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Elsa and Anna have been removed from the backing, but are still attached to the large plastic spacer, and to each other.
Deboxing my Elsa and Anna 11'' dolls. They have been removed from the box, but are still attached to the cardboard backing and plastic spacers, by wires, plastic tabs, threads and rubber bands. They are also attached to each other. The backing has a castle and mountain painted as the background.
Elsa and Anna 11'' Doll Set - Frozen
US Disney Store
$39.95 US
D23 Expo Exclusive
Released and purchased on Sunday, August 11, 2013
First Look
This doll set was introduced at the D23 Expo on August 11, 2013 in limited quantities. I was lucky enough to get a set (only one set was sold per Guest). I am photographing the dolls boxed, during deboxing, and fully deboxed. I have already posted a sneak peek of them fully deboxed, joining my favorite dolls on my Disney Doll Desktop Display.
They are the lead characters in the upcoming Disney animated movie Frozen, based on the The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen. The movie is scheduled to be released on November 27, 2013.
Text of the box notes:
From the movie Disney Frozen
Walt Disney Animation Studios presents the collest comedy-adventure to ever hit the big screen with Frozen. When a prophecy traps a kingdom in eternal winter, Anna, a fearless optimist, must team up with Kristoff, an extreme mountain man, and his reindeer on an epic journey to find Anna's sister, the Snow Queen Elsa, and put an end to her icy spell. Encountering mystical trolls, a hilarious snowman named Olaf, Everest-like extremes, and magic at every turn, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom from destruction.
Tv and folding table ..... RED! Great budget hotel with limited service concept meaning lower costs by removing costly hotel extras you don't use – like airco, internet, tv, toiletries towels… so pay-as-you-use basis by adding add-ons or not …. ( 12 or 24 hour airco etc)
Tune Hotels core proposition is to offer a great night’s sleep at a great price. All of the Tune hotels feature space-efficient, streamlined rooms focusing on high-quality basics: 5-star beds and powerful hot showers. Though minimally priced, the strategically located hotels provide housekeeping services, electronic keycard access into rooms, extensive CCTV systems, and no access into the main lobby without a keycard past midnight. A ‘pay as you use’ system is in place for optional energy-consuming amenities.
Tenant brands that operate in Tune Hotels.com hotels include 7-Eleven, Subway Restaurants and Gloria Jean's Coffees.
Hotel space is also available for rent to advertisers (indoors, outdoors as well as whole floors) on room walls, room keys, hallways and in the lobby. Major advertisers include CIMB Bank, King Koil, Marigold, Nippon Paint and Nestle.
Prepare to be amazed.: 3d anaglyph in controlled studio lights.
We've got the sync technology and an amazing (secret) rig for two Canon 5Ds...
Soon on your screens.
Press "L" and use red/cyan glasses to see it (red on left eye, cyan on right eye).
Made in collaboration with Shotbart
Strobist:
3x580ex into ceiling for room light
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Copyright © John G. Lidstone, all rights reserved.
It is an offence under law if you remove my copyright marking, or post this image anywhere else without my express written permission.
Guest photographer Jonathan Valentine, 46223 Duchess of Sutherland on shed in September 2017. I phone photo processed in Photoshop , Royal Crest removed in adobe
The thirteenth Station of the Cross: Christ is removed from the Cross. Body broken, Spirit is gone to do battle with Death itself.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Azhar_Mosque
Al-Azhar Mosque (Arabic: الجامع الأزهر, romanized: al-Jāmiʿ al-ʾAzhar, lit. 'The Resplendent Congregational Mosque', Egyptian Arabic: جامع الأزهر, romanized: Gāmiʿ el-ʾazhar), known in Egypt simply as al-Azhar, is a mosque in Cairo, Egypt in the historic Islamic core of the city. Commissioned as the new capital of the Fatimid Caliphate in 970, it was the first mosque established in a city that eventually earned the nickname "the City of a Thousand Minarets". Its name is usually thought to derive from az-Zahrāʾ (lit. 'the shining one'), a title given to Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad.
After its dedication in 972, and with the hiring by mosque authorities of 35 scholars in 989, the mosque slowly developed into what it is today.
The affiliated Al-Azhar University is the second oldest continuously run one in the world after Al-Qarawiyyin in Idrisid Fes. It has long been regarded as the foremost institution in the Islamic world for the study of Sunni theology and sharia, or Islamic law. In 1961, the university, integrated within the mosque as part of a mosque school since its inception, was nationalized and officially designated an independent university, Al-Azhar Al Sharif, following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952.
Over the course of its over a millennium-long history, the mosque has been alternately neglected and highly regarded. Because it was founded as a Shiite Ismaili institution, Saladin and the Sunni Ayyubid dynasty that he founded shunned al-Azhar, removing its status as a congregational mosque and denying stipends to students and teachers at its school. These moves were reversed under the Mamluk Sultanate, under whose rule numerous expansions and renovations took place. Later rulers of Egypt showed differing degrees of deference to the mosque and provided widely varying levels of financial assistance, both to the school and to the upkeep of the mosque. Today, al-Azhar remains a deeply influential institution in Egyptian society that is highly revered in the Sunni Muslim world and a symbol of Islamic Egypt.
Name
The city of Cairo was established by the Fatimid general Jawhar al-Siqilli, on behalf of the Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz, following the Fatimid conquest of Egypt in 969. It was originally named al-Manṣūriyya (المنصورية) after the prior seat of the Fatimid caliphate, al-Mansuriyya in modern Tunisia. The mosque, first used in 972, may have initially been named Jāmiʿ al-Manṣūriyya (جامع المنصورية, "the mosque of Mansuriyya"), as was common practice at the time. It was al-Mu'izz who renamed the city al-Qāhira (القاهرة, "the Victorious"). The name of the mosque thus became Jāmiʿ al-Qāhira (جامع القاهرة, "the mosque of Cairo"), the first transcribed in Arabic sources.
The mosque acquired its current name, al-ʾAzhar, sometime between the caliphate of al-Mu'izz and the end of the reign of the second Fatimid caliph in Egypt, al-Aziz Billah (r. 975–996).ʾAzhar is the masculine form for zahrāʾ, meaning "splendid" or "most resplendent". Zahrāʾ is an epithet applied to Muhammad's daughter Fatimah, wife of caliph Ali. She was claimed as the ancestress of al-Mu'izz and the imams of the Fatimid dynasty; one theory is that her epithet is the source for the name al-ʾAzhar. The theory, however, is not confirmed in any Arabic source and its plausibility has been both supported and denied by later Western sources.
An alternative theory is that the mosque's name is derived from the names given by the Fatimid caliphs to their palaces. Those near the mosque were collectively named al-Quṣūr al-Zāhira (القصور الزاهرة, "the Brilliant Palaces") by al-Aziz Billah, and the royal gardens were named after another derivative of the word zahra. The palaces had been completed and named prior to the mosque changing its name from Jāmiʿ al-Qāhira to al-ʾAzhar.
The word Jāmiʿ is derived from the Arabic root word jamaʿa (g-m-ʿ), meaning "to gather". The word is used for large congregational mosques. While in classical Arabic the name for al-Azhar remains Jāmiʿ al-ʾAzhar, the pronunciation of the word Jāmiʿ changes to Gāmaʿ in Egyptian Arabic.[c]
History
A paved courtyard is visible in the foreground, and behind it a wall of angular keel-shaped arched bays supported by columns. Behind the wall, two minarets, a dome, and another minaret are visible from left to right. In the far background in the center the top of another minaret can be seen.
The courtyard of the mosque, dating to the Fatimid period. Above, the minarets date from the Mamluk period. From left to right: the double-finial minaret of Qansuh al-Ghuri, the minaret of Qaytbay, and the minaret of Aqbugha (behind the dome).
Fatimid Caliphate
After the conquest of Egypt, Jawhar al-Siqilli oversaw the construction of the royal enclosure for the caliph's court and the Fatimid army, and had al-Azhar built as a base to spread Isma'ili Shi'a Islam. Located near the densely populated Sunni city of Fustat, Cairo became the center of the Isma'ili sect of Shi'a Islam, and seat of the Fatimid empire.
Jawhar ordered the construction of a congregational mosque for the new city and work commenced on April 4, 970. The mosque was completed in 972 and the first Friday prayers were held there on June 22, 972 during Ramadan.
Al-Azhar soon became a center of learning in the Islamic world, and official pronouncements and court sessions were issued from and convened there. Under Fatimid rule, the previously secretive teachings of the Isma'ili madh'hab (school of law) were made available to the general public. Al-Nu'man ibn Muhammad was appointed qadi (judge) under al-Mu'izz and placed in charge of the teaching of the Isma'ili doctrine. Classes were taught at the palace of the caliph, as well as at al-Azhar, with separate sessions available to women. During Eid al-Fitr in 973, the mosque was rededicated by the caliph as the official congregational mosque in Cairo. Al-Mu'izz, and his son—when he in turn became caliph—would preach at least one Friday khutbah (sermon) during Ramadan at al-Azhar.
Yaqub ibn Killis, a polymath, jurist and the first official vizier of the Fatimids, made al-Azhar a key center for instruction in Islamic law in 988. The following year, 45 scholars were hired to give lessons, laying the foundation for what would become the leading university in the Muslim world.
The mosque was expanded during the rule of the caliph al-Aziz Billah. According to al-Mufaddal, he ordered the restoration of portions of the mosque and had the ceiling raised by one cubit. The next Fatimid caliph, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (r. 996–1021), would continue to renovate the mosque, providing a new wooden door in 1010. However, al-Hakim's reign saw the completion of the al-Hakim Mosque, and al-Azhar lost its status as Cairo's primary congregational mosque. In May 1009 the al-Hakim Mosque became the sole location for the caliph's sermons; prior to this, al-Hakim would rotate where the Friday sermon was held. Following al-Hakim's reign, al-Azhar was restored by Caliph al-Mustansir Billah (r. 1036–1094). Additions and renovations were carried during the reign of the remaining Fatimid caliphs. Caliph al-Hafiz undertook a major refurbishment in 1138, which established the keel-shaped arches and carved stucco decoration seen in the courtyard today, as well as the dome at the central entrance of the prayer hall.
Initially lacking a library, al-Azhar was endowed by the Fatimid caliph in 1005 with thousands of manuscripts that formed the basis of its collection. Fatimid efforts to establish Isma'ili practice among the population were, however largely unsuccessful. Much of its manuscript collection was dispersed in the chaos that ensued with the fall of the Fatimid Caliphate, and Al-Azhar became a Sunni institution shortly thereafter.
Ayyubid dynasty
Saladin, who overthrew the Fatimids in 1171, was hostile to the Shi’ite principles of learning propounded at al-Azhar during the Fatimid Caliphate, and under his Ayyubid dynasty the mosque suffered from neglect. Congregational prayers were banned by Sadr al-Din ibn Dirbass, appointed qadi by Saladin. The reason for this edict may have been Shāfi‘ī teachings that proscribe congregational prayers in a community to only one mosque, or mistrust of the former Shi'a institution by the new Sunni ruler. By this time, the much larger al-Hakim Mosque was completed; congregational prayers in Cairo were held there.
In addition to stripping al-Azhar of its status as congregational mosque, Saladin also ordered the removal from the mihrab of the mosque a silver band on which the names of the Fatimid caliphs had been inscribed. This and similar silver bands removed from other mosques totaled 5,000 dirhems. Saladin did not completely disregard the upkeep of the mosque and according to al-Mufaddal one of the mosque's minarets was raised during Saladin's rule.
The teaching center at the mosque also suffered. The once well stocked library at al-Azhar was neglected, and manuscripts of Fatimid teachings that were held at al-Azhar were destroyed. The Ayyubid dynasty promoted the teaching of Sunni theology in subsidized madrasas (schools) built throughout Cairo. Student funding was withdrawn, organized classes were no longer held at the mosque, and the professors that had prospered under the Fatimids were forced to find other means to earn their living.
Al-Azhar nevertheless remained the seat of Arabic philology and a place of learning throughout this period. While official classes were discontinued, private lessons were still offered in the mosque. There are reports that a scholar, possibly al-Baghdadi, taught a number of subjects, such as law and medicine, at al-Azhar. Saladin reportedly paid him a salary of 30 dinars, which was increased to 100 dinars by Saladin's heirs. While the mosque was neglected by Saladin and his heirs, the policies of the Sunni Ayyubid dynasty would have a lasting impact on al-Azhar. Educational institutions were established by Sunni rulers as a way of combating what they regarded as the heretical teachings of Shi'a Islam. These colleges, ranging in size, focused on teaching Sunni doctrine, had an established and uniform curriculum that included courses outside of purely religious topics, such as rhetorics, math, and science. No such colleges had been established in Egypt by the time of Saladin's conquest. Saladin and the later rulers of the Ayyubid dynasty would build twenty-six colleges in Egypt, among them the Salihiyya Madrasa.
