to reduce its anti-Indian rhetoric or agenda.

2. Relations with Israel

The US played a pivotal role in ending Israel’s diplomatic isolation and has

stood by Israel within the UN and outside it. Despite the fact of Israeli

nuclear capability, the United States has kept mum on it and has kept the

distance between India and Pakistan on the one hand and Israel on the other.

Given its dependence on Washington for political support, technological

assistance and economic largesse, Israel’s ability to pursue any major

defence deals with the outside world, including India, depends squarely on

Washington. As Israeli defence exports to India are being conducted under

the watchful eyes of the United States, the ties between India and Israel will

also be constrained by the extent to which the US wants this engagement to

expand.

In this background, India found it relatively easier to manage its relations

with Israel. The acquisition of defence equipment and defence material vital

for the security of India’s one billion people set the bench mark for the

relationship. The relationship has diversified into industry, manufacturing,

agriculture, services and ICT. After almost two decades of diplomatic relations

these relations have acquired a ‘special’ character although it has not stopped

Israel from attempting to open relations with Pakistan. By the same token,

India has ensured that its growing relations with Israel do not dilute its

traditional support to Palestine. For the first time since the Middle East Peace

Process commenced, India was invited to the US sponsored Anaheim

Summit. Yet Israel’s penetration in India has not been without costs: first,

continuing sentiment in the Arab world that India had abandoned its strong

support of the Palestinians although the latter have themselves remained

divided; second, Mumbai 26/11 demonstrated the danger of allowing new

Jewish places of worship in India given that Shabad House was a target. The

issue for India now remains the management of this mutually beneficial

relationship.

3. Relations with Palestine

India’s support to Palestine has been stead-fast since our Independence.

We were the first to recognise the State of Palestine declared by Yassir Arafat and

have continually given the movement financial and political assistance. Our not

having relations with Israel till 1992 was in their eyes a positive factor. It was only

after the Us – sponsored Madrid Middle East Peace Process started in 1991 that we

decided to open relations with Israel. It was our contention that since the Arabs and

the Jews were talking to each other –also under the Oslo framework- there was no

reason for India to hold out. While we had stipulated that our relations will be

calibrated with progress in the Arab-Israeli process , in fact the relations have moved

regardless.

We were invited by the US to be part of the US-sponsored Peace Process at the

Anaheim Conference in 2007 which failed to give the process a major impetus. On

the other had the division in Palestine itself- between the Hamas led Gaza

administration and the Mahmood Abbas led Palestine Authority in Ramallah has not

been helpful. Gaza remains under Israeli siege and there is no headway to meeting

the concerns of Hamas. India has excellent relations with the PA and only

intermittent contact with Hamas in Gaza.

Given the current scenario it is difficult to visualise a break-through on the Arab-

Israeli front: even the balanced policy which President Obama enunciated has not

seen the light of day yet. Meanwhile Israeli settlement activity continues as also its

hard policy against the Palestinians in Gaza.

4. Relations with Iran

Iran enjoys a rare political consensus in India and since the early 1990s

every Indian Government has placed a high priority on strengthening its ties with

Tehran. India is unlikely to share Israeli apprehensions over neither Iranian

radicalism nor Israel of India’s concern over China. A number of factors such as

India’s need to counter Pakistan’s influence in the Islamic world, the increasing geopolitical

importance of Central Asia, and the need to strengthen economic and

commercial ties have led to a growing convergence in India-Iran interests in the postcold

war period.

The Iranian puzzle also brings in the American dimension that has both

positive and negative implications after four sets of US/UN sanctions the last in May

2010. India and Iran have differences of perceptions on the issue of nuclear

proliferation, gas pipelines and relations with Israel. India is keen that Iran follows its

NPT obligations and opposes its nuclear ambitions. This is true of Russia, China,

Europe and others also. At the same time we have no problem if Iran wants to assert

itself in the region. Over the past five years it is Iran which has benefited the most

from the actions of extra-regional and regional powers. Their cooperation will be

crucial in successfully tackling the problems of the region. During EAM Krishna’s visit

to Tehran in May 2010 we discussed the developments in the AfPak region in which

both have major interest. We also agreed that terror was the common challenge for

both countries.

