The cold shower of snow-rain washes the resentments and worries. I love it.

 

তুষার বৃষ্টি,

তোমার অপরূপ সৃষ্টি!

মন গলিয়ে দেয়!

হাইকু/ শাহজাহান সিরাজ

Bangla Haiku and photography by Shahjahan Siraj​

 

#rain #snow #snowshower #shaower #miraclepower #miracle #beatuty #slience #eternallove #tao #zen #Zenphotography #taohotography #nature #artphotography #photography #photooftheday #bangla #haiku #poeticphotogrpahy #philosophycalphotography #photographyislife #fineartphotography #philosophy #finearephotographer #conceptualphotography #artofvisuals #tokyocameraclub #beautifulsado

This hashtag is best appreciated in the original Spanish, because its delightful assonance is lost in translation. It means "The Pardon is an Insult."

 

Pardon? Who and why?

 

This story is a chance to change the subject for those of us who are still reeling from Lyin' Donnie Trump's recent interview with the NY Times where he spun one falsehood every 75 seconds.

 

South of the equator, in the past 10 days the president of Peru has unleashed true chaos upon that country's institutions. We have the Brazilian construction titan Oderbrecht to thank for it.

 

Oderbrecht is to Latin American corruption what stains are to the diagnosis of cancer. The company paid out almost $800 million in bribes to executives and governmental officials to secure contracts worth about $3.3 billion. When insiders began talking, their talk lit up nodes of corruption all over the map of Latin America.

 

In Peru, the former president and his wife are in jail awaiting trial on charges of Oderbrecht-related corruption. Another Peruvian ex-president, Alejandro Toledo, is on the lam after reports about his dodgy dealings with Oderbrecht surfaced.

 

Which brings us to PPK, as the current president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, is known. More Anglo than Latino, PPK's CV sparkles with elite trophies: a public school in the UK, then Oxford for politics, philosophy and economics, followed by a masters in public affairs from Princeton. After that, PPK put his education to work at the World Bank, investment banking, and private-equity management.

 

Oh yes, and PPK also served several Peruvian presidents, most notably as Minister of Economy and Finance from July 2001 to July 2002, and again from February 2004 to August 2005. In August 2005, he was appointed as Prime Minister, a position he held until 2006.

 

Fast forward to 2016, when PPK was elected to the presidency of Peru by a margin of only 40,000 votes. He pulled off this upset by riding the wave of resentment towards Peru's last dictator, Alberto Fujimori, personified by his daughter Keiko. Though PPK defeated Keiko, the fujimoristas controlled the legislature and have played the same sort of obstructionist role as the Republicans in the US Congress under President Obama.

 

But back to the Oderbrecht, scandal, where the Peruvian public was surprised and horrified to learn that PPK, he of the sterling CV, was the owner of two firms that did business with Oderbrecht while PPK was serving in government. This came as a shock because PPK had denied any involvement with the Oderbrecht octopus.

 

That was all it took for the fujimoristas to haul PPK before the legislature on charges he was morally unfit to serve as president. In the US, major political scandals tend to unfold at a glacial pace, The same cannot be said for Peru. Before you knew it, PPK was fighting for his political life in front of a session of Peru's congress. The trial and the vote all took place on the same day.

 

Amazingly, PPK survived thanks to a split in the ranks of the fujimoristas. While Alberto Fujimori's daughter Keiko wanted PPK gone, her brother Kenji struck a back-room deal with PPK whereby he and a handful of his supporters would not vote for impeachment in exchange for PPK's pardoning Alberto, who was serving a 25-year term in jail.

 

According to Wikipedia, "Fujimori was specifically found guilty of murder, bodily harm, and two cases of kidnapping. In July 2009 Fujimori was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for embezzlement after he admitted to giving $15 million from the Peruvian treasury to his intelligence service chief, Vladimiro Montesinos. Two months later he pled guilty in a fourth trial to bribery and received an additional six-year term."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Fujimori

 

The fallout from the pardon was immediate and harsh and, so far, incessant. To call it a backlash is an understatement. The leftist candidate for president, who supported PPK in his 2016 campaign because of her hatred of Keiko, has denounced PPK and declared that, as far as she is concerned PPK is not Peru's president.