Al-Azhar eventually adopted Saladin's educational reforms modeled on the college system he instituted, and its fortunes improved under the Mamluks, who restored student stipends and salaries for the shuyūkh (teaching staff).
Mamluk Sultanate
A man with a full beard and turban reclines on his right side on a carpet, with his elbow and back resting on a pillow, next to an open arched window. His right hand holds a fly-whisk; in front of him on the floor is a sheathed sword.
A Mamluk bey
Congregational prayers were reestablished at al-Azhar during the Mamluk Sultanate by Sultan Baibars in 1266. While Shāfi‘ī teachings, which Saladin and the Ayyubids followed, stipulated that only one mosque should be used as a congregational mosque in a community, the Hanafi madh'hab, to which the Mamluks adhered, placed no such restriction. Al-Azhar had by now lost its association with the Fatimids and Ismāʿīli doctrines, and with Cairo's rapid expansion, the need for mosque space allowed Baibars to disregard al-Azhar's history and restore the mosque to its former prominence. Under Baibars and the Mamluk Sultanate, al-Azhar saw the return of stipends for students and teachers, as well as the onset of work to repair the mosque, which had been neglected for nearly 100 years. According to al-Mufaddal, the emir 'Izz al-Din Aydamur al-Hilli built his house next to the mosque and while doing so repaired the mosque. Al-Maqrizi reports that the emir repaired the walls and roof as well as repaving and providing new floor mats. The first khutbah since the reign of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim took place on 16 January 1266 with the sermon delivered on a new pulpit completed five days earlier.
An earthquake in 1302 caused damage to al-Azhar and a number of other mosques throughout Mamluk territory. The responsibility for reconstruction was split among the amirs (princes) of the Sultanate and the head of the army, Sayf al-Din Salar, who was tasked with repairing the damage. These repairs were the first done since the reign of Baibars. Seven years later, a dedicated school, the Madrasa al-Aqbughawiyya, was built along the northwest wall of the mosque. Portions of the wall of the mosque were removed to accommodate the new building. Construction of another school, the Madrasa al-Taybarsiyya began in 1332–1333. This building, which was completed in 1339-1340, would also impact the structure of the mosque as it was built over the site of the mida'a, the fountain for ablution. Both of the madrasas were built as complementary buildings to al-Azhar, with separate entrances and prayer halls.
Though the mosque had regained its standing in Cairo, repairs and additional work were carried out by those in positions lower than sultan. This changed under the rule of al-Zahir Barquq, the first sultan of the Burji dynasty. Both Sultan Barquq and then Sultan al-Mu'ayyad tried, in 1397 and 1424 respectively, to replace the minaret of al-Azhar with a new one in stone, but on both occasions the construction was found to be defective and had to be pulled down. The resumption of direct patronage by those in the highest positions of government continued through to the end of Mamluk rule. Improvements and additions were made by the sultans Qaytbay and Qansuh al-Ghuri, each of whom oversaw numerous repairs and erected minarets that still stand today. It was common practice among the Mamluk sultans to build minarets, perceived as symbols of power and the most effective way of cementing one's position in the Cairo cityscape. The sultans wished to have a noticeable association with the prestigious al-Azhar. Al-Ghuri may also have rebuilt the dome in front of the original mihrab.
Although the mosque-school was the leading university in the Islamic world and had regained royal patronage, it did not overtake the madrasas as the favored place of education among Cairo's elite. Al-Azhar maintained its reputation as an independent place of learning, whereas the madrasas that had first been constructed during Saladin's rule were fully integrated into the state educational system. Al-Azhar did continue to attract students from other areas in Egypt and the Middle East, far surpassing the numbers attending the madrasas. Al-Azhar's student body was organized in riwaqs (fraternities) along national lines, and the branches of Islamic law were studied. The average degree required six years of study.
By the 14th century, al-Azhar had achieved a preeminent place as the center for studies in law, theology, and Arabic, becoming a cynosure for students all around the Islamic world. However, only one third of the ulema (Islamic scholars) of Egypt were reported to have either attended or taught at al-Azhar. One account, by Muhammad ibn Iyas, reports that the Salihiyya Madrasa, and not al-Azhar, was viewed as the "citadel of the ulema" at the end of the Mamluk Sultanate.
Province of the Ottoman Empire
Two arched entrance-ways in the portico of a large two-story building face a street. Above the arches the building's wall is carved and ornamented. To the right, the building rises to a third story. Behind the wall two minarets framing the top of a dome are visible.
Bab al-Muzayinīn (Gate of the Barbers), built by Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda during Ottoman rule. The minaret on the left, atop the Madrasa al-Aqbughawiyya, was also remodeled by Katkhuda, before being remodeled again in the 20th century.
With the Ottoman annexation of 1517, despite the mayhem their fight to control the city engendered, the Turks showed great deference to the mosque and its college, though direct royal patronage ceased. Sultan Selim I, the first Ottoman ruler of Egypt, attended al-Azhar for the congregational Friday prayer during his last week in Egypt, but did not donate anything to the upkeep of the mosque. Later Ottoman amirs likewise regularly attended Friday prayers at al-Azhar, but rarely provided subsidies for the maintenance of the mosque, though they did on occasion provide stipends for students and teachers. In contrast to the expansions and additions undertaken during the Mamluk Sultanate, only two Ottoman walīs (governors) restored al-Azhar in the early Ottoman period.
Despite their defeat by Selim I and the Ottomans in 1517, the Mamluks remained influential in Egyptian society, becoming beys ("chieftains"), nominally under the control of the Ottoman governors, instead of amirs at the head of an empire. The first governor of Egypt under Selim I was Khai'r Bey, a Mamluk amir who had defected to the Ottomans during the Battle of Marj Dabiq. Though the Mamluks launched multiple revolts to reinstate their Sultanate, including two in 1523, the Ottomans refrained from completely destroying the Mamluk hold over the power structure of Egypt. The Mamluks did suffer losses—both economic and military—in the immediate aftermath of the Ottoman victory, and this was reflected in the lack of financial assistance provided to al-Azhar in the first hundred years of Ottoman rule. By the 18th century the Mamluk elite had regained much of its influence and began to sponsor numerous renovations throughout Cairo and at al-Azhar specifically.
Al-Qazdughli, a powerful Mamluk bey, sponsored several additions and renovations in the early 18th century. Under his direction, a riwaq for blind students was added in 1735. He also sponsored the rebuilding of the Turkish and Syrian riwaqs, both of which had originally been built by Qaytbay.
This marked the beginning of the largest set of renovations to be undertaken since the expansions conducted under the Mamluk Sultanate. Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda was appointed katkhuda (head of the Janissaries) in 1749 and embarked on several projects throughout Cairo and at al-Azhar. Under his direction, three new gates were built: the Bab al-Muzayinīn (the Gate of the Barbers), so named because students would have their heads shaved outside of the gate, which eventually became the main entrance to the mosque; the Bab al-Sa'ayida (the Gate of the Sa'idis), named for the Sa'idi people of Upper Egypt; and, several years later, the Bab al-Shurba (the Soup Gate), from which food, often rice soup, would be served to the students. A prayer hall was added to the south of the original one, doubling the size of the available prayer space. Katkhuda also refurbished or rebuilt several of the riwaqs that surrounded the mosque. Katkhuda was buried in a mausoleum he himself had built in Al-Azhar; in 1776, he became the first person (and the last) to be interred within the mosque since Nafissa al-Bakriyya, a female mystic who had died around 1588.
During the Ottoman period, al-Azhar regained its status as a favored institution of learning in Egypt, overtaking the madrasas that had been originally instituted by Saladin and greatly expanded by the Mamluks. By the end of the 18th century, al-Azhar had become inextricably linked to the ulema of Egypt. The ulema also were able to influence the government in an official capacity, with several sheikhs appointed to advisory councils that reported to the pasha (honorary governor), who in turn was appointed for only one year. This period also saw the introduction of more secular courses taught at al-Azhar, with science and logic joining philosophy in the curriculum. During this period, al-Azhar saw its first non-Maliki rector; Abdullah al-Shubrawi, a follower of the Shafii madhab, was appointed rector. No follower of the Maliki madhab would serve as rector until 1899 when Salim al-Bishri was appointed to the post.
Al-Azhar also served as a focal point for protests against the Ottoman occupation of Egypt, both from within the ulema and from among the general public. Student protests at al-Azhar were common, and shops in the vicinity of the mosque would often close out of solidarity with the students. The ulema was also on occasion able to defy the government. In one instance, in 1730–31, Ottoman aghas harassed the residents living near al-Azhar while pursuing three fugitives. The gates at al-Azhar were closed in protest and the Ottoman governor, fearing a larger uprising, ordered the aghas to refrain from going near al-Azhar. Another disturbance occurred in 1791 in which the wāli harassed the people near the al-Hussein Mosque, who then went to al-Azhar to demonstrate. The wāli was subsequently dismissed from his post.
French occupation
Napoleon invaded Egypt in July 1798, arriving in Alexandria on July 2 and moving on to Cairo on July 22. In a bid to placate both the Egyptian population and the Ottoman Empire, Napoleon gave a speech in Alexandria in which he proclaimed his respect for Islam and the Sultan:
People of Egypt, you will be told that I have come to destroy your religion: do not believe it! Answer that I have come to restore your rights and punish the usurpers, and that, more than the Mamluks, I respect God, his Prophet and the Koran ... Is it not we who have been through the centuries the friends of the Sultan
A man in a late 17th-century French military uniform, wearing a bicorne hat decorated with three large plumes or leaves stands on the right of the image, a sheathed sword at his left side. He is presenting a red white and blue scarf to a full-bearded man on the left of the image. The man accepting the scarf stands with his head slightly bowed and palms crossed and flat on his chest, wearing a large square turban and long blue and gold caftan that reaches his feet. To his left is a palm tree, and in the far background pyramids and camels.
Napoleon presenting an Egyptian bey a tricolor scarf (1798–1800)
On July 25 Napoleon set up a diwan made up of nine al-Azhar sheikhs tasked with governing Cairo, the first body of Egyptians to hold official powers since the beginning of the Ottoman occupation. This practice of forming councils among the ulema of a city, first instituted in Alexandria, was put in place throughout French-occupied Egypt. Napoleon also unsuccessfully sought a fatwa from the al-Azhar imams that would deem it permissible under Islamic law to declare allegiance to Napoleon.
Napoleon's efforts to win over both the Egyptians and the Ottomans proved unsuccessful; the Ottoman Empire declared war on 9 September 1798, and a revolt against French troops was launched from al-Azhar on 21 October 1798. Egyptians armed with stones, spears, and knives rioted and looted. The following morning the diwan met with Napoleon in an attempt to bring about a peaceful conclusion to the hostilities. Napoleon, initially incensed, agreed to attempt a peaceful resolution and asked the sheikhs of the diwan to organize talks with the rebels. The rebels, believing the move indicated weakness among the French, refused. Napoleon then ordered that the city be fired upon from the Cairo Citadel, aiming directly at al-Azhar. During the revolt two to three hundred French soldiers were killed, with 3,000 Egyptian casualties. Six of the ulema of al-Azhar were killed following summary judgments laid against them, with several more condemned. Any Egyptian caught by French troops was imprisoned or, if caught bearing weapons, beheaded. The French troops intentionally desecrated the mosque, walking in with their shoes on and guns displayed. The troops tied their horses to the mihrab and ransacked the student quarters and libraries, throwing copies of the Quran on the floor. The leaders of the revolt then attempted to negotiate a settlement with Napoleon, but were rebuffed.
Napoleon, who had been well respected in Egypt and had earned himself the nickname Sultan el-Kebir (the Great Sultan) among the people of Cairo, lost their admiration and was no longer so addressed. In March 1800, French General Jean Baptiste Kléber was assassinated by Suleiman al-Halabi, a student at al-Azhar. Following the assassination, Napoleon ordered the closing of the mosque; the doors remained bolted until Ottoman and British assistance arrived in August 1801.