5. Relations with Turkey

India’s relations with Turkey have again been historic with the Mughals-

Turko-Mongols - coming to India for conquest. During the Independence struggle

Mahatma Gandhi launched a campaign to support the Caliphate in Istanbul which

was under the threat of extinction under Mustafa Kamal Attaturk- the Khilafat

Movement. Funds were collected for this purpose and sent to Istanbul; but they

reached only when the Caliphate had been abolished. Ataturk, in his wisdom, used

the funds for the construction of the first building of the Turkish Parliament.

After Independence with Turkey’s membership of NATO and CENTO it

became close top Pakistan- which still remains if in no other way than sentiment.

With Turkey’s aspiration for joining the European Union it has come closer to India in

its views on terrorism and bilateralism in discussions with neighbours.

Turkey is today undergoing a transition from the secular ethos which was a

hall mark of Kemalism to a more religiously oriented polity with the ascendance of

the AKP- a moderate Islamic political party. In a way the wheel has come a full circle.

India’s relations with Turkey remain good with a strong injection of the

economic component. Turkey is today the transit for the BTC oil pipeline which

delivers Azerbaijani crude on the Mediterranean sea. Indian companies have been

involved in construction of the pipeline and Turkish companies have been looking at

infra projects in India.

Turkey has an important role in Afghanistan and provides a strong contingent as

part of NATO. It has, apart from Pakistan, the oldest links with that country.

6. Relations with Saudi Arabia

The visit to India of Saudi King Abdullah in January 2006, fifty years after the last,

signalled an important change in that country’s way of looking at India.It was

noteworthy that out of his 4-country visit to India, Pakistan, Malaysia and China, he

spent the longest in India and the shortest in Pakistan, its traditional friend. The visit

sent a powerful message to the Arab World and led to visit of other Arab leaders

from Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Syria, Egypt and others.

India, unlike China, was not able to effectively convert the opening provided by

the Saudi visit in 2006 into major projects based on their energy and other mineral

resources and on strong political support. There is no gainsaying the fact that

support from Saudi Arabia remains crucial to our concerns on Pakistan’s

machinations on Kashmir and in the OIC. Saudi support becomes even more

important as and when the US withdraws its troops from Afghanistan given the

former’s support of the Taliban; and because it our largest supplier of crude from the

Gulf. The visit this March of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gives us an opportunity

to pick up these threads.

Under the wise King Abdullah Saudi Arabia has tried to maintain its leadership of the

Arab world despite charges of being the inspiration, if not the inspirator, of Islamicoriented

terror which eventually hit the country internally also. Whether on the

Palestine-Israeli issue, or the OIC or new openings the Saudi King has steadfastly

moved ahead. Yet the intensification of Shia -Sunni conflict in Iraq, the presence of

US troops and bases in the region and growing internal pressure on the US

Administration to make an honourable exit from Afghanistan by doing a deal with the

Afghan Taliban, Saudi Arabia’s capacity to determine the flow of events will only

increase.

Looking Ahead

It will be seen that the last decade was eventful for West Asia and the Gulf

insofar as much of what came out of there drove the reactions and policies of the

rest of the world. The US invasion of Iraq disturbed the settled relationships of the

earlier era and brought ethnic and religious conflict fore-ground bringing new players

in the region other than the US- Turkey and Iran. Yet in the larger movement of

technology, finance, innovation and enterprise the world passed it by. While the last

decade brought a degree of respite from the highly political content of its

relationship, India did not keep up the flow of interaction at high political levels.

India’s increasing acceptance as an emerging global power was seen as

compensation enough possibly to the detriment of our long term interests. India’s

initiatives in the region were more bilateral aimed at enhancing our energy security

and the security of our borders. International concerns besetting the region had a

relatively lower salience in our policy and we remained content to watch

developments from the sidelines.