 

Several cabinet ministers have resigned and further resignations are rumored. Members of the Justice Department have resigned on the grounds that Alberto was not eligible for a pardon in the first place. A group of at least 230 writers, including the writer and Nobel Literature Mario Vargas Llosa, have published a letter criticizing PPK for pardoning Alberto Fujimori.

 

That brings us to this photo, which was taken at a recent march in protest of Fujimori's pardon.

 

And there was I, thinking that PPK would be a new, different and better sort of president in a country where presidents always leave office with abysmal approval ratings

 

I can't predict where this is going to end, particularly since PPK has testified again since his impeachment about his dealings with Oderbrecht while he was minister.

 

So remember, if you can't stand seeing Trump on TV and are tired of hearing the "experts" babble on about Russian this and Russian that, tune in to El Comercio to for an installment of the PPK show!

Rise above the struggle and keep a heart filled with peace. Take no action rooted in anger, bitterness or resentment or else face the unintended consequences of your action, the fruit of suffering and pain. Take action rooted in love, forgiveness and surrender and reap the fruits of grace and faith. Life is not a battle between us and them, life is a journey defined by togetherness, by the strength of connection, intimacy, love and trust. If you get to the top of the mountain by stepping on those below and around you, what have you really won? But if you take each step along the path in communion, in respect, and in integrity, well then the journey itself has become the goal. Be strong. Strong enough to see the truth even when it hurts, strong enough to take the high road even when it's filled with danger, strong enough to never give up on love.

Source ig @kinoyoga

Our ministry is to help people and let them help us gradually to let go of resentment and to discover that right in the middle of the pain there is a blessing for which we can be grateful. Right in the middle of the tears, the dance of joy can be felt. Seen from below, from a human perspective, there is an enormous distinction between good times and bad, between sorrow and joy. But from above, in the eyes of God, sorrow and joy are never separated. Where there is pain, there is also healing. Where there is mourning, there is dancing. Where there is poverty, there is the kingdom.

-Henri Nouwen, Spiritual Direction

( I think this is the school)

 