The conservative tradition of the mosque, with its lack of attention to science, was shaken by Napoleon's invasion. A seminal innovation occurred with the introduction of printing presses to Egypt, finally enabling the curriculum to shift from oral lectures and memorization to instruction by text, though the mosque itself only acquired its own printing press in 1930. Upon the withdrawal of the French, Muhammad Ali Pasha encouraged the establishment of secular learning, and history, math, and modern science were adopted into the curriculum. By 1872, under the direction of Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī, European philosophy was also added to the study program.
Muhammad Ali Dynasty and British occupation
A man with a full white beard and long trained mustache faces the viewer. He wears a white turban and back robe. High on his waist is a gold sash decorated with purple and orange stripes. His left hand holds a cord that goes across his chest, and is connected to a sheathed sword in front of him.
Muhammad Ali, founder of the Alawiyya Dynasty which ruled Egypt from 1805 until the Egyptian Revolution in 1952
Following the French withdrawal, Ali, the wāli (governor) and self-declared khedive (viceroy) of Egypt, sought to consolidate his newfound control of the country. To achieve this goal he took a number of steps to limit, and eventually eliminate, the ability of the al-Azhar ulema to influence the government. He imposed taxes on rizqa lands (tax-free property owned by mosques) and madrasas, from which al-Azhar drew a major portion of its income. In June 1809, he ordered that the deeds to all rizqa lands be forfeited to the state in a move that provoked outrage among the ulema. As a result, Umar Makram, the naqib al-ashraf, a prestigious Islamic post, led a revolt in July 1809. The revolt failed and Makram, an influential ally of the ulema, was exiled to Damietta.
Ali also sought to limit the influence of the al-Azhar sheikhs by allocating positions within the government to those educated outside of al-Azhar. He sent select students to France to be educated under a Western system and created an educational system based on that model that was parallel to, and thus bypassed, the system of al-Azhar.
Under the rule of Isma'il Pasha, the grandson of Muhammad Ali, major public works projects were initiated with the aim of transforming Cairo into a European styled city. These projects, at first funded by a boom in the cotton industry, eventually racked up a massive debt which was held by the British, providing an excuse for the British to occupy Egypt in 1882 after having pushed out Isma'il Pasha in 1879.
The reign of Isma'il Pasha also saw the return of royal patronage to al-Azhar. As khedive, Isma'il restored the Bab al-Sa'ayida (first built by Katkhuda) and the Madrasa al-Aqbughawiyya. Tewfik Pasha, Isma'il's son, who became khedive when his father was deposed as a result of British pressure, continued to restore the mosque. Tewfik renovated the prayer hall that was added by Katkhuda, aligned the southeastern facade of the hall with the street behind it, and remodeled the facade of the Madrasa al-Aqbughawiya along with several other areas of the mosque. Abbas Hilmi II succeeded his father Tewfik as khedive of Egypt and Sudan in 1892, and continued the renovations started by his grandfather Isma'il. He restructured the main facade of the mosque and built a new three-story riwaq in neo-Mamluk style along the mosque's southwestern corner (known as the Riwaq al-'Abbasi) which was completed in 1901. Under his rule, the Committee for the Conservation of Monuments of Arab Art (also known as the "Comité"), also restored the original Fatimid sahn. These renovations were both needed and helped modernize al-Azhar and harmonize it with what was becoming a metropolis.
The major set of reforms that began under the rule of Isma'il Pasha continued under the British occupation. Muhammad Mahdi al-'Abbasi, sheikh al-Azhar, had instituted a set of reforms in 1872 intended to provide structure to the hiring practices of the university as well as to standardize the examinations taken by students. Further efforts to modernize the educational system were made under Hilmi's rule during the British occupation. The mosque's manuscripts were gathered into a centralized library, sanitation for students improved, and a regular system of exams instituted. From 1885, other colleges in Egypt were placed directly under the administration of the al-Azhar Mosque.
During Sa'ad Zaghloul's term as minister of education, before he went on to lead the Egyptian Revolution of 1919, further efforts were made to modify the educational policy of al-Azhar. While a bastion of conservatism in many regards, the mosque was opposed to Islamic fundamentalism, especially as espoused by the Muslim Brotherhood, founded in 1928.[59] The school attracted students from throughout the world, including students from Southeast Asia and particularly Indonesia, providing a counterbalance to the influence of the Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia.
Under the reign of King Fuad I, two laws were passed that reorganized the educational structure at al-Azhar. The first of these, in 1930, split the school into three departments: Arabic language, sharia, and theology, with each department located in buildings outside of the mosque throughout Cairo. Additionally, formal examinations were required to earn a degree in one of these three fields of study. Six years later, a second law was passed that moved the main office for the school to a newly constructed building across the street from the mosque. Additional structures were later added to supplement the three departmental buildings.
The ideas advocated by several influential reformers in the early 1900s, such as Muhammad Abduh and Muhammad al-Ahmadi al-Zawahiri, began to take hold at al-Azhar in 1928, with the appointment of Mustafa al-Maraghi as rector. A follower of Abduh, the majority of the ulema opposed his appointment. Al-Maraghi and his successors began a series of modernizing reforms of the mosque and its school, expanding programs outside of the traditional subjects. Fuad disliked al-Maraghi, and had him replaced after one year by al-Zawahiri, but al-Maraghi would return to the post of rector in 1935, serving until his death in 1945. Under his leadership, al-Azhar's curriculum was expanded to include non-Arabic languages and modern sciences. Al-Zawahiri, who had also been opposed by the ulema of the early 1900s, continued the efforts to modernize and reform al-Azhar. Following al-Maraghi's second term as rector, another student of Abduh was appointed rector.
Post 1952 revolution
Following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, led by the Free Officers Movement of Mohamed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser, in which the Egyptian monarchy was overthrown, the university began to be separated from the mosque. A number of properties that surrounded the mosque were acquired and demolished to provide space for a modern campus by 1955. The mosque itself would no longer serve as a school, and the college was officially designated a university in 1961. The 1961 law separated the dual roles of the educational institution and the religious institution which made judgments heeded throughout the Muslim world. The law also created secular departments within al-Azhar, such as colleges of medicine, engineering, and economics, furthering the efforts at modernization first seen following the French occupation. The reforms of the curriculum have led to a massive growth in the number of Egyptian students attending al-Azhar run schools, specifically youths attending primary and secondary schools within the al-Azhar system. The number of students reported to attend al-Azhar primary and secondary schools increased from under 90,000 in 1970 to 300,000 in the early 1980s, up to nearly one million in the early 1990s, and exceeding 1.3 million students in 2001.
A smiling man with a black mustache faces the viewer's left. His hair is dark and short, white at the temples. He is wearing a western-style two-piece gray suit and white shirt, with an angularly striped tie and visible white pocket handkerchief. Behind him several faces are visible.
Gamal Abdel Nasser, who led the Egyptian Revolution in 1952 with Mohamed Naguib, instituted several reforms of al-Azhar
During his tenure as Prime Minister, and later President, Nasser continued the efforts to limit the power of the ulema of al-Azhar and to use its influence to his advantage. In 1952, the waqfs were nationalized and placed under the authority of the newly created Ministry of Religious Endowments, cutting off the ability of the mosque to control its financial affairs. He abolished the sharia courts, merging religious courts with the state judicial system in 1955, severely limiting the independence of the ulema. The 1961 reform law, which invalidated an earlier law passed in 1936 that had guaranteed the independence of al-Azhar, gave the President of Egypt the authority to appoint the sheikh al-Azhar, a position first created during Ottoman rule and chosen from and by the ulema since its inception. Al-Azhar, which remained a symbol of the Islamic character of both the nation and the state, continued to influence the population while being unable to exert its will over the state. Al-Azhar became increasingly co-opted into the state bureaucracy after the revolution—independence of its curriculum and its function as a mosque ceased. The authority of the ulema were further weakened by the creation of government agencies responsible for providing interpretations of religious laws. While these reforms dramatically curtailed the independence of the ulema, they also had the effect of reestablishing their influence by integrating them further into the state apparatus. The 1961 reform law also provided the ulema with the resources of the state, though the purse strings were outside of their control. While Nasser sought to subjugate the ulema beneath the state, he did not allow more extreme proposals to limit the influence of al-Azhar. One such proposal was made by Taha Hussein in 1955. Hussein sought to dismantle the Azharite primary and secondary educational system and transform the university into a faculty of theology which would be included within the modern, secular, collegiate educational system. The ulema opposed this plan, though Nasser's choice of maintaining al-Azhar's status was due more to personal political considerations, such as the use of al-Azhar to grant legitimacy to the regime, than on the opposition of the ulema.
Al-Azhar, now fully integrated as an arm of the government, was then used to justify actions of the government. Although the ulema had in the past issued rulings that socialism is irreconcilable with Islam, following the Revolution's land reforms new rulings were supplied giving Nasser a religious justification for what he termed an "Islamic" socialism. The ulema would also serve as a counterweight to the Muslim Brotherhood, and to Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi influence. An assassination attempt on Nasser was blamed on the Brotherhood, and the organization was outlawed. Nasser, needing support from the ulema as he initiated mass arrests of Brotherhood members, relaxed some of the restrictions placed on al-Azhar. The ulema of al-Azhar in turn consistently supported him in his attempts to dismantle the Brotherhood, and continued to do so in subsequent regimes. Despite the efforts of Nasser and al-Azhar to discredit the Brotherhood, the organization continued to function. Al-Azhar also provided legitimacy for war with Israel in 1967, declaring the conflict against Israel a "holy struggle".
Following Nasser's death in 1970, Anwar Sadat became President of Egypt. Sadat wished to restore al-Azhar as a symbol of Egyptian leadership throughout the Arab world, saying that "the Arab world cannot function without Egypt and its Azhar". Recognizing the growing influence of the Muslim Brotherhood, Sadat relaxed several restrictions on the Brotherhood and the ulema as a whole. However, in an abrupt about-face, in September 1971 a crackdown was launched on journalists and organizations that Sadat felt were undermining or attacking his positions. As part of this effort to silence criticism of his policies, Sadat instituted sanctions against any of the ulema who criticized or contradicted official state policies. The ulema of al-Azhar continued to be used as a tool of the government, sparking criticism among several groups, including Islamist and other more moderate groups. Shukri Mustafa, an influential Islamist figure, accused the ulema of providing religious judgments for the sole purpose of government convenience. When Sadat needed support for making peace with Israel, which the vast majority of the Egyptian population regarded as an enemy, al-Azhar provided a decree stating that the time had come to make peace.
Hosni Mubarak succeeded Sadat as President of Egypt following Sadat's assassination in 1981. While al-Azhar would continue to oblige the government in granting a religious legitimacy to its dictates, the mosque and its clergy were given more autonomy under Mubarak's regime. Under Jad al-Haq, the sheikh of al-Azhar from 1982 until his death in 1994, al-Azhar asserted its independence from the state, at times criticizing policies of the state for instigating extremist Islamist sects. Al-Haq argued that if the government wished al-Azhar to effectively combat groups such as al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya then al-Azhar must be permitted greater independence from the state and for it to be allowed to make religious declarations without interference. Under Mubarak, a number of powers of the state were ceded to al-Azhar. During the 1990s, modifications to existing censorship laws gave al-Azhar the ability to censor both print and electronic media. Though the law stipulates that al-Azhar may only become involved following a complaint, in practice its role has been much more pervasive; for example, television scripts were routinely sent to al-Azhar for approval prior to airing.
Al-Azhar continues to hold a status above other Sunni religious authorities throughout the world, and as Sunnis form a large majority of the total Muslim population al-Azhar exerts considerable influence on the Islamic world as a whole. In addition to being the default authority within Egypt, al-Azhar has been looked to outside of Egypt for religious judgments. Prior to the Gulf War, Saudi Arabia's King Fahd asked for a fatwa authorizing the stationing of foreign troops within the kingdom, and despite Islam's two holiest sites being located within Saudi Arabia, he asked the head sheikh of al-Azhar instead of the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia. In 2003, Nicolas Sarkozy, at the time French Minister of the Interior, requested a judgment from al-Azhar allowing Muslim girls to not wear the hijab in French public schools, despite the existence of the French Council of Islam. The sheikh of al-Azhar provided the ruling, saying that while wearing the hijab is an "Islamic duty" the Muslim women of France are obligated to respect and follow French laws. The ruling drew much criticism within Egypt as compromising Islamic principles to convenience the French government, and in turn the Egyptian government.