India still has considerable political capital in West Asia built up over the Nehru

years. The re-defining of this capital would be challenge of our West Asian policy in

the years to come. In defining an Indian role in West Asia a number of

considerations not directly in the realm of foreign policy come into play. The

immutable considerations - all domestic - that have weighed heavily on our policy are

the presence of the second largest Muslim community in the world; the dependence

of our country on West Asia’s energy resources (60 per cent of our hydrocarbon

needs); and the remittances from the Indian Diaspora in the Gulf. These will continue

to determine the parameters of our policy in the future also. To this have to be added

new determinants: India’s economic success which has created a growing market for

energy and other natural resources from West Asia and a secure destination for its

investment; India’s role in a rejuvenated group of developing countries alike IBSA

and BRIC; India as a paradigm for democratic and cultural pluralism; and India’s firm

opposition to terrorism in any form.

The future looks equally uncertain for the region in the background of

projected withdrawal of US and Western forces from Iraq and Afghanistan. The

reconstruction of these devastated countries, and the region itself, will have both

challenges and opportunities. India still has the best credentials in the region not

having been identified with the negative developments of the last decade. Despite

last year’s global financial crisis our economy looks poised to maintain its growth

trajectory at a time when the Gulf and West Asia is still reeling. The moment is

opportune for a new opening to the region. Prime Minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia sent

a positive message in the region on which we need to capitalise.

Let me list some cardinal points which could determine India’s policy on West

Asia

• India will always support secular, democratic and plural societies in West

Asia while finding a modus vivendi to do business with the parties in power in

order to maintain its traditional friendship with the countries of the region. Its

continuing interest in the Palestine issue must be translated into constructive

engagement.

• India’s primary goal has to be the safeguarding of the security in the Gulf, and

to this end, enhancing its relations with Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran in a nonzero

sum approach. It would mean developing cooperative maritime security

and counter-terror arrangements with all the Gulf countries. It would also

require close contact with these countries in combating terrorism and the

linked nexus of arms smuggling, money laundering and drugs.

• India’s relations with Israel have acquired a depth and diversity which cannot

be rolled back. This has happened because Israel has been able to meet

crucial Indian needs in the field of defence, agriculture and technology. The

relation has to be seen in the context of the imperative of any Indian

government to assure the security of one billion people. Our experience has

shown, as in Kargil that despite usurious costs Israel has shown itself to be a

reliable partner. India does not need to be defensive on this score especially

since the importance of this relationship cuts across party lines. It is a

situation which needs advocacy both within the country and the region.

• India by the weight of its historical relations with and its current economic

success has to carve a role leveraging its growing market and talent pool and

the natural and financial resources of the region. While the Gulf countries,

including Iraq and Iran are the most susceptible to this approach, it is equally

possible with countries like Egypt and the other countries in the Maghreb like

Libya and Morocco. Maximising economic and trade interaction will provide

the ballast for closer and more balanced overall relations .As stated above

the rise of India hinges on its clout in its proximate neighbourhood.

• India’s goal will be to develop a two-dimensional relation with the countries of

the region. Recent indications of West Asian countries ‘looking East’ towards

India need to be capitalized upon. India’s future lies in its increasing

recognition as a rising Asian economic power.

• India’s model of a secular and democratic polity and its commitment to

ensuring minority rights has a great attraction in today’s West Asia where

religious and cultural differences amongst the diverse ethnicities have been

exposed. In this context, India needs to develop a new channel of interaction

through civil society organizations as a means to foster exchange of views on

common social and economic problems. Some trends in this direction with

Saudi Arabia and Iran are already noticeable. Development of cultural

relations will have to be a major plank of India’s policy towards West Asia.

• India will have to carefully calibrate its relations with the region in such a way

that its policy parameters remain inviolable amidst pressures of its growing

relations with the Great Powers particularly the US. A regular dialogue with

the US and EU on developments in West Asia would provide a tool to

understand the parameters on both sides.