Moulton Idaho

· 27 August 2014 ·

HISTORY OF MOULTON VALLEY, IDAHO Willie Erdix Mounton came to the valley in covered wagons with his wife and their seven children and his brother Otis Moulton. They came from Gooding, Idaho, september 1909. Albert and Otis Moulton filed on homesteads. Laura and Willis took desert claims in 1909. Albert built a big two story house. Otis had a long cabin on his land. The house on Albert's land was the first location for the Moulton, Idaho, Post Office. In some mysterious way the house caught on fire and burned the whole top off. The family fought to save the lower part of the house and the cointents of the office. They passed buckets and pumped water from the well. All the bedding and clothes upstairs were burned. The winter of 1909 was long and lonely. Only a few trappers or someone on the way to the Holtman ranch, which was some miles south, would stop by to visit. One man stopped because he heard the Moulton girls playing their organ. It was very strange to hear music about the tall sagebrush. By 1910 the valley was most all homesteaded. This built up resentment from the big cattle companies, The Miller and Lux cattle companies drove big herds through the land on the way up and over Granite Pass to Nevada. The cattlemen must have thought Mr. Moulton was the leader of this settlement, and he was the one to frighten off. One evening the foreman of the Keogh Ranch drove up very close to the house with his small buggy. He said he was Jack Crisp, and his boss had sent him to say, there was not enough room for the cattle. They would see the settlers all left the land by fair means or foul. As he spoke, he struck the ground very close to Bill Moulton's feet, Bill Mouton never moved. He just stood there smiling at the man. Then he told him, he was a long way from home and he would be welcome to spend the night there. The man looked astonished. Then he said, he guessed there would be room in the valley for all. They could all be good neighbors, and they were from that day on. The year 1910 was a good one. The grain grew six feet tall. But those who had to go to work and leave their families were not so fortunate. Some of the women made dresses from quilt scraps, when they could not buy calico goods. Most of them had a cow. They cooked boiled wheat and ate it with milk. This did not make them bitter as to make them want to leave. The nearest doctor was twenty miles away. However, each pioneer was a doctor inhis own way, and helped his less fortunate neighbors. One year Mr. Chris Moeller and Charles Augustine got ptomaine poisoning from eating canned fish. They were ill for weeks. Not one day were they left alone. Every man in the valley took turns staying day and night with them. The only crops raised there were the ones that would ripen quickly, as winter came early. Snow fell before all the grain was threshed. The grain grown was wheat, rye, barley and oats, and some hardy vegetables for the gardens. One year a snow storm came in June and froze the crops, even the hay. Many had to take their stock from the valley and buy feed for the winter. Then came a drought and dried all the grain crops. There was no school for the children and some families sent them to a school in Utah about eight miles away. It was not such a good school and too cold to make the sixteen mile trip in the winter. The children in Utah, belonging to that district, had never seen strangers. They were not sociable. The first school was held at Robert Griffith's log house and the teachers name was Mrs. Mable Ross. Four of the Moulton children and the two children of Mr. Irvin Johnson attended that year (1911-12). In July 1912, a big log school house was built by the men of that district. Each one helped get the logs and Robert Griffith bought the lumber, for the top, from Strevell, Idaho. It was not built with the school district money. The school section, where a school was supposed to be built, was too far from any of the school childrens homes. Robert Griffith gave two acres of ground for the school. He did not deed it to the district, because at the time he had not proved up on his homestead. The first teacher in the new school was a Mr. Freed (1912-13). Mr. Will Pack taught in 1914-15. There were about twenty pupils in grades one to eight. Two graduated from the eighth grade that year. Mr. Pack was a good teacher. The first child, of those settlers, was born May 1910, to a Mr. and Mrs. Fred Kidman. She was named Cassie. The first wedding was January 1, 1911, at the Moulton ranch. Miss Mary Moulton and Robert Griffith were married by the Bishop from Almo, Idaho. A store was built by Mr. and Mrs. fred Hubbard. They came from Albion, Idaho in 1912. Before the building for the store was built, they put up a big tent. The first entertainment provided was a pavillion. It was built for dancing. It was on Mr. Moulton's farm, under some willow trees where wild grass grew. Every family came. They brought snow from the mountains, for making ice cream. Our first celebration there was July 4, 1911. We also celebrated the 24th of July there. Our music was from two phonographs with the same kind of records. Because the snow was too deep to visit the neighbors, they all decided to meet at the school house, every last Saturday of the month; with each family bringing food. The food was placed on long boards put on the desks. Everyone enjoyed this. In the afternoon there was dancing for the little ones (those little ones could dance too). Then at night the dance was for the adults. Many young people came from Almo, twelve miles away and also from Yost, Utah. One winter, to pass the time, we had a literary club. It was called "The Emersonian". The young folks had story plays, sang songs and read jokes for all that were there. Almo post office was the nearest place to get mail. Several families got mail from the office at Yost, Utah. It was carried by pony express, A young man by the name of Willie Howe carried the mail to the Holtman ranch, it was about eight miles from the valley settlers. The mail was delivered Mondays and Fridays at the first post office. The mail had to be carried by volunteers for six months to see if there was enough mail to establish a post office. On November 10, 1910, Willis Moulton was appointed post master. The certificate was signed by the Post Master General, Mr. Frank Hitchcock. The gold seal contains a picture of a "Pony Express Rider." The first mail carrier was Sam Ross. The next two were Lenord Howell and Monte Kirkpatrick. Mr. Chris Moellar took over the post office in 1914. The first funerals were for Mr. Sease, Mr. Wright and Mrs. Louisa J. Moon. The names of some of those settlers buried in the little cemetery are: Mr. John, Mrs. Louise Moon, Jim Jensen, Royal Henderson, Mr. Guy Ward, Mr. Seece, Mr. Wright and Harve Seese. Church was held in the school house on Sunday. In the afternoon many young people would have ballgames, wrestling and bronco riding. The children attending the Moulton Schools from 1912 to 1917 were from the families of: Johnson, Millard, Saunders, Bird, Griffith, Kneudson, MOELLAR, Hanson, Murray, Moulton and Walton. The homesteaders were: The Keogh Cattle Ranch, George, Ernest, Montie and Gordon Kirkpatrick; Irvin Johnson, Owen Fairchild, Mary White, Stevenson, fred Kidman, Theador (Ted) King, Wallace Ward, Mr. Garner (sold to Will Pope), Moellar brothers, John Buttler, Charles Augustine, Grace, Dora, Ace, and Chester Lyman; John and Simon Backer; Charlie Yonk (Henry & Son), Mathew brothers (Clyde and Bill), Woodrow Fryer (Frie), Jack Crisp, Adrian Merrill, Blain Bell, John Moon, Ernest Sparks, Walt Moon, Joe Taylor, Walton, Joseph Moon, Robert Griffith, Henery and Joseph Millard; Steven Calhoon, Edgar Allred, HARWOOD, Royal Henderson, Albert and Willis Moulton; Laura Otis, Joe Vogt, Lewis Kneudson, David Saunders, Henry Bird, George Christle, Sherman Willcox, George Bronson Sr., Dave Brounly, Joe Jones and Clarence Tracy. *****