Post 2011 revolution
Al-Azhar was not unaffected by the 2011 Egyptian revolution that saw the removal of Hosni Mubarak as president of Egypt. Student government elections in the months following the revolution resulted in an overwhelming victory for the once banned Muslim Brotherhood. Protests demanding that the military junta ruling Egypt restore the mosque's independence from the state broke out, and the mosque itself commissioned the writing of a draft law that would grant al-Azhar greater independence from the government. Within al-Azhar, debate on its future and rightful role within the state has replaced what had been a mollified single-voice in support of the policies of the Mubarak regime. The various views on al-Azhar's future role in Egypt come from several parties, including leading Islamist organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood, liberal voices that wish to see al-Azhar stand as a bulwark against ultra-conservative Islamists (known as Salafists), and those that hope to see al-Azhar become wholly independent from the state and in complete control of its finances, leadership, and further that it be placed in charge of the religious ministries of the state.
In 2018 a major restoration of the mosque was completed, financed by both King Abdullah and King Salman of Saudi Arabia. Among the goals of the restoration was the reinforcement of the building's foundations, the restoration of its architectural elements, and upgrades to its infrastructure. The Bab al-Muzayinīn (Gate of the Barbers), formerly one of the main public entrances to the mosque, has been made less accessible as a result of the restoration project.
In 2020, representatives from the mosque spoke out against sexual violence in Egypt, prompted by the social media campaign instigated by student Nadeen Ashraf.
Architecture
Foundation and structural evolution under Fatimids
A large room filled with rows of cylindrical columns on top of square bases. The columns support arches which are pierced by square beams going the length of the room in both directions. Hanging from the beams are lamps, and the room's floor is covered with a red carpet with a repeated beige arched doorway shaped design on it. Exterior light enters from right of the room.
Hypostyle prayer hall with columns used from various periods in Egyptian history
The original structure of the mosque was 280 feet (85 m) in length and 227 feet (69 m) wide, and was made up of three arcades situated around a courtyard. To the southeast of the courtyard was the original prayer hall, built as a hypostyle hall, five aisles deep, though with its qibla wall slightly off the correct angle. The marble columns supporting the four arcades that made up the prayer hall were reused from sites extant at different times in Egyptian history, from Pharaonic times through Roman rule to Coptic dominance. The different heights of the columns were made level by using bases of varying thickness.[100] The stucco exterior shows influences from Abbasid, Coptic and Byzantine architecture.
Ultimately a total of three domes were built, a common trait among early north African mosques, although none of them have survived Al-Azhar's many renovations. The historian al-Maqrizi recorded that in the original dome al-Siqilli inscribed the following:
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate; according to the command for its building from the servant of Allah, His governor abu Tamim Ma'ad, the Imam al-Mu‘izz li-Dīn Allāh, Amir al-Mu'minin, for whom and his illustrious forefathers and his sons may there be the blessings of Allah: By the hand of his servant Jawhar, the Secretary, the Ṣiqillī in the year 360.
Gawhar included the honorific Amir al-Mu'minin, Commander of the Faithful, as the Caliphs title and also included his nickname "the Secretary" which he had earned serving as a secretary prior to becoming a general.
K. A. C. Creswell wrote that the original structure certainly had one dome, and likely a second for symmetry. The original mihrab, uncovered in 1933, has a semi-dome above it with a marble column on either side. Intricate stucco decorations were a prominent feature of the mosque, with the mihrab and the walls ornately decorated. The mihrab had two sets of verses from the Quran inscribed in the conch, which is still intact. The first set of verses are the three that open al-Mu’minoon:
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ – الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ – وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ اللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ
Successful indeed are the believers – who are humble in their prayers – and who avoid vain talk
The next inscription is made up of verses 162 and 163 of al-An'am:
قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ – لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَبِذَلِكَ أُمِرْتُ وَأَنَا أَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ
Say: Surely my prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are (all) for Allah, the Lord of the worlds – No associate has He; and this am I commanded, and I am the first of those who submit.
These inscriptions are the only surviving piece of decoration that has been definitively traced to the Fatimids.
Five keel shaped arches (and part of a sixth) are visible. The arches are supported by cylindrical columns. Above each arch is a large circular inscribed stucco decoration, and above each column is a large inscribed stucco decoration that mirrors the shape of arch and columns. Behind the row of columns is a walkway, and then a wall with entrances the shape and size of the arches and columns.
The marble paved central courtyard was added between 1009 and 1010. The arcades that surround the courtyard have keel shaped arches with stucco inscriptions. The arches were built during the reign of al-Hafiz li-Din Allah. The stucco ornaments also date to his rule and were redone in 1891. Two types of ornaments are used. The first appears above the center of the arch and consists of a sunken roundel and twenty-four lobes. A circular band of vegetal motifs was added in 1893. The second ornament used, which alternates with the first appearing in between each arch, consists of shallow niches below a fluted hood. The hood rests on engaged columns which are surrounded by band of Qu'ranic writing in Kufic script. The Qu'ranic script was added after the rule of al-Hafiz but during the Fatimid period. The walls are topped by a star shaped band with tiered triangular crenellations. The southeastern arcade of the courtyard contains the main entrance to the prayer hall. A Persian framing gate, in which the central arch of the arcade is further in with a higher rectangular pattern above it, opens into the prayer hall.
A new wooden door was installed during the reign of al-Hakim in 1009. In 1125, al-Amir installed a new wooden mihrab. An additional dome was constructed during the reign of al-Hafiz li-Din Allah. He additionally ordered the creation of a fourth arcade around the courtyard and had a porch built on the western end of the sahn.
Mamluk additions
An ornate carved stone minaret, with a carved stone railing around balconies at its center and near its top. The tip of the minaret is a large bulb-shaped stone decoration with a small bulb-shaped metal finial. Behind the minaret part of the top of a dome is visible.
The Fatimid dynasty was succeeded by the rule of Saladin and his Ayyubid dynasty. Initially appointed vizier by the last Fatimid Caliph Al-'Āḍid (who incorrectly thought he could be easily manipulated), Saladin consolidated power in Egypt, allying that country with the Sunni Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad. Distrusting al-Azhar for its Shi'a history, the mosque lost prestige during his rule. However, the succeeding Mamluk dynasty made restorations and additions to the mosque, overseeing a rapid expansion of its educational programs. Among the restorations was a modification of the mihrab, with the installation of a polychrome marble facing.
Madrasa al-Taybarsiyya
The Madrasa al-Taybarsiyya, which contains the tomb of Amir Taybars, was built in 1309. Originally intended to function as a complementary mosque to al-Azhar it has since been integrated with the rest of the mosque. The Maliki and Shāfi‘ī madh'hab were studied in this madrasa, though it now is used to hold manuscripts from the library. The only surviving piece from the original is the qibla wall and its polychrome mihrab. Al-Maqrizi reported that the madrasa was used only for studying the Shāfi‘ī while the historian Ibn Duqmaq reported that one of the liwans in the madrasa was reserved for Shāfi‘ī teachings while the other was for Maliki teachings.
The madrasa was completely rebuilt by Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda, leaving only the southeastern wall and its mihrab untouched. The mihrab was described by K. A. C. Creswell as being "one of the finest in Cairo". The niche of the mihrab is 1.13 meters (3.7 ft) wide and 76 centimeters (30 in) deep. On each side of the niche stands a 2.78 meters (9.1 ft) high porphyry column. Above the columns are impost blocks decorated with colored geometrical designs. The semi-dome at the top of the mihrab is set within an outer arch. Surrounding this arch is a molding that forms a rectangular outer frame. This is the first mihrab in Egypt to have this type of frame. Inside the frame are glass mosaics depicting pomegranate trees.
Madrasa and mausoleum of Aqbugha
A dome and minaret cover the Madrasa al-Aqbughawiyya, which contains the tomb of Amir Aqbugha, which was built in 1339. Intended by its founder, another Mamluk amir called Sayf al-Din Aqbugha 'Abd al-Wahid, to be a stand-alone mosque and school, the madrasa has since become integrated with the rest of the mosque. It includes both a small tomb chamber and a larger hall, both with mihrabs. The entrance, qibla wall, and the mihrabs with glass mosaics are all original, while the pointed dome was rebuilt in the Ottoman period. Parts of the facade were remodeled by Khedive Tewfik in 1888. The top of the minaret was remodelled by Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda so as to have a pointed top like the other Ottoman-style minarets he built around the entrances of the mosque, but at some point after 1932 the top was once again refashioned to end with a Mamluk-style finial which we see today.
Madrasa Gawhariyya
Built in 1440, the Madrasa Gawhariyya contains the tomb of Gawhar al-Qanaqba'i, a Sudanese eunuch who became treasurer to the sultan. The floor of the madrasa is marble, the walls lined with cupboards, decoratively inlaid with ebony, ivory, and nacre. The tomb chamber is covered by small stone dome whose exterior is carved with an arabesque pattern, making it one for the earliest domes in Cairo with this type of decoration (later refined in the dome of Qaytay's mausoleum in the Northern Cemetery). The structure was restored between 1980 and 1982.
Minaret of Qaytbay
An ornate carved stone minaret, with a carved stone railing around three balconies, the first below its center, the second two thirds the way up, and the third near its top. The tip of the minaret is a large bulb-shaped stone decoration with a small bulb-shaped metal finial. Behind the minaret most of a dome is visible.
Built in 1483 or in 1495, it has a square base, a transitional segment leading into an octagonal shaft, then a 10-sided polygon shaft, followed by a cylindrical shaft that consists of 8 brick pillars, each two adjoined by bricks in between. The Minaret of Qaytbay also has three balconies, supported by muqarnas, a form of stalactite vaulting which provide a smooth transition from a flat surface to a curved one (first recorded to have been used in Egypt in 1085), that adorn the minaret. The first shaft is octagonal is decorated with keel-arched panels on each side, with a cluster of three columns separating each panel. Above this shaft is the second octagonal shaft which is separated from the first by a balcony and decorated with plaiting. A second balcony separates this shaft with the final cylindrical shaft, decorated with four arches. Above this is the third balcony, crowned by the finial top of the minaret.
The minaret is believed to have been built in the area of an earlier, Fatimid-era brick minaret that had itself been rebuilt several times. Contemporary accounts suggest that the Fatimid minaret had defects in its construction and needed to be rebuilt several times, including once under the direction of Sadr al-Din al-Adhra'i al-Dimashqi al-Hanafi, the qadi al-qudat (Chief Justice of the Highest Court) during the rule of Sultan Baibars. Recorded to have been rebuilt again under Barquq in 1397, the minaret began to lean at a dangerous angle and was rebuilt in 1414 by Taj al-Din al-Shawbaki, the walī and muhtasib of Cairo, and again in 1432. The Qaytbay minaret was built in its place as part of a reconstruction of the entrance to the mosque.
Gate of Qaytbay
Directly across the courtyard from the entrance from the Bab al-Muzayinīn is the Gate of Qaytbay. It is a refined example of the late Mamuk architectural and decorative style. Built in 1495, this gate leads to the court of the prayer hall.
Minaret of al-Ghuri
An ornate carved stone octagonal minaret, with a carved stone railing around balconies at its center and near its top. Above the second balcony the minaret splits into two rectangular shafts, each tipped by railing and a bulb-shaped finial.
The double finial minaret was built in 1509 by Qansuh al-Ghuri. Sitting on a square base, the first shaft is octagonal, and four sides have a decorative keel arch, separated from the adjacent sides with two columns. The second shaft, a 12-sided polygon separated from the first by fretted balconies supported by muqarnas, is decorated with blue faience. A balcony separates the third level from the second shaft. The third level is made up of two rectangular shafts with horseshoe arches on each side of both shafts. Atop each of these two shafts rests a finial atop two identical onion shaped bulbs, with a balcony separating the finials from the shafts.
Ottoman renovations and additions
Several additions and restorations were made during Ottoman reign in Egypt, many of which were completed under the direction of Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda who nearly doubled the size of the mosque. Three gates were added by Katkhuda, the Bab al-Muzayinīn (see below), which became the main entrance to the mosque, the Bab al-Shurba (the Soup Gate), and the Bab al-Sa'ayida (the Gate of the Sa'idis). To each gate he added a pointed Ottoman-style minaret, of which one was later demolished during the creation of al-Azhar Street. For the Bab al-Muzayinīn, which was adjacent to the Madrasa al-Aqbughiyya, he remodelled the top of Aqbugha's minaret to make it resemble the other Ottoman minarets (though the top was later rebuilt again in a Mamluk style during the 20th century). Several riwaqs were added, including one for the blind students of al-Azhar, as well as refurbished during the Ottoman period. Katkhuda also added an additional prayer hall south of the original Fatimid hall, with an additional mihrab, doubling the total prayer area. His overall work reintegrated the mosque's disparate elements in a relatively unified whole.