• A number of minorities in the region like the Kurds who have found a voice, in

the churning that the region has undergone, hold India in high esteem. A

subsidiary goal of Indian policy in the region has to be to encourage these

communities within the framework of the constitutional structure in the

countries in which they live.

Foreign policy decisions in the coming years will have consequences for

peace and harmony in our multi-cultural, multi-religious country. . We should do what

we can to strength the forces of stability and moderation in the region.

Let me end on a lighter note by coming back to our cultural links- in particular

cuisine. Much of the cuisine of the Arab world has its roots in the Ottoman cuisine

considering they were part of that empire for 500 years. Different parts of the Arab

world specialised in different components of Turkish cuisine – while the Lebanese

excelled in salads, the Syrians became the masters of filo-pastry and desserts, and

the Iraqis of grills, the couzi whole lamb pullav is universal to the Arab world. A lot of

this cuisine also travelled to India with the Turko-Mongols. Next time you order a

Shami Kebab remind yourself that it comes from Damascus, which in Arabic is called

balad as-sham; but strangely they don’t make this dish in Syria. They instead make a

dish called kebab hindi which is nothing like the shami kebab!

Thank You

i

Rajendra Abhyankar is Chairman Kunzru Centre for Defence Study and Research, Pune. A former diplomat he

was Indian Ambassador in Syria, Turkey and Azerbaijan and was Secretary (East) in MEA. From 2006 to 2008 he

was Director, Centre for West Asian Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.

The internal building at the Seattle Center was complex, not easily photographed, but, by taking it through a mirror reflection I think I brought some simplicity to the photo as a whole. The decision to angle was made to bring more visual interest…ie What is this?

In a religious feminist context the phrase hester panim could connote not so much the hiding of the face as its disguise, and one which brought God deep into the broken heart of Auschwitz. She remained among us, perhaps unknown and unknowable, but not hidden. (Much as in the women's camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau when one of Charlotte Delbo's friends has pulled her safely from the flailing clubs and lashes of the SS, Delbo is asked ' "Who were you with?" "With me, we were together," ' interjects Yvonne. Delbo says, ' "She had never stopped being by my side. I had not seen her." '64)

-The Female Face of God in Auschwitz A Jewish feminist theology of the Holocaust Melissa Raphael

Palm Complexity - Nature can command attention in an urban setting, here seen at the Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, Arizona. Captured on a photo walk on New Year’s Day.

n. the awareness of the smallness of your perspective, by which you couldn’t possibly draw any meaningful conclusions at all, about the world or the past or the complexities of culture, because although your life is an epic and unrepeatable anecdote, it still only has a sample size of one, and may end up being the control for a much wilder experiment happening in the next room.

The Complexity Of Simple Things -- Pentax K 3 + Pentax DA*smc 60-250mm f/4 ED IF SDM -- Thanks For 23.643 Views July 20

www.nmkphotography.com

handmade collage on paper

50 x 70 cm

synapticstimuli.com/thoughtecture/

Ahh, the complexities of Atkinson model identification :-)

Q876DAJ propels LUP521J away from the Atkinson rally at the Leyland museum c.1988

Everything in the universe goes by indirection. There are no straight lines.

~~ by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Interaction between buildings...

Some real good blue sky for that day

Music City, Paris, France - May 2015

Please check out my gallery for more photographic images -- photocherry.co.uk

These images have been photographed using #cymatics (visualising sound) to show the moment a liquid reacts to sound from a speaker.

The images are part of a 16 image series that I produced for my final exhibition at university.

#Context

The foundations of the universe can be defined by energy, mass and entropy, with vibration being the vessel that interlinks them all. Entropy is the measurement of disorder and this factor can help in the understanding of the irregularities and inconsistencies that occur in all aspects of our existence.