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tADsZxKOd5I&feature=fvwrel

 

Amizade... Para mim é um sentimento que dispensa qualquer formalidade.

É livre de qualquer ressentimento e é só válida quando existe sinceridade.

- Olavo Roberto -

 

Beijos em seu coração com muito carinho e amizade,

 

Celisa

 

***

 

Friendship ... For me it is a feeling that does not require any formalities.

It is free of resentment and is only valid when there is sincerity.

- Olavo Roberto -

 

Kisses in your heart with great affection and friendship,

 

Celisa

 

***

 

Amitié ... Pour moi, c'est un sentiment qui ne nécessite pas de formalités.

Il est libre de ressentiment et n'est valable que quand il ya la sincérité.

- Olavo Roberto -

 

Les bisous dans votre cœur avec l'amour et l'amitié,

 

Celisa

 

***

 

Amistad ... Para mí es un sentimiento que no requiere ninguna formalidad.

Es libre de resentimiento y sólo es válido cuando hay sinceridad.

- Olavo Roberto -

 

Besos en tu corazón con el amor y la amistad,

 

Celisa

 

***

 

Amicizia ... Per me è un sentimento che non richiede alcuna formalità.

E 'priva di risentimento ed è valido solo quando vi è la sincerità.

- Olavo Roberto -

 

Baci nel tuo cuore con amore e amicizia,

 

Celisa

Wat Pho, also spelled Wat Po, is a Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace. Known also as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, its official name is Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan. The more commonly known name, Wat Pho, is a contraction of its older name, Wat Photaram

 

The temple is first on the list of six temples in Thailand classed as the highest grade of the first-class royal temples. It is associated with King Rama I who rebuilt the temple complex on an earlier temple site. It became his main temple and is where some of his ashes are enshrined. The temple was later expanded and extensively renovated by Rama III. The temple complex houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand, including a 46 m long reclining Buddha. The temple is considered the earliest centre for public education in Thailand, and the marble illustrations and inscriptions placed in the temple for public instructions has been recognised by UNESCO in its Memory of the World Programme. It houses a school of Thai medicine, and is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage which is still taught and practiced at the temple.

 

Wat Pho is one of Bangkok's oldest temples. It existed before Bangkok was established as the capital by King Rama I. It was originally named Wat Photaram or Podharam, from which the name Wat Pho is derived. The name refers to the monastery of the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India where Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment. The date of the construction of the old temple and its founder are unknown, but it is thought to have been built or expanded during the reign of King Phetracha (1688–1703). The southern section of Wat Pho used to be occupied by part of a French Star fort that was demolished by King Phetracha after the 1688 Siege of Bangkok.