Bab al-Muzayinīn
Two large arches recessed into a wall are visible, with entrance-ways at their bottom. Above the arches the wall is ornately decorated with carvings and geometric designs. Parts of the decorations are colored red, blue and gold. The arches and decorations are surmounted and flanked by large, closely set rectangular blocks.
The Bab al-Muzayinīn ("Gate of the Barbers", Arabic: باب المزينين) was built in 1753. Credited to Katkhuda the gate has two doors, each surrounded by recessed arches. Two molded semi-circular arches with tympanums decorated with trefoils stand above the doors. Above the arches is a frieze with panels of cypress trees, a common trait of Ottoman work.
A free-standing minaret, built by Katkhuda, originally stood outside the gate. The minaret was demolished prior to the opening of al-Azhar street by Tewfik Pasha during modernization efforts which took place throughout Cairo.
Current layout and structure
A niche made of multiple types of decorative stone is embedded in a wall, facing a red carpeted area. The niche is flanked by stone columns, and surmounted by a stone arch. The wall at the back of the niche is a semi-circular curve, with a geometric design covering most of it. The wall beside the niche also has patterned stone on it. To the right is a dark wooden structure, a narrow staircase with a lattice door at the foot of it, and lattice railings leading to a seat topped by a square wooden canopy.
The present main entrance to the mosque is the Bab al-Muzayinīn, which opens into the white marble-paved courtyard at the opposite end of the main prayer hall. To the northeast of the Bab al-Muzayinīn, the courtyard is flanked by the façade of the Madrasa al-Aqbughawiyya; the southwestern end of the courtyard leads to the Madrasa al-Taybarsiyya. Directly across the courtyard from the entrance to the Bab al-Muzayinīn is the Bab al-Gindi (Gate of Qaytbay), built in 1495, above which stands the minaret of Qaytbay. Through this gate lies the courtyard of the prayer hall.
The mihrab has recently been changed to a plain marble facing with gold patterns, replacing some of the Mamluk marble facing, but the stucco carvings in the semi-dome are likely from the Fatimid era.
Merida of Set #2, with the front plastic cover removed, so the dolls are in clear view.
The 2014 Disney Parks Princess Mini Doll Set #2 (Modern Princesses). Set #2 includes the 'Modern' Princesses Rapunzel, Ariel, Jasmine and Merida. Rapunzel is almost identical to the 2011 Parks mini doll, but Ariel is now wearing the aqua green Parks Face Character dress, Jasmine's outfit is simpler and has long peplums (similar to the latest full sized Parks doll), and finally Merida is a brand new addition to the lineup. She differs from the Disney Store mini Merida doll in that she doesn't have a cape, but has a gold Celtic pattern on her adventure dress.
The 2014 Disney Parks Princess Mini Doll Sets. Newly released sets of 5.5 inch mini dolls of eight of the Disney Princesses. They are $29.95 each. Purchased in Disneyland, on Sunday April 6, 2014.
The first set, named the ''Classic Princess Set'' has Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora and Belle. The second set, named the ''Modern Princess Set'' has Ariel, Jasmine, Rapunzel and Merida. Ariel is in her aqua green Parks dress, and Merida is in her dark teal Adventure dress. Missing from the sets are Pocahontas, Mulan and Tiana, who were included in the previous versions of the mini doll sets (first released in 2011). Disneyland was still selling the old set #1, which includes the same four princesses as the current #1 set, but also has Tiana.
After filling the borehole with drilling mud, a crane operator begins removing the temporary casing.
ANZAC Day is held on the anniversary of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps’ landing at Gallipoli, Turkey (now Türkiye) on 25 April 1915. The story of ANZAC Day is one of courage and endurance in the face of trauma and tragedy; what was anticipated to be a quick mission to remove Turkey from WWI turned into a battle that caused thousands of casualties on both sides over eight months.
youtu.be/xD8ANMUlK34?feature=shared
When I was a young man I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of a rover
From the murrays green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my matilda all over
Then in nineteen fifteen my country said son
It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be
Done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we sailed away from the quay
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the
Cheers
We sailed off to Gallipoli
How well I remember that terrible day
When the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called suvla bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well
He showered us with bullets, he rained us with
Shells
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
But the band played waltzing Matilda
As we stopped to bury our slain
And we buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then it started all over again
Now those who were living did their best to survive
In that mad world of blood, death and fire
And for seven long weeks I kept myself alive
While the corpses around me piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit
And when I woke up in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, Christ I wished I was
Dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying
And no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
To the green bushes so far and near
For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me
So they collected the cripples, the wounded and
Maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The legless, the armless, the blind and insane
Those proud wounded heroes of suvla
And as our ship pulled into circular quay
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
And they turned all their faces away
And now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving the or their dreams of past glory
i see the old men, all twisted and torn
The forgotten heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask me, "what are they
Marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer to the call
But year after year their numbers get fewer
Some day no one will march there at all
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll go a-Waltzing Matilda with me?
SGF Vision Cinema Pro 200T
Nikon F100
self developed in tetenal c41
remjet removed with my new prebath recipe.
epson v700
The mid-morning sunlight has just removed all the shadows off KLIX 20 & KLIX 2500, both currently located at Utah Transit Authority's Warm Springs Rail Center.
KLIX 20 is an EMD GP30 delivered as D&RGW 3020, while KLIX 2500 is an EMD GP35 delivered as WP 3002.
D&RGW 3020 was built under EMD order number 7640 in Feb. 1963. Leased to Kennecott Copper Corporation (KCC), beginning in May 1973; returned in March 1977. The unit was used in waste train service in the Utah Mines Division Bingham Canyon Mine near Salt Lake City, Utah; assigned vacant Kennecott 700-series number KCC 704. Retired by SP and sold to Midwest Metallics in May 1995; to National Railway Equipment (NREX) in January 1996; to Cimarron Valley Railroad 3020 in February 1996; out of service after a wreck on June 17, 2003; insurance write-off; repaired and returned to service on June 17, 2009 as CVR 20, six years after 2003 wreck, all work done in-house by CVRR shop crew. The locomotive is now owned by Klarr Locomotive Industries.
WP 3002 was built under EMD order number 7662-2 in Nov. 1963. As of late July 1983, it was one of the remaining WP painted locomotives running on a regularly scheduled local trains, based in California. Renumbered to UP 783 in Mar. 8, 1984; Retired by UP Jan. 1, 1993; Sold to Kyle Railways as 2500; to San Joaquin Valley Railroad (SJVR) 2500; to Arkansas Midland Railroad (AKMD) 2500 in 2003; to Union Station Foundation (Ogden, Utah) on June 1, 2022.
This camera has a folding frontsight and target has no shutter. The esposure was made by removing the lens cap for the time deemed necessary and this cover, familiarly called" hat", gave rise to a tasty anecdote. The photographer, maybe Eric Solomom, had been commissioned to photography a group of kings and heads of state gathered in Berlin in the early '900. The camera mounted on a sturdy tripod, the assistant next to it, in front of the statesmen, the camera with his headd covered with an hat. The photographer was struggling between the group and the camera and when he thought that everythings was in order shouted to his assistant to remove the cover from the lens:- Hat off !!!.- Incredible, like one man only, kings and heads of state discovered his head.
L’apparecchio ha un mirino a traguardo ripiegabile ed è privo di otturatore . L’esposizione si effettuava semplicemente togliendo il coperchio dell’obiettivo per il tempo ritenuto necessario e questo coperchio , chiamato familiarmente cappello, dette origine ad un gustoso aneddoto . Il fotografo , forse Eric Solomon , aveva ricevuto l’incarico di fotografare un gruppo di re e capi di stato riuniti a Berlino nei primi anni del ‘900 . La macchina montata su un robusto cavalletto , accanto ad essa l’assistente , di fronte gli statisti con la testa ricoperta dalla tuba . Il fotografo si affannava tra il gruppo e la fotocamera e quando ritenne che tutto fosse a posto urlò al suo assistente di togliere il coperchio all’obiettivo :- Giù il cappello ! - Come un solo uomo regnanti e capi di stato si scoprirono la testa .
( Collezione personale )
Oxidization mainly occurs on the mirrors when the moisture slides through into the glass and therefore causes a layer between the glass and the silvering which gives the glass its reflective effect.
Help: I Have Got Spots on My Mirror @ MyDecorative.Com
Some of you may have noticed that, unfortunately, owing to the fact that a certain person who sells truck photos on eBay commercially has been lifting my images from this album and selling them I have had to remove 2300 photos that didn't have a watermark. I have now run around 1700 through Lightroom and added a watermark with the intention of bulk uploading them again. Rather than watermark the existing (hidden) files in Flickr one at a time it will be easier to do it this way. I definitely won’t be adding individual tags with the make and model of each vehicle I will just add generic transport tags. Each photo is named after the vehicle and reg in any case. For anyone new to these images there is a chapter and verse explanation below. It is staggering how many times I get asked questions that a quick scan would answer or just as likely I can’t possibly answer – I didn’t take them, but, just to clarify-I do own the copyright- and I do pursue copyright theft.
This is a collection of scanned prints from a collection of photographs taken by the late Jim Taylor A number of years ago I was offered a large number of photographs taken by Jim Taylor, a transport photographer based in Huddersfield. The collection, 30,000 prints, 20,000 negatives – and copyright! – had been offered to me and one of the national transport magazines previously by a friend of Jim's, on behalf of Jim's wife. I initially turned them down, already having over 30,000 of my own prints filed away and taking space up. Several months later the prints were still for sale – at what was, apparently, the going rate. It was a lot of money and I deliberated for quite a while before deciding to buy them. I did however buy them directly from Jim’s wife and she delivered them personally – just to quash the occasional rumour from people who can’t mind their own business. Although some prints were sold elsewhere, particularly the popular big fleet stuff, I should have the negatives, unfortunately they came to me in a random mix, 1200 to a box, without any sort of indexing and as such it would be impossible to match negatives to prints, or, to even find a print of any particular vehicle. I have only ever looked at a handful myself unless I am scanning them. The prints are generally in excellent condition and I initially stored them in a bedroom without ever looking at any of them. In 2006 I built an extension and they had to be well protected from dust and moved a few times. Ultimately my former 6x7 box room office has become their (and my own work’s) permanent home.
I hope to avoid posting images that Jim had not taken his self, however should I inadvertently infringe another photographers copyright, please inform me by email and I will resolve the issue immediately. There are copyright issues with some of the photographs that were sold to me. A Flickr member from Scotland drew my attention to some of his own work amongst the first uploads of Jim’s work. I had a quick look through some of the 30 boxes of prints and decided that for the time being the safest thing for me to do was withdraw the majority of the earlier uploaded scans and deal with the problem – which I did. whilst the vast majority of the prints are Jims, there is a problem defining copyright of some of them, this is something that the seller did not make clear at the time. I am reasonably confident that I have since been successful in identifying Jims own work. His early work consists of many thousands of lustre 6x4 prints which are difficult to scan well, later work is almost entirely 7x5 glossy, much easier to scan. Not all of the prints are pin sharp but I can generally print successfully to A4 from a scan.
You may notice photographs being duplicated in this Album, unfortunately there are multiple copies of many prints (for swapping) and as I have to have a system of archiving and backing up I can only guess - using memory - if I have scanned a print before. The bigger fleets have so many similar vehicles and registration numbers that it is impossible to get it right all of the time. It is easier to scan and process a print than check my files - on three different PC’s - for duplicates. There has not been, nor will there ever be, any intention to knowingly breach anyone else's copyright. I have presented the Jim Taylor collection as exactly that-The Jim Taylor Collection- his work not mine, my own work is quite obviously mine.