The primal instincts of Human nature are to progress and bring order to chaos. ‘Structured Entropy – Arrested Vibration’, is a photographic series that is been constructed to document the hidden formations that occur in reaction to the natural process of vibration. Using a speaker to provide vibration, I has placed a mixture of consumer grade anti -aging cream onto the speaker and photographed the event, in a manner that suspends the moment of implosion.

Following the principles of Conceptual art and Post-modernist theory, I endeavour to examine and question- temporality, absence, the human condition and our connections to the natural world, revealing the perpetuated tensions between order and complexity.

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the slideshow

Qi Bo's photos on Fluidr

Qi Bo's photos on Flickriver

Qi Bo's photos on FlickeFlu

Qi Bo's photos on PICSSR

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The rites of Holy Week are present in Sicily with complexity of content and symbologies due to numerous influences, very present those due to the Spanish culture, dominating the island between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; in the mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ, it is attended by a popular culture, referring to ancient pre-Byzantine rites that originated long before those of Mediterranean Christian culture.

These ancient rituals represent the most significant moments of the Passion of Jesus Christ, described in the Gospels, from his arrest by the Romans to the Resurrection and are part of the Holy Week celebrations, together with the normal religious functions.

The Good Friday procession at Bronte has its roots far beyond the characters received by Spanish domination, realizing itself as one of the most complex and archaic in absolute, a procession impregnated with prayer, penance and symbolism. The protagonists are the city confraternities that give a reconstruction of the Scenes of the Passion, featuring the apostles, the pious women, the Roman soldiers and Christ, and the statues of Our Lady of Sorrows, Christ the Column, Christ Crucified and Dead Christ, decorated with fresh beans, led by the faithful invoking grace in brontese dialect.

The porters of Dead Christ are in silence because Christ is dead, while the bearers of Our Lady of Sorrows intonate the songs of the adoration of the Cross of Christ.

It is a sequence of scenes that live along the winding streets of Bronte, which on Holy Friday become a great stage in which the Passion and Death of Christ is recited.

Since the morning everywhere is silent, it is not sung and does not laugh, the bells do not ring because they were "tied up" on Thursday. In a sign of sadness you can only hear the woody sound of "troccola" and drums.

The three "pious women" (with large black dresses, the face is hidden by long natural hair, grown and cared for by vote) in religious silence; there are clerics and childre veiled and dressed in white; each of them is entrusted with an object that finds precise references to the symbols of passion (a palm, chalice, cross, hammer and nails, sponge, ladder, spear, sheet of shroud, and other objects); there is Saint Michael the Archangel, who is traditionally a seven-eight-year-old child dressed in classic iconography, slowly goes along with an angel-girl who carries the "chalice of the Passion," with a cadence-step marked by the rhythm of a drum to make them a mimic with a movement that recalls that of Sicilian puppets.

The Christ is tied up and dragged by the violence of the Roman soldiers, and the Christ, curved that carries the cross helped by the little Cireneo.

The two figures of Christ are members of two families who pass the vote and devotion from father to son and carry their covered face and bare feet in the sign of penance.

All the statues, except that of the Dead Christ, are adorned with flowers and with the first fruits of the earth, especially beans and peas, as a sign of God's offering of the first fruits of this period, are carried on the shoulder of devotees: the rituals of Easter Jewish Christian period recall a symbolic pre-Christian ritual .

This is a short and long report on the procession of Bronte's Holy Friday of this year, 2017.

I riti della Settimana Santa presentano in Sicilia una complessità di contenuti e di simbologie dovute a numerosi influssi, molto presenti quelli dovuti alla cultura spagnola, dominante nell’isola tra il XVI ed il XVII secolo; nel mistero della morte e della resurrezione di Cristo, si assiste nella cultura popolare, a riferimenti risalenti da antichi riti pre-bizantini che originano da molto prima di quelli della cultura cristiana mediterranea.

Questi antichi riti rappresentano i momenti più significativi della Passione di Gesù Cristo, descritti nei Vangeli, dal suo arresto da parte dei romani alla Resurrezione e fanno parte, insieme alle normali funzioni religiose, delle celebrazioni della Settimana Santa.