 

After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 to the Burmese, King Taksin moved the capital to Thonburi where he located his palace beside Wat Arun on the opposite side of the Chao Phraya River from Wat Pho. The proximity of Wat Pho to this royal palace elevated it to the status of a wat luang ('royal monastery').

 

In 1782, King Rama I moved the capital from Thonburi across the river to Bangkok and built the Grand Palace adjacent to Wat Pho. In 1788, he ordered the construction and renovation at the old temple site of Wat Pho, which had by then become dilapidated. The site, which was marshy and uneven, was drained and filled in before construction began. During its construction, Rama I also initiated a project to remove Buddha images from abandoned temples in Ayutthaya, Sukhothai, as well other sites in Thailand, and many of these retrieved Buddha images were kept at Wat Pho. These include the remnants of an enormous Buddha image from Ayuthaya's Wat Phra Si Sanphet destroyed by the Burmese in 1767, and these were incorporated into a chedi in the complex. The rebuilding took over seven years to complete. In 1801, twelve years after work began, the new temple complex was renamed Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklavas in reference to the vihara of Jetavana, and it became the main temple for Rama I.

 

The complex underwent significant changes over the next 260 years, particularly during the reign of Rama III (1824-1851). In 1832, King Rama III began renovating and enlarging the temple complex, a process that took 16 years and seven months to complete. The ground of the temple complex was expanded to 56 rai (9.0 ha; 22 acres), and most of the structures now present in Wat Pho were either built or rebuilt during this period, including the Chapel of the Reclining Buddha. He also turned the temple complex into a public center of learning by decorating the walls of the buildings with diagrams and inscriptions on various subjects.: 90  The inscriptions were written by about 50 people from the court of Rama III and learned monks led by Supreme Patriarch Prince Paramanuchitchinorot (1790-1853), the abbot of Wat Pho, a Buddhist scholar, historian and poet. On 21 February 2008, these marble illustrations and inscriptions was registered in the Memory of the World Programme launched by UNESCO to promote, preserve and propagate the wisdom of the world heritage. Wat Pho is regarded as Thailand's first university and a center for traditional Thai massage. It served as a medical teaching center in the mid-19th century before the advent of modern medicine, and the temple remains a center for traditional medicine today where a private school for Thai medicine founded in 1957 still operates.

 

The name of the complex was changed again to Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm during the reign of King Rama IV. Apart from the construction of a fourth great chedi and minor modifications by Rama IV, there had been no significant changes to Wat Pho since. Repair work, however, is a continuing process, often funded by devotees of the temple. The temple was restored again in 1982 before the Bangkok Bicentennial Celebration.

 

Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest wats in Bangkok covering an area of 50 rai or 80,000 square metres. It is home to more than one thousand Buddha images, as well as one of the largest single Buddha images at 46 metres (151 ft) in length. The Wat Pho complex consists of two walled compounds bisected by Chetuphon Road running in the east–west direction. The larger northern walled compound, the phutthawat, is open to visitors and contains the finest buildings dedicated to the Buddha, including the bot with its four directional viharn, and the temple housing the reclining Buddha. The southern compound, the sankhawat, contains the residential quarters of the monks and a school. The perimeter wall of the main temple complex has sixteen gates, two of which serve as entrances for the public (one on Chetuphon Road, the other near the northwest corner).

 

The temple grounds contain four great chedis, 91 small chedis, two belfries, a bot (central shrine), a number of viharas (halls) and various buildings such as pavilions, as well as gardens and a small temple museum. Architecturally the chedis and buildings in the complex are different in style and sizes. A number of large Chinese statues, some of which depict Europeans, are also found in the complex guarding the gates of the perimeter walls as well as other gates in the compound. These stone statues were originally imported as ballast on ships trading with China.