Unfortunately, many truck spotters have swapped and traded their work without copyright marking it as theirs. These people never anticipated the ease with which images would be shared online in the future. I would guess that having swapped and traded photos for many years that it is almost impossible to control their future use. Anyone wanting to control the future use of their work would have been well advised to copyright mark their work (as many did) and would be well advised not to post them on photo sharing sites without a watermark as the whole point of these sites is to share the image, it is very easy for those that wish, to lift any image, despite security settings, indeed, Flickr itself, warns you that this is the case. It was this abuse and theft of my material that led me to watermark all of my later uploads. I may yet withdraw non-watermarked photos, I haven’t decided yet. (I did in the end)
To anyone reading the above it will be quite obvious that I can’t provide information regarding specific photos or potential future uploads – I didn’t take them! There are many vehicles that were well known to me as Jim only lived down the road from me (although I didn’t know him), however scanning, titling, tagging and uploading is laborious and time consuming enough, I do however provide a fair amount of information with my own transport (and other) photos. I am aware that there are requests from other Flickr users that are unanswered, I stumble across them months or years after they were posted, this isn’t deliberate. Some weekends one or two “enthusiasts” can add many hundreds of photos as favourites, this pushes requests that are in the comments section ten or twenty pages out of sight and I miss them. I also have notifications switched off, I receive around 50 emails a day through work and I don’t want even more from Flickr. Other requests, like many other things, I just plain forget – no excuses! Uploads of Jim’s photos will be infrequent as it is a boring pastime and I would much rather work on my own output.
Deboxing my Limited Edition Blue Gown Cinderella 17'' doll. In order to remove the front cardboard lid from the box, the gold ribbon in the back has to be untied. Then the front lid can be slid off the rest of the box. Under that is a clear plastic window that forms the front lid of the inner box. There is white decoration and text on the bottom of the plastic lid that is similar to that of the outer cardboard box lid. There is less obstruction of the doll than in the previous 17'' LE doll boxes, especially around the sides. Then the front plastic lid and outer rear cardboard lid are removed, leaving the doll and accessories attached to the cardboard backing, that forms the rear of the inner box. Next the skirt is detached from the bottom and sides of the cardboard backing, and the bottom of the backing can be lowered to reveal the bottom of the doll stand, and the dolls feet and legs. We see she is tied to the post of the stand by a wire, and she only has a slipper on her right foot. The loose slipper is attached to the backing, next to her head. The slipper is made of iridescent plastic, with a jeweled gold butterfly as decoration. We can also see the four layers of her skirt, plus the 3/4 length tulle petticoat underneath. Her legs are slightly bent at the knees since her legs plus the heels are longer than the doll stand's post. Then the doll is removed from the backing, but still attached to a plastic form on her back. Then the plastic is removed from the doll, and the doll taken off the doll stand. She is laid down on the ground for further inspection of her features. Her loose slipper is placed on her left foot. Her hair is evened out in the back, and she is now fully deboxed.
The box of the Blue Gown Cinderella is the same size as most of the other LE 17'' doll boxes, but has a sightly different design. The front plastic window divided are into three sections, being angled on the left and right of the center section, and the front cardboard lid is shaped the same way. There is a golden ribbon on top of the box to serve as a carrying handle. In the back there is another golden ribbon that is tied into a large bow, which you have to untie to take off the front lid from the rear of the box.
One of Cinderella's glass slippers is attached to the backing, behind and to the right of the doll. It was partially hidden by her hair, so I moved the hair out of the way before taking photos of the doll after the outer lids were removed. The Certificate of Authenticity is taped to the back of the cardboard backing, rather than inserted between the bottom of the backing and the outer box.
I got my Blue Gown Cinderella Limited Edition 17'' Doll today (Friday March 13, 2015) at my local Disney Store. She is #2352 of 4000. She costs $129.95, $10 more than the recently released Frozen LE dolls, and with tax added came out to $140.35.
I got to the store at 6:30 am, and was the only one there until about 8 am, when two more people showed up. At about 9:15 am, a CM gave out line cards to the five people waiting. At store opening at 10 am, there were seven people waiting for the 12 dolls. I had to give up the line card when I purchased the doll.
I will show the doll boxed, during deboxing and fully deboxed.
Cinderella Limited Edition Doll - Live-Action Film - 17''
US Disney Store
Released in store and online 2015-03-13
Sold out online 2015-03-13
$129.95
Item No. 6070040901175P
Blue beauty
Cinderella makes a stunning entrance in an elegant gown inspired by her appearance in the ballroom scene of Disney's new live-action film. This finely detailed limited edition doll is presented in a scenic display for a lasting keepsake.
Magic in the details...
Please Note: Purchase of this item is limited to 1 per Guest.
• Limited Edition of 4000
• Includes Certificate of Authenticity
• Ball gown features three layers of twilight-hued organza with cascading rhinestones
• Shimmering butterflies and jewels embellish the softly draped organza neckline
• Cinderella's iridescent high-heeled slippers accented with sparkling butterflies
• Glamorous hair with rhinestone accents
• Rooted eyelashes
• Fully poseable
• Display stand included
• Comes in elegant window display packaging with butterflies, gold satin bow and carrying strap
• Inspired by Disney's live-action movie Cinderella
The bare necessities
• Ages 6+
• Plastic /polyester
• 17'' H
• Imported
Excluding a movement with rods removed and wedged between two Class 37's, 45212 makes her preservation era debut over the Settle Carlisle.
Seen here passing the signal box at Howe & Co's siding with classmate 45407, which was running with numberplates of sister 45157 but her own nameplates "The Lancashire Fusilier".
Note the bird of prey which has come a cropper on the front of 45212's coupling!
Parque da Cidade com:
Fábio: www.flickr.com/photos/fabiocherman
Edu Peixe: www.flickr.com/photos/walthfish/
Virgílio: www.flickr.com/photos/virgilio/
Some of you may have noticed that, unfortunately, owing to the fact that a certain person who sells truck photos on eBay commercially has been lifting my images from this album and selling them I have had to remove 2300 photos that didn't have a watermark. I have now run around 1700 through Lightroom and added a watermark with the intention of bulk uploading them again. Rather than watermark the existing (hidden) files in Flickr one at a time it will be easier to do it this way. I definitely won’t be adding individual tags with the make and model of each vehicle I will just add generic transport tags. Each photo is named after the vehicle and reg in any case. For anyone new to these images there is a chapter and verse explanation below. It is staggering how many times I get asked questions that a quick scan would answer or just as likely I can’t possibly answer – I didn’t take them, but, just to clarify-I do own the copyright- and I do pursue copyright theft.
This is a collection of scanned prints from a collection of photographs taken by the late Jim Taylor A number of years ago I was offered a large number of photographs taken by Jim Taylor, a transport photographer based in Huddersfield. The collection, 30,000 prints, 20,000 negatives – and copyright! – had been offered to me and one of the national transport magazines previously by a friend of Jim's, on behalf of Jim's wife. I initially turned them down, already having over 30,000 of my own prints filed away and taking space up. Several months later the prints were still for sale – at what was, apparently, the going rate. It was a lot of money and I deliberated for quite a while before deciding to buy them. I did however buy them directly from Jim’s wife and she delivered them personally – just to quash the occasional rumour from people who can’t mind their own business. Although some prints were sold elsewhere, particularly the popular big fleet stuff, I should have the negatives, unfortunately they came to me in a random mix, 1200 to a box, without any sort of indexing and as such it would be impossible to match negatives to prints, or, to even find a print of any particular vehicle. I have only ever looked at a handful myself unless I am scanning them. The prints are generally in excellent condition and I initially stored them in a bedroom without ever looking at any of them. In 2006 I built an extension and they had to be well protected from dust and moved a few times. Ultimately my former 6x7 box room office has become their (and my own work’s) permanent home.
I hope to avoid posting images that Jim had not taken his self, however should I inadvertently infringe another photographers copyright, please inform me by email and I will resolve the issue immediately. There are copyright issues with some of the photographs that were sold to me. A Flickr member from Scotland drew my attention to some of his own work amongst the first uploads of Jim’s work. I had a quick look through some of the 30 boxes of prints and decided that for the time being the safest thing for me to do was withdraw the majority of the earlier uploaded scans and deal with the problem – which I did. whilst the vast majority of the prints are Jims, there is a problem defining copyright of some of them, this is something that the seller did not make clear at the time. I am reasonably confident that I have since been successful in identifying Jims own work. His early work consists of many thousands of lustre 6x4 prints which are difficult to scan well, later work is almost entirely 7x5 glossy, much easier to scan. Not all of the prints are pin sharp but I can generally print successfully to A4 from a scan.
You may notice photographs being duplicated in this Album, unfortunately there are multiple copies of many prints (for swapping) and as I have to have a system of archiving and backing up I can only guess - using memory - if I have scanned a print before. The bigger fleets have so many similar vehicles and registration numbers that it is impossible to get it right all of the time. It is easier to scan and process a print than check my files - on three different PC’s - for duplicates. There has not been, nor will there ever be, any intention to knowingly breach anyone else's copyright. I have presented the Jim Taylor collection as exactly that-The Jim Taylor Collection- his work not mine, my own work is quite obviously mine.
Unfortunately, many truck spotters have swapped and traded their work without copyright marking it as theirs. These people never anticipated the ease with which images would be shared online in the future. I would guess that having swapped and traded photos for many years that it is almost impossible to control their future use. Anyone wanting to control the future use of their work would have been well advised to copyright mark their work (as many did) and would be well advised not to post them on photo sharing sites without a watermark as the whole point of these sites is to share the image, it is very easy for those that wish, to lift any image, despite security settings, indeed, Flickr itself, warns you that this is the case. It was this abuse and theft of my material that led me to watermark all of my later uploads. I may yet withdraw non-watermarked photos, I haven’t decided yet. (I did in the end)
To anyone reading the above it will be quite obvious that I can’t provide information regarding specific photos or potential future uploads – I didn’t take them! There are many vehicles that were well known to me as Jim only lived down the road from me (although I didn’t know him), however scanning, titling, tagging and uploading is laborious and time consuming enough, I do however provide a fair amount of information with my own transport (and other) photos. I am aware that there are requests from other Flickr users that are unanswered, I stumble across them months or years after they were posted, this isn’t deliberate. Some weekends one or two “enthusiasts” can add many hundreds of photos as favourites, this pushes requests that are in the comments section ten or twenty pages out of sight and I miss them. I also have notifications switched off, I receive around 50 emails a day through work and I don’t want even more from Flickr. Other requests, like many other things, I just plain forget – no excuses! Uploads of Jim’s photos will be infrequent as it is a boring pastime and I would much rather work on my own output.
This photo made it to #300 on the EXPLORE list of 7 November 2012! Sweet!
Your comments, critiques and favs are all most welcome!
. . . fixing the knife at the left leg of the cocks
___________________________
A cockfight is a blood sport between two roosters (cocks), or more accurately gamecocks, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the word gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or entertainment, was recorded in 1646, after the term "cock of the game" used by George Wilson, in the earliest known book on the sport of cockfighting in The Commendation of Cocks and Cock Fighting in 1607. But it was during Magellan's voyage of discovery of the Philippines in 1521 when modern cockfighting was first witnessed and documented by Antonio Pigafetta, Magellan's chronicler, in the kingdom of Taytay.
The combatants, referred to as gamecocks, are specially bred birds, conditioned for increased stamina and strength. The comb and wattle are cut off in order to meet show standards of the American Gamefowl Society and the Old English Game Club and to prevent freezing in colder climates (the standard emerged from the older practice of severing the comb, wattles, and earlobes of the bird in order to remove anatomical vulnerabilities, similar to the practice of docking a dog's tail and ears).
Cocks possess congenital aggression toward all males of the same species. Cocks are given the best of care until near the age of two years. They are conditioned, much like professional athletes prior to events or shows. Wagers are often made on the outcome of the match.
Cockfighting is a blood sport due in some part to the physical trauma the cocks inflict on each other, which is sometimes increased for entertainment purposes by attaching metal spurs to the cocks' natural spurs. While not all fights are to the death, the cocks may endure significant physical trauma. In some areas around the world, cockfighting is still practiced as a mainstream event; in some countries it is regulated by law, or forbidden outright. Advocates of the "age old sport" often list cultural and religious relevance as reasons for perpetuation of cockfighting as a sport.
PROCESS
Two owners place their gamecock in the cockpit. The cocks fight until ultimately one of them dies or is critically injured. Historically, this was in a cockpit, a term which was also used in the 16th century to mean a place of entertainment or frenzied activity. William Shakespeare used the term in Henry V to specifically mean the area around the stage of a theatre. In Tudor times, the Palace of Westminster had a permanent cockpit, called the Cockpit-in-Court.