La processione del Venerdì Santo a Bronte affonda le sue radici ben oltre i caratteri ricevuti dalla dominazione spagnola, realizzandosi come una delle più complesse ed arcaiche in assoluto, processione impregnata di preghiera, di penitenza e di simbolismo. Protagoniste sono le confraternite cittadine che danno vita ad una ricostruzione delle scene della Passione, con figuranti che fanno rivivere gli apostoli, le pie donne, i soldati romani ed il Cristo, insieme ad essi le statue della Madonna Addolorata, del Cristo alla Colonna, del Cristo Crocifisso e del Cristo Morto, addobbate con le fave fresche, condotte dai fedeli che invocano la grazia in dialetto brontese.

I portatori del Cristo Morto restano in silenzio perché il Cristo è morto, mentre i portatori della Madonna Addolorata intonano i canti dell’adorazione della Croce del Cristo.

E’ una sequenza di scene che prendono vita lungo le tortuose strade di Bronte, le quali durante il Venerdì santo diventano un grande palcoscenico, nelle quali si recita la Passione e la Morte del Cristo.

Già dal mattino dappertutto è silenzio, non si canta e non si ride, le campane non suonano perchè sono state «legate» il giovedì. In segno di tristezza si può ascoltare solo il suono legnoso della “troccola” e dei tamburi.

Sfilano in religioso silenzio le tre "pie donne" (con grandi abiti neri, il volto è nascosto da lunghi capelli naturali, fatti crescere e curati per voto); ci sono i chierichetti e le giovinette velate e vestite di bianco; a ciascuna di esse è affidato un oggetto che trova preciso riferimento ai simboli della passione (una palma, il calice, la croce, il martello e i chiodi, la spugna, la scala, la lancia, il lenzuolo della Sindone, ed altri oggetti); ecco san Michele Arcangelo, tradizionalmente è un bambino di sette-otto anni, vestito secondo la classica iconografia, procede lentamente insieme ad una bimba-angelo che reca il “calice della Passione”, con un cadenzato passo scandito dal ritmo di un tamburo, tale da far loro mimare una sorta di movimento che richiama quello dei pupi Siciliani.

Vengono rappresentati il Cristo legato e trascinato dalla violenza dei soldati romani, ed il Cristo, curvo che porta la croce aiutato dal piccolo cireneo.

Le due figure del Cristo sono membri di due famiglie che si tramandano il voto e la devozione da padre in figlio e portano la faccia coperta ed i piedi nudi, in segno di penitenza.

Tutte le statue, tranne quella del Cristo Morto, sono adornate con fiori e con le primizie della terra (fave e piselli soprattutto, in segno d’offerta a Dio delle primizie di questo pe¬rio¬do sono portate a spalla da centi¬naia di devoti: i rituali della Pasqua giudaico cri¬stia¬na, richiamano una ritualità simbolica precri¬stiana dove la pa-rola pasqua, dall'ebraico pesah = passaggio, è sintesi di rinno¬va¬mento, di transito da una fase di morte della natu-ra (l'inver¬no) ad una fase di vita e di risveglio (la primavera), si ha così la sovrap¬po¬sizione dei rituali reli-giosi con le cele¬brazioni arcaiche legate al risveglio della na¬tura. Si innesca una disarmonia este¬tica sulle vare fra la ricca infiorata ed poveri baccelli di fave, le quali finiscono col possedere uno o più significati sim¬bolici,

come essere portatrici di un omaggio alla divinità con fine propiziatorio che discende da motivazioni antiche, legate alla vita dei pastori che nel Brontese hanno avuto ed ancor hanno larga importanza, dalla pianura proprio nel periodo pasquale, essi ritorna¬va¬no ai pascoli montani dopo aver concluso la transu¬manza e, nella occasione, portavano alle divinità il dono di una primi¬zia costituita proprio dalle faviane. A margine di questa usanza religiosa vi è un'altra ap¬pen¬dice devozionale:a lla fine della processione i por¬ta-tori del¬le vare manifestano l'antichissima credenza ma¬gico religiosa della legge del contatto secondo la quale ciò che è stato vicino al divino diventa elemento di pro¬tezione contro ogni avversità e apportatore di be¬nes¬sere spirituale e materiale, essi allora cercano di impossessarsi dei baccelli che sono stati ap¬pe¬si alle vare.