 

Wat Pho was also intended to serve as a place of education for the general public. To this end a pictorial encyclopedia was engraved on granite slabs covering eight subject areas: history, medicine, health, custom, literature, proverbs, lexicography, and the Buddhist religion. These plaques, inscribed with texts and illustrations on medicine, Thai traditional massage, and other subjects, are placed around the temple, for example, within the Sala Rai or satellite open pavilions. Dotted around the complex are 24 small rock gardens (khao mor) illustrating rock formations of Thailand, and one, called the Contorting Hermit Hill, contains some statues showing methods of massage and yoga positions. There are also drawings of constellations on the wall of the library, inscriptions on local administration, as well as paintings of folk tales and animal husbandry.

 

Phra Ubosot (Phra Uposatha) or bot is the ordination hall, the main hall used for performing Buddhist rituals, and the most sacred building of the complex. It was constructed by King Rama I in the Ayuthaya-style, and later enlarged and reconstructed in the Rattanakosin-style by Rama III. The bot was dedicated in 1791, before the rebuilding of Wat Pho was completed. This building is raised on a marble platform, and the ubosot lies in the center of courtyard enclosed by a double cloister (Phra Rabiang).

 

Inside the ubosot is a gold and crystal three-tiered pedestal topped with a gilded Buddha made of a gold-copper alloy, and over the statue is a nine-tiered umbrella representing the authority of Thailand. The Buddha image, known as Phra Buddha Theva Patimakorn and thought to be from the Ayutthaya period, was moved here by Rama I from Wat Sala Si Na (now called Wat Khuhasawan) in Thonburi. Rama IV later placed some ashes of Rama I under the pedestal of the Buddha image so that the public may pay homage to both Rama I and the Buddha at the same time. There are also ten images of Buddha's disciples in the hall: Moggalana is to the left of Buddha and Sariputta to the right, with eight Arahants below.

 

The exterior balustrade surrounding the main hall has around 150 depictions in stone of the epic, Ramakien, the ultimate message of which is transcendence from secular to spiritual dimensions. The stone panels were recovered from a temple in Ayuthaya. The ubosot is enclosed by a low wall called kamphaeng kaew, which is punctuated by gateways guarded by mythological lions, as well as eight structures that house bai sema, stone markers that delineate the sacred space of the bot.

 

Phra Rabiang - This double cloister contains around 400 images of Buddha from northern Thailand selected out of the 1,200 originally brought by King Rama I. Of these Buddha images, 150 are on the inner side of the double cloister, another 244 images are on the outer side. These Buddha figures, some standing and some seated, are evenly mounted on matching gilded pedestals. These images are from different periods in Siamese history, such as the Chiangsaen, Sukhothai, U-Thong, and Ayutthaya eras, but they were renovated by Rama I and covered with stucco and gold leaves to make them look similar.

 

The Phra Rabiang is intersected by four viharns. The viharn in the east contains an eight metre tall standing Buddha, the Buddha Lokanatha, originally from Ayutthaya. In its antechamber is Buddha Maravichai, sitting under a bodhi tree, originally from Sawankhalok of the late-Sukhothai period. The one on the west has a seated Buddha sheltered by a naga, the Buddha Chinnasri, while the Buddha on the south, the Buddha Chinnaraja, has five disciples seated in front listening to his first sermon. Both Buddhas in the south and west viharns were brought from Sukhothai by Rama I. The Buddha in the north viharn, called Buddha Palilai, was cast in the reign of Rama I. The viharn on the west contains a small museum.

 

Phra Prang - There are four towers, or phra prang, at each corner of the courtyard around the bot. Each of the towers is tiled with marble and contains four Khmer-style statues which are the guardian divinities of the Four Cardinal Points.

 

This is a group of four large stupas, each 42 metres high. These four chedis are dedicated to the first four Chakri kings. The first, in green mosaic tiles, was constructed by Rama I to house the remnants of the great Buddha from Ayuthaya, which was scorched to remove its gold covering by the Burmese. Two more were built by Rama III, one in white tiles to hold the ashes of his father Rama II, another in yellow for himself. A fourth in blue was built by Rama IV who then enclosed the four chedis leaving no space for more to be built.