HISTORY
Cockfighting is an ancient spectator sport. There is evidence that cockfighting was a pastime in the Indus Valley Civilization. The Encyclopædia Britannica (2008) holds:
The sport was popular in ancient times in India, China, Persia, and other Eastern countries and was introduced into Ancient Greece in the time of Themistocles (c. 524–460 BC). For a long time the Romans affected to despise this "Greek diversion", but they ended up adopting it so enthusiastically that the agricultural writer Columella (1st century AD) complained that its devotees often spent their whole patrimony in betting at the side of the pit.
Based on his analysis of a Mohenjo-daro seal, Iravatham Mahadevan speculates that the city's ancient name could have been Kukkutarma ("the city [-rma] of the cockerel [kukkuta]"). However, according to a recent study, "it is not known whether these birds made much contribution to the modern domestic fowl. Chickens from the Harappan culture of the Indus Valley (2500–2100 BC) may have been the main source of diffusion throughout the world." "Within the Indus Valley, indications are that chickens were used for sport and not for food" (Zeuner 1963) and that by 1000 BC they had assumed "religious significance".
Some additional insight into the pre-history of European and American secular cockfighting may be taken from the The London Encyclopaedia:
At first cockfighting was partly a religious and partly a political institution at Athens; and was continued for improving the seeds of valor in the minds of their youth, but was afterwards perverted both there and in the other parts of Greece to a common pastime, without any political or religious intention.
An early image of a fighting rooster has been found on a 6th-century BC seal of Jaazaniah from the biblical city of Mizpah in Benjamin, near Jerusalem. Remains of these birds have been found at other Israelite Iron Age sites, when the rooster was used as a fighting bird; they are also pictured on other seals from the period as a symbol of ferocity, such as the late-7th-century BC red jasper seal inscribed "Jehoahaz, son of the king", which likely belonged to Jehoahaz of Judah "while he was still a prince during his father's life".
The anthropologist Clifford Geertz wrote the influential essay Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight, on the meaning of the cockfight in Balinese culture.
REGIONAL VARIATIONS
In some regional variations, the birds are equipped with either metal spurs (called gaffs) or knives, tied to the leg in the area where the bird's natural spur has been partially removed. A cockspur is a bracelet (often made of leather) with a curved, sharp spike which is attached to the leg of the bird. The spikes typically range in length from "short spurs" of just over an inch to "long spurs" almost two and a half inches long. In the highest levels of 17th century English cockfighting, the spikes were made of silver. Ironically, the sharp spurs have been known to injure or even kill the bird handlers. In the naked heel variation, the bird's natural spurs are left intact and sharpened: fighting is done without gaffs or taping, particularly in India (especially in Tamil Nadu). There it is mostly fought naked heel and either three rounds of twenty minutes with a gap of again twenty minutes or four rounds of fifteen minutes each and a gap of fifteen minutes between them.
Nicaragua, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Philippines, Peru, Panama, Puerto Rico, Canary Islands, Saipan, and Guam have arenas with seats or bleachers for spectators surrounding the ring. Among the competitors who raise fighting cocks, there is great pride in the prowess of their birds and in winning a championship.
AMERICAS
CUBA
Cockfighting is a popular activity in Cuba. It is a seasonal sport, held only during the coolest months of the year (November to April). Cocks are not ready to fight and their plumage moults during the warmest months (May to October).
In Cuba the tradition is to fix detachable natural (non-artificial) spurs to both legs of the fighting cocks. Before fixing the detachable spurs, the natural spurs should be trimmed, leaving a trunk not longer than 3 millimeters. The final length of the detached spurs ranks from 22 to 25 millimeters according to the relevance of the match.
Cockfights are held in a round arena commonly called valla, surrounded by a small fence around which the spectators are accommodated.
Comb and wattles should be previously trimmed but feathers should not be necessarily groomed as well, although tradition imposes an extensive feather trimming. The feathers of the chest, hackle and thighs are generally shorn completely off. The reasons for this vary among individual game fowl enthusiasts (see also Gamecock).
Cocks should have a weight within the rank of 50–69 Castilian Ounces (2300–3180 grams) to be admitted.
The combatants are strictly paired up to fight according to their body weight. The allowed difference in weight between the contenders ranks from half to one ounce (14–29 grams) according to the body weight.
Fights are limited to a single round of 30 minutes, but statistics show that more than 50% of the fights end within the first five minutes.
The persons proved to be betting are severely punished with a temporary or definite expulsion from the tournaments and the prohibition to participate in further meetings.
MEXICO
Cockfighting in Mexico has been taking place for over a hundred years. In Aguascalientes, a state capital, one of the city's principal concert halls is the cockfighting arena, the palenque. Palenques are very common throughout the country, with almost every major city having one, and are closely related to Mexican traditional music performers, such as Vicente Fernández, and also being (as mentioned below) the stage for pop artists as well. During the San Marcos Fair, well known throughout Mexico, cockfights alternate with important concerts, where the singers or dancers perform from the cockpit. Many popular singers have performed there, e.g. Latin Grammy winners Alejandro Fernández and Alejandra Guzmán.Cockfighting remains legal in the municipality of Ixmiquilpan.
PERU
In Peru, cockfighting is allowed and it takes place in coliseums with round sand fields. Only a judge and two managers each carrying a cock are allowed in the field. Judges use tables to facilitate the refereeing of fights.
Cockfighting championships of Peru are of two kinds, Beak and Spur. The Peruvian Razor Rooster ('Gallo Navajero Peruano') features in Spur fights. In Spur fights the weight and size of the rooster varies. There are free weight championships as well.
The most important cockfighting championships take place in the Lima Region at the Coliseums Sandia, Rosedal, Abraham Wong, The Peruvian Cockfighting Circle's Coliseum and The Valentino, of the Rooster Breeders' Association of Peru.
BRAZIL
Cockfighting, known in Brazil as rinha de galos ("baiting the rooster"), was banned in 1934 with the help of President Getúlio Vargas through Brazil's 1934 constitution, passed on 16 July. Based on the recognition of animals in the Constitution, a Brazilian Supreme Court ruling resulted in the ban of animal related activities that involve claimed "animal suffering such as cockfighting, and a tradition practiced in southern Brazil, known as 'Farra do Boi' (the Oxen Festival)", stating that "animals also have the right to legal protection against mistreatment and suffering".
ASIA
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Cockfighting is common throughout all of Southeast Asia, where it is implicated in spreading bird flu. Like Islam, Christianity might shun the belief in spirits, but in Southeast Asia, indigenous interpretations of the veneration of saints and passion plays dominate. In the Christian northern Philippines, respect is accorded the veneration of traditional anito (spirits), shamans number in the thousands and Catholic priests are powerless to stop cockfighting, a popular form of fertility worship among almost all Southeast Asians. Also in rural northern Thailand a religious ceremony honoring ancestral spirits takes place known as "faun phii", spirit dance or ghost dance, and includes offerings for ancestors with spirit mediums sword fighting, spirit possessed dancing, and "spirit mediums cockfighting", in a spiritual cockfight.
INDONESIA
Cockfighting is a very old tradition in Balinese Hinduism, the Batur Bang Inscriptions I (from the year 933) and the Batuan Inscription (dated 944 on the Balinese Caka calendar) disclose that the tabuh rah ritual has existed for centuries. In Bali, cockfights, known as tajen, are practiced in an ancient religious purification ritual to expel evil spirits. This ritual, a form of animal sacrifice, is called tabuh rah ("pouring blood"). The purpose of tabuh rah is to provide an offering (the blood of the losing chicken) to the evil spirits. Cockfighting is a religious obligation at every Balinese temple festival or religious ceremony. Cockfights without a religious purpose are considered gambling in Indonesia, although it is still largely practiced in many parts of Indonesia. Women are generally not involved in the tabuh rah process.
All forms of gambling, including the gambling within secular cockfighting, were made illegal in 1981 by the Indonesian government, while the religious aspects of cockfighting within Balinese Hinduism remain protected.
The American anthropologist Clifford Geertz published his most famous work, Notes on the Balinese Cockfight, on the practice of cockfights in Bali. In it, he argued that the cockfight served as a pastiche or model of wider Balinese society from which judgments about other aspects of the culture could be drawn.
JAPAN
Cockfighting is similar to boxing for the younger roosters as they battle for a victory with their blunt natural spurs or lack thereof and after maturity they battle with their mature natural spurs which may have become pointed. Despite fighting cocks allowed to be used in cockfighting, "the state has designated them a protected species".
INDIA
Cockfighting (Vetrukkaal seval porr in Tamil which means "naked heel cockfight") (Kodi Pandem in Telugu) (Kori katta in Tulu) is a favourite sport of people living in the coastal region of Andhra Pradesh, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Tulu Nadu region of Karnataka, and the state of Tamil nadu India. Three- or four-inch blades (Bal in Tulu) are attached to the cocks' legs. Knockout fights to the death are widely practised in Andhra Pradesh. In Tamil Nadu, the winner is decided after three or four rounds. People watch with intense interest surrounding the cocks. The sport has gradually become a gambling sport.
In Tamil Nadu, Chennai, Tanjore, Trichy and Salem Districts, only naked heel sport is performed. In Erode, Thiruppur, Karur and Coimbatore districts only bloody blade fights are conducted. During festival seasons, this is the major game for men. Women normally don't participate. There are many rare breeds preserved by these cockfighters.
The cockfight, or more accurately expressed the secular cockfight, is an intense sport, recreation, or pastime to some, while to others, the cockfight remains an ancient religious ritual, a sacred ceremony (i.e. a religious and spiritual cockfight) associated with the ‘daivasthanams’ (temples) and held at the temples precincts. In January 2012 at India's 'Sun God' Festival the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) district committee, demanded that police not interfere in the cockfighting known as ‘kozhi kettu’ as it is a part of the temple rituals, while the police replied they would not interfere if the cockfight is held at a temple.
IRAQ
Cockfighting is illegal but widespread in Iraq. The attendees come to gamble or just for the entertainment. A rooster can cost up to $8,000. The most-prized birds are called Harati, which means that they are of Turkish or Indian origin, and have muscular legs and necks.
PAKISTAN
Cockfighting is a popular sport in rural Pakistan; however, "betting is illegal under the Prevention of Gambling Act 1977". Betting is illegal, but police often turn a blind eye towards it. In Sindh (one of 4 major provinces of Pakistan), people are fond of keeping fighting cock breed, known as Sindhi aseel in Pakistan. These cocks are noted being tall, heavy and good at fighting. Another popular breed is called Asil chicken|Mianwali Aseel. In Sindh Gamblor or Khafti uses Almond and other power enhancing medicines to feed the fighter cocks.
PHILIPPINES
Cockfighting, locally termed Sabong, is a popular pastime in the Philippines where both illegal and legal cockfights occur. Legal cockfights are held in cockpits every week, whilst Illegal ones called tupada or tigbakay, are held in secluded cockpits where authorities cannot raid them. In both types, knives or gaffs are used. There are two kinds of knives used in Philippine cockfighting. The single edge blade (use in derbies) and double edged blades, lengths of knives also vary. All knives are attached on the left leg of the bird, but depending on agreement between owners, blades can be attached on the right or even on both legs. Sabong and illegal tupada, are judged by a referee called sentensyador or koyme, whose verdict is final and not subject to any appeal. Bets are usually taken by the kristo, so named because of his outstretched hands when calling out wagers from the audience and skillfully doing so purely from memory.
The country has hosted several World Slasher Cup derbies, held biannually at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, where the world's leading game fowl breeders gather. World Slasher Cup is also known as the "Olympics of Cockfighting".
Cockfighting was already flourishing in pre-colonial Philippines, as recorded by Antonio Pigafetta, the Italian diarist aboard Ferdinand Magellan’s 1521 expedition. Cockfighting in the Philippines is derived from the fact that it shares elements of Indian and other Southeast Asian cultures, where the jungle fowl (bankivoid) and Oriental type of chicken are endemic.
OCEANIA
In the Mariana Islands in Micronesia, the sport of cockfighting has been considered a "cultural tradition" dating back to Spanish rule. Cockfighting became more popular with an influx of Filipino immigrants to the islands before and after World War II. Fights are held throughout the week at a government licensed pit in the village of Dededo, Guam, and in other villages during fiestas, where a patron saint of the village is celebrated. Imported roosters and hens from the U.S. mainland fetch heavy prices that can reach as much as a thousand dollars each. On the island of Saipan, north of Guam, legal cockfighting takes place several times a week in an arena called the Dome in the village of Gualo Rai.