Queso è un report breve e lungo sulla processione del Venerdi Santo di Bronte di quest’anno, 2017.

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Airdrie Stud stallion Complexity had his first graded stakes winner yesterday with Mo Plex in the Grade III Sanford Stakes at Saratoga.

All rights reserved. Permission required to reuse.

Processed with VSCO with b6 preset

raindrops on a spider web dangling from a a cactus

Gazing southeastward over the portion of the archaeological site just to the east of the Temple of Apollo. Beyond it is the Pleistos rift-valley gorge, floored with olive groves, and the far cliff with some notable rockslide chutes.

The fastigiate (columnar) evergreen trees are that key element of the Greek landscape, Mediterranean Cypresses (Cupressus sempervirens).

And in case you're wondering, the title refers to the fact the ancient Greeks considered Delphi the navel of the world.

As I noted in Part 3, much of ancient Delphi is a world-class collection of fallen-down stones. This is what happens, eventually at least, when architecture meets plate tectonics.

Still, this scene undoubtedly contains a number of different building-stone types worthy of scrutiny—and considerably more, actually, than discussed in A Geological Companion to Greece and the Aegean (Higgins & Higgins, 1996). This should come as no surprise, though, given how immensely important this place was to the ancient Greeks.

I already had some grasp of this petrological complexity when I posted the previous image and description. That shot shows breccia not cited in the Higginses. Fortunately, I then came across a godsend of a technical article, "The Stones of the Sanctuary of Delphi – Northern Shore of the Corinth Gulf – Greece" (De Vals et al., 2020)." This detailed study does not list all the varieties I've discovered in other sources, and while its command of lucid English is pretty dicey, it does provide an exemplary level of detail about the rock types found in and around the Apollo Sanctuary.

So I'm going to make this post my grand inventory, periodically updated as necessary, of all Delphi rock types I've identified so far. I will not mention in this section where specifically they're found, but will show buildings featuring some of them in following posts. For the sedimentary rocks of the Apollo Sanctuary, I closely follow, with much appreciation, the names and other terminology used in de Vals et al.

AUTOCHTHONOUS (present as bedrock in this area; and locally obtained)

1. Parnassus Limestone. Quarried from the Parnassus Massif scarp just above ancient Delphi. Presumably all Cretaceous. Generally a light gray, even when weathered. (De Vals et al. refer to the Parnassus limestones, plural, but I'm just keeping it simple.)

2. Profitis Ilias Limestone. High-quality Cretaceous limestone from the Profitis Ilias locale, approximately 5 km (3.1 mi) west of here. Light gray when fresh, with weathered surfaces a darker, bluish gray.

3. Slope Breccia. This is relithified limestone colluvium from the foot of the Parnassus scarp. Presumably Quaternary in age. Gray clasts in a buff or ocher-colored matrix.

4. Pink Limestone. Pink to gray when fresh, weathering to gray. Ancient source unknown; but this type is currently quarried 12 km (7.5 mi) east of Delphi. Presumably Cretaceous.

5. Rudist Limestone. Dark-tinted and full of Cretaceous bivalve fossils of the rudist group. It's exposed just to the south and west of the archaeological site.

ALLOCHTHONOUS (not present as bedrock in this area; imported from other parts of mainland Greece or the Aegean Islands)

6. Parian Marble. From the isle of Paros, which, geologically speaking, is in the Attic-Cycladic Belt. Much beloved of classical sculptors, this is premium true marble—dove-white, waxy to the touch, and translucent. Its limestone protolith dates to the late Paleozoic or Mesozoic; it was metamorphosed into its present form in the Tertiary.