 

The viharn or wihan contains the reclining Buddha and was constructed in the reign of Rama III emulating the Ayutthaya style. The interior is decorated with panels of mural.

 

Adjacent to this building is a small raised garden (Missakawan Park) with a Chinese-style pavilion; the centre piece of the garden is a bodhi tree which was propagated from the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree in Sri Lanka that is believed to have originally came from a tree in India where Buddha sat while awaiting enlightenment.

 

Phra Mondop or the ho trai is the Scripture Hall containing a small library of Buddhist scriptures. The building is not generally open to the public as the scriptures, which are inscribed on palm leaves, need to be kept in a controlled environment for preservation. The library was built by King Rama III. Guarding its entrance are figures called Yak Wat Pho ('Wat Pho's Giants') placed in niches beside the gates. Around Phra Mondop are three pavilions with mural paintings of the beginning of Ramayana.

 

Phra Chedi Rai - Outside the Phra Rabiang cloisters are dotted many smaller chedis, called Phra Chedi Rai. Seventy-one of these small chedis were built by Rama III, each five metres in height. There are also four groups of five chedis that shared a single base built by Rama I, one on each corner outside the cloister. The 71 chedis of smaller size contain the ashes of the royal family, and 20 slightly larger ones clustered in groups of five contain the relics of Buddha.

 

Sala Karn Parien - This hall is next to the Phra Mondop at the southwest corner of the compound, and is thought to date from the Ayutthaya period. It serves as a learning and meditation hall. The building contains the original Buddha image from the bot which was moved here to make way for the Buddha image currently in the bot. Next to it is a garden called The Crocodile Pond.

Sala Rai - There are 16 satellite pavilions, most of them placed around the edge of the compound, and murals depicting the life of Buddha may be found in some of these. Two of these are the medical pavilions between Phra Maha Chedi Si Ratchakarn and the main chapel. The north medicine pavilion contains Thai traditional massage inscriptions with 32 drawings of massage positions on the walls while the one to the south has a collection of inscriptions on guardian angel that protects the newborn.

Phra Viharn Kod - This is the gallery which consists of four viharas, one on each corner outside the Phra Rabiang.

Tamnak Wasukri - Also called the poet's house, this is the former residence of Prince Patriarch Paramanuchitchinorot, a scholar, historian and poet. The house was a gift from his nephew Rama III. This building is in the living quarters of the monks in the southern compound and is open once a year on his birthday.

 

The wat and the reclining Buddha (Phra Buddhasaiyas, Thai: พระพุทธไสยาสน์) were built by Rama III in 1832. The image of the reclining Buddha represents the entry of Buddha into Nirvana and the end of all reincarnations. The posture of the image is referred to as sihasaiyas, the posture of a sleeping or reclining lion. The figure is 15 m high and 46 m long, and it is one of the largest Buddha statues in Thailand.

 

The figure has a brick core, which was modelled and shaped with plaster, then gilded. The right arm of the Buddha supports the head with tight curls, which rests on two box-pillows encrusted with glass mosaics. The soles of the feet of the Buddha are 3 m high and 4.5 m long, and inlaid with mother-of-pearl. They are each divided into 108 arranged panels, displaying the auspicious symbols by which Buddha can be identified, such as flowers, dancers, white elephants, tigers, and altar accessories. At the center of each foot is a circle representing a chakra or 'energy point'. There are 108 bronze bowls in the corridor representing the 108 auspicious characters of Buddha. Visitors may drop coins in these bowls as it is believed to bring good fortune, and it also helps the monks to maintain the wat.

 

Although the reclining Buddha is not a pilgrimage destination, it remains an object of popular piety. An annual celebration for the reclining Buddha is held around the time of the Siamese Songkran or New Year in April, which also helps raise funds for the upkeep of Wat Pho.