OTHER BIRD SPECIES
In 2009, authorities caught and shut down an illegal songbird-fighting ring in Shelton, Connecticut that had been using saffron finches and canaries. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals commented that such songbird fighting is extremely rare. The ancient Greeks used to practice quail fighting, using the common quail Coturnix coturnix. Also in south east Asia and ancient China were used to practice "quail fighting", but using the female buttonquails.
LEGAL STATUS
In many places, cockfights and other animal fights have been outlawed, often based on opposition to gambling or animal cruelty. It has been banned outright in the United Kingdom since the 19th Century, however in some states of the USA, it is not illegal to possess, raise, train, advertise, or trade cocks or accoutrements that could be used for cockfighting. However, actively participating in a cockfight in any manner is illegal: advertising, transporting participants or spectators, placing wagers, hosting an event, etc. It is common for law enforcement to confiscate property associated with any cockfighting activity.
ASIA
INDIA
India's judiciary has ordered to ban the sport, saying it violated Prevention of Cruelity to Animals act. But it remains hugely popular, especially in rural areas, with large amount of betting involved.[
PHILIPPINES
There is no nationwide ban of cockfighting in the Philippines but since 1948, cockfighting is prohibited every Rizal Day on December 30 where violators can be fined or imprisoned due to the Republic Act No. 229.
EUROPE
SPAIN
Cockfighting is legal in the Canary Islands and Andalusia. Organisations such as the WWF/Adena and some political parties are trying to ban it there too. The law allows it but tries to make it disappear "naturally" by blocking its expansion. Contrasting with the rest of the country (except with Catalonia), bullfighting is instead forbidden in the Canary Islands, since it is not considered traditional, unlike cockfighting.
Cockfighting is also legal in Andalusia in the cities and villages where it is considered traditional. With its famous Jerezanos race of fighting cocks, the Cádiz province is the most popular centre of cockfighting in Andalusia.
UNITED KINGDOM
Cockfighting was banned outright in England and Wales and in the British Overseas Territories with the Cruelty to Animals Act 1835. Sixty years later, in 1895, cockfighting was also banned in Scotland, where it had been relatively common in the 18th century. A reconstructed cockpit from Denbigh in North Wales may be found at St Fagans National History Museum in Cardiff and a reference exists in 1774 to a cockpit at Stanecastle in Scotland.
According to a 2007 report by the RSPCA, cockfighting in England and Wales was still taking place, but had declined in recent years.
FRANCE
Holding cockfights is a crime in France, but there is an exemption under subparagraph 3 of article 521–1 of the French penal code for cockfights and bullfights in locales where an uninterrupted tradition exists for them. Thus, cockfighting is allowed in the Nord-Pas de Calais region, in Metropolitan France, where it takes place in a small number of towns including Raimbeaucourt, La Bistade and other villages around Lille. On Réunion Island, there are five officially authorized gallodromes (i.e. cockfighting arenas). The Nord-Pas-de-Calais has a dozen gallodromes, that also target the Belgian associations of aficionados, who travel to France to avoid the prohibition of cockfighting in Belgium. The Nord-Pas-de Calais has its own race of fighting cocks the "Combattant de Nord".
There is currently a flow of British aficionados to cockfights that come from January to June to the Nord-Pas-de-Calais to participate in the cockfights. Some of them have been arrested at the British border for transporting cockerels or material for cockfights, which has led to a small cottage industry of British-owned cockerel farms. Likewise, some caretakers in Nord-Pas-de-Calais cater exclusively to British cockfighters who, by law, are not permitted to transport and care for their birds in the United Kingdom.
AMERICAS
COSTA RICA
Cockfights have been illegal in Costa Rica since 1922. The government deems the activity as animal cruelty, public disorder and a risk for public health and is routinely repress by the State's National Secretary for Animal Welfare.
CUBA
Cockfighting was so common during the Cuban colonization by Spain, that there were arenas in every urban and rural town. The first official known document about cockfighting in Cuba dates from 1737. It is a royal decree asking, to the governor of the island, a report about the inconveniences that might cause cockfights "with the people from land and sea" and asking for information about rentals of the games. The Spaniard Miguel Tacón, Lieutenant General and governor of the colony, banned cockfighting by a decree dated on October 20, 1835, limiting these spectacles only to holidays.
In 1844 a decree dictated by the Captain General of the island, es:Leopoldo O'Donnell, forbade to non-white people the attendance to these shows. During the second half of the 19th century many authorizations were conceded for building arenas, until General es:Juan Rius Rivera, then civilian governor in Havana, prohibited cockfighting by a decree of October 31. 1899 and later the Cuban governor, General Leonard Wood, dictated the military order No. 165 prohibiting cockfights in the whole country since June 1, 1900.
In the first half of the 20th century, legality of cockfights suffered several ups and downs.
In 1909 the then Cuban president es:José Miguel Gómez, with the intention to gain followers, allowed cockfights once again, and then regulations were agreed for the fights.
Up to beginnings of 1968 cockfights used to be held everywhere in the country, but with the purpose of stopping the bets, the arenas were closed and the fights forbidden by the authorities. In 1980 authorities legallized cockfights again and a state business organization was created with the participation of the private breeders, grouped in territories. Every year the state organization announces several national tournaments from January to April, makes trade shows and sells fighting cocks to clients from other Caribbean countries.
UNITED STATES
In the United States, cockfighting is now illegal in all fifty U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The last state to implement a state law banning cockfighting was Louisiana; the Louisiana State Legislature voted to approve a Louisiana ban in June 2007. The ban took effect in August 2008. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have made cockfighting a felony. It is illegal in all fifty states to knowingly attend a cockfight or bring a minor to the event. On February 7, 2014 President Obama signed the Farm Bill which contained the U.S. H.R. 366/S. 666—Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act. "The final bill includes a provision making it a federal crime to attend or bring a child under the age of 16 to an animal fighting event[.]" "The Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act would make it a federal offense to knowingly attend an organized animal fight and would impose additional penalties for bringing children to animal fights. Violators would face up to one year in prison for attending a fight, and up to three years in prison for bringing a minor to a fight." In the District of Columbia it is illegal to be a spectator at cockfights. Animal welfare activists continue to lobby for a ban on the sport.
Cockfighting remains legal in the unincorporated US territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam; particularly in Guam and Puerto Rico, cockfighting is a popular spectator pastime with centuries of tradition, thanks to the islands' shared history as Spanish colonies. In 2006, the Virgin Islands adopted a law banning modifications such as the use of artificial spurs. This move, along with the aforementioned 2014 farm bill, sparked fears that cockfighting would be banned everywhere on US soil, but as of 2015 these fears have not materialized.
The Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, a federal law that made it a federal crime to transfer cockfighting implements across state or national borders and increasing the penalty for violations of federal animal fighting laws to three years in prison became law in 2007. It passed the House of Representatives 368–39 and the Senate by unanimous consent and was signed into law by President George W. Bush.
The Animal Welfare Act was amended again in 2008 when provisions were included in the 2008 Farm Bill (P.L. 110-246). These provisions tightened prohibitions on dog and other animal fighting activities, and increase penalties for violation of the act.
On February 8, 2014, law enforcement made New York State's largest cockfighting bust where they seized three thousand birds and arrested roughly seventy people across three counties. The investigation was deemed the name "Operation Angry Birds" and they made three raids: a cockfight in Queens; a pet shop in Brooklyn; and a farm in Plattekill. The raids were performed by the task force, along with New York State Police, the Homeland Security Department and the Ulster County sheriff's office. Upon entry of the Queens cockfight, authorities found the birds in small cages with razors attached to them. The seventy individuals who attended the event were taken into custody. All but nine of these men were let go. The nine men were given felony arrests and animal-fighting charges.
On July 26, 2014, Princess Irina of Romania, and her husband John Walker, appeared in federal court in Portland, Oregon in connection with running illegal cockfights they held in Irrigon, Oregon in 2012 and 2013. The couple was originally charged with twelve counts including operating an illegal gaming business, conspiracy, and violating the Animal Welfare Act but they agreed to "sell their ranch and forfeit $200,000 to the government in lieu of incarceration".
AUSTRALIA
Cockfighting, and the possession of cockfighting equipment, is illegal in Australia.
NOTABLE COCKFIGHTERS
Chicken George (born c. 1807), son of Kizzy and slave owner Tom Moore, grandson of Kunta Kinte, and ancestor of Alex Haley, was a cockfighter in the United States and England.
IN POPULAR CULTURE
Cockfighting has inspired artists in several fields to create works which depict the activity. Several organizations, including the University of South Carolina, Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama, and London football team Tottenham Hotspur F.C. have a gamecock as their mascot.
IN MUSIC
Cockfighting has also been mentioned in songs such as Kings of Leon's Four Kicks and Bob Dylan's song "Cry a While" from the album Love and Theft. The story song "El Gallo del Cielo" by Tom Russell is entirely about cockfighting, and the lyrics utilize detailed imagery of fighting pits, gamecocks, and gambling on the outcome of the fights. Cockfighting has also been in Korean boy band Exo's music video for "Lotto".
IN VISUAL ARTS
The painting "The Cock Fight" (1846) an academic exercise of the French painter Jean-Léon Gérôme, Vainqueur au combat de coqs (1864) bronze statue from the French sculptor Alexandre Falguière and the painting "Cockfight" (1882) from the Flemish painter Emile Claus are samples of the presence of cockfighting in visual arts.
The Expressionist painter Sir Robin Philipson, of Edinburgh, was well known for his series of works that included depictions of cockfighting.
The 1930 cartoon Mexico shows Oswald the Lucky Rabbit challenging a bear in a cockfight. The 1938 cartoon Honduras Hurricane features the pirate John Silver forcing Captain Katzenjammer into a rigged cockfight. Other cartoon depictions portray humanized roosters treating cockfights like boxing matches; these cartoons include Disney's Cock o' the Walk (1936), MGM's Little Bantamweight (1938), and Walter Lantz's The Bongo Punch (1958).
Live-action films that include scenes of the sport include the 1964 Mexican film El Gallo De Oro, the 1965 film The Cincinnati Kid, and the 1974 film Cockfighter, directed by Monte Hellman (based on the novel of the same name by Charles Willeford).
The 1990 film No Fear, No Die centers around two men who are part of an illegal cockfighting ring.
Cockfighting is depicted twice in the 2011 film The Rum Diary (film).
The Spike TV show 1000 Ways to Die features a death involving a cockfight, where a man who bets on a rooster attaches razors to its claws to ensure its winning, but is slashed to death himself.
In the Seinfeld episode "The Little Jerry", Kramer enters his rooster into a cockfight in order to get one of Jerry's bounced checks removed from a local bodega where the cockfights actually take place.
In the HBO series Eastbound & Down, Kenny Powers moves to Mexico and is in the cockfighting business until his cock "Big Red" dies.
The 2011 Tamil film Aadukalam revolves around the practice of cockfighting in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. In the FX Network's police drama, "The Shield" episode titled "Two Days of Blood" (season #1, episode #12), Detective Shane Vendrell and Detective Curt Lemansky go undercover in a cockfighting event to track down an illegal arms smuggler.
IN LITERATURE
Nathanael West's 1939 novel The Day of the Locust includes a detailed and graphic cockfighting scene, as does the Alex Haley novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family and the miniseries based on it. In literature, a description of a bordertown cockfight fiesta can be found in On the Border: Portraits of America's Southwestern Frontier. Charles Willeford wrote a novel, Cockfighter, which gives a detailed account of the protagonist's life as a 'cocker'. Abraham Valdelomar's 1918 tale El Caballero Carmelo depicts a cockfight between the protagonist, a cock named Carmelo, and his rival Ajiseco from a child's perspective, who considered this bird as an heroic member of his family.
In martial arts
The term "human cockfighting" was used by United States senator John McCain to describe mixed martial arts, which at the time he was campaigning to ban.
IN VIDEO GAMES
The video game Law & Order: Legacies uses a cockfight as a plot point. With a man having died because of a rooster with a spur had slashed him, but with a twist that he would have survived if his wife had called the police.
In 2016 Edge Games launched the world's first Virtual Cockfighting sports betting game.
Square Enix's video game Sleeping Dogs allows the player character to spectate and bet on various virtual cockfights based around the game's rendition of the city of Hong Kong.
IN RELIGION
Augustine of Hippo once described a cockfight in spiritual terms: "in every motion of these animals unendowed with reason there was nothing ungraceful since, of course, another higher reason was guiding everything they did".
WIKIPEDIA
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