7. "Poros" Stone Types. Poros is a dreadfully imprecise term denoting a grab-bag of soft, low-density, and easily worked sedimentary rocks ranging from marly limestones to travertines and sandstones. Quarried in such places as Piraeus, Sicyon, and Corinth. Most seem to be Tertiary or Quaternary in age. They are frequently untraceable to a specific source locale.

With this roll-call complete, we can now proceed to such structures as the Temple of Apollo, Polygonal Wall, Theater, and Stadium, and explore what they're made of.

To see the other photos and descriptions in this series, visit my Geology (Architectural & Otherwise) of the Earth's Center album.

Seen in Flickr Explore .

Double exposed pylon tweaked through lightroom to make it pop even harder. I actually really like this shot, it's best on black. Glad I grabbed it before going for the finale.

Processed with VSCO with c1 preset

dear friends,,,

in this mind world of increasing complexity, i have found it is healthy at regular intervals to go back to what is simple,,, to find a resting place there and a solace.

more is not always better, especially when much of that 'more' is filled up with non-essential, distracting yet strangely consuming trivia.

when the continuity of life - that of a loved one, or your own - is suddenly called into question, there is often an equally sudden clarity that comes to the body and mind. instantly, it is clear to you what is important, what is valuable,,, and what is not. resources you had tied up in hurt feelings, accusations and justifications immediately untangle as you are drawn intensely into the present reality.

interesting to note: even if the threat subsides, or is discovered to be unfounded, that moment of clarity is just as real and striking.

so then, we can reasonably agree that such clarity is not dependent upon life-threatening circumstance, but can be called upon at any time by our choice,,,

we could call this choice a decision to simplify.

foremost, Webster defines simple as without guile, offering the synonym innocent. a beautifully keen description.

if we were to be completely honest with ourselves, we might agree that a large percentage of the suffering we both take upon ourselves and spread to those around us has roots in 'trivial', non-essential kinds of complexities. the cyclic frustrations and tiny agonies both, a product of our programmed perspectives. if we can agree to this, we might also recognize such consumption of our internal resources as a kind of guile - trading that which is precious for that which is valueless and even destructive,,,

is it possible that the worst crimes are the ones we commit against ourselves? the worst lies, the ones we tell ourselves? how can we hope to be true to others if we are not first true with ourselves?

i stood in awe today for several minutes watching a thousand thousand colors move, blend and change shape in rapid succession,,, listening to an orchestra of a thousand thousand players that never played the same combination of notes twice. no, it wasn't HDTV ; ) it was the tall tree outside my house, moving with a wind.

i looked at that undeniably gorgeous, living piece of work, and thought,,, it's been here all the while i've lived in this house,,, likely just as beautifully perfect and peaceful as it is right now. every time i was frustrated, angry, feeling sorry for myself, complaining,,, it was right here, being,,, alive.

and i laughed, spun and laughed, doing my human best to join the tree in its celebration. this is life, i thought. life is simple. as i looked up i saw also how incredible the clouds were,,, miles away, a thousand times magnificent, but moved by that same wind.

and somewhere in that turning, a decision,,,

every part of this tree is directly involved in the tree's benefit and growth. so will i resolve to ensure that every part of me is involved and contributing to my growth and aliveness,,, and those parts that are not, those i will resolve to let go of.

just as no tree would thrive whose leaves were eating away at its own branches,,, neither can we thrive by allowing the self destructive aspects of our nature to consume our health and resources.

if the beauty of humans is sometimes found in our complexities, surely there must be a balance, a careful watch to ensure those complexities don't disconnect us from the simple joy it is to be alive.

love to you my beautiful friends,,, from a heart resolved to grow as big as it can,,,

jesh *

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Washington, DC

a complex mixture of direct sight, reflections and shadows.