 

The temple is considered the first public university of Thailand, teaching students in the fields of religion, science, and literature through murals and sculptures. A school for traditional medicine and massage was established at the temple in 1955, and now offers four courses in Thai medicine: Thai pharmacy, Thai medical practice, Thai midwifery, and Thai massage. This, the Wat Pho Thai Traditional Medical and Massage School, is the first school of Thai medicine approved by the Thai Ministry of Education, and one of the earliest massage schools. It remains the national headquarters and the center of education of traditional Thai medicine and massage to this day. Courses on Thai massage are held in Wat Pho, and these may last a few weeks to a year. Two pavilions at the eastern edge of the Wat Pho compound are used as classrooms for practising Thai traditional massage and herbal massage, and visitors can received massage treatment here for a fee. The Thai massage or Nuad Thai taught at Wat Pho has been included in UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Wat Pho has trained more than 200,000 massage therapists who practice in 145 countries.

 

There are many medical inscriptions and illustrations placed in various buildings around the temple complex, some of which serve as instructions for Thai massage therapists, particularly those in the north medical pavilion. They were inscribed by scholars during the reign of King Rama III. Among these are 60 inscribed plaques, 30 each for the front and back of human body, showing pressure points used in traditional Thai massage. These therapeutic points and energy pathways, known as sen, with explanations given on the walls next to the plaques.

 

Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres (605.7 sq mi) in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated population of 10.539 million as of 2020, 15.3 percent of the country's population. Over 14 million people (22.2 percent) lived within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region at the 2010 census, making Bangkok an extreme primate city, dwarfing Thailand's other urban centres in both size and importance to the national economy.

 

Bangkok traces its roots to a small trading post during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th century, which eventually grew and became the site of two capital cities, Thonburi in 1768 and Rattanakosin in 1782. Bangkok was at the heart of the modernization of Siam, later renamed Thailand, during the late-19th century, as the country faced pressures from the West. The city was at the centre of Thailand's political struggles throughout the 20th century, as the country abolished absolute monarchy, adopted constitutional rule, and underwent numerous coups and several uprisings. The city, incorporated as a special administrative area under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration in 1972, grew rapidly during the 1960s through the 1980s and now exerts a significant impact on Thailand's politics, economy, education, media and modern society.

 

The Asian investment boom in the 1980s and 1990s led many multinational corporations to locate their regional headquarters in Bangkok. The city is now a regional force in finance and business. It is an international hub for transport and health care, and has emerged as a centre for the arts, fashion, and entertainment. The city is known for its street life and cultural landmarks, as well as its red-light districts. The Grand Palace and Buddhist temples including Wat Arun and Wat Pho stand in contrast with other tourist attractions such as the nightlife scenes of Khaosan Road and Patpong. Bangkok is among the world's top tourist destinations, and has been named the world's most visited city consistently in several international rankings.

 

Bangkok's rapid growth coupled with little urban planning has resulted in a haphazard cityscape and inadequate infrastructure. Despite an extensive expressway network, an inadequate road network and substantial private car usage have led to chronic and crippling traffic congestion, which caused severe air pollution in the 1990s. The city has since turned to public transport in an attempt to solve the problem, operating eight urban rail lines and building other public transit, but congestion still remains a prevalent issue. The city faces long-term environmental threats such as sea level rise due to climate change.

 

The history of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, dates at least to the early 15th century, when it was under the rule of Ayutthaya. Due to its strategic location near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, the town gradually increased in importance, and after the fall of Ayutthaya King Taksin established his new capital of Thonburi there, on the river's west bank. King Phutthayotfa Chulalok, who succeeded Taksin, moved the capital to the eastern bank in 1782, to which the city dates its foundation under its current Thai name, "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon". Bangkok has since undergone tremendous changes, growing rapidly, especially in the second half of the 20th century, to become the primate city of Thailand. It was the centre of Siam's modernization in the late 19th century, subjected to Allied bombing during the Second World War, and has long been the modern nation's central political stage, with numerous uprisings and coups d'état having taken place on its streets throughout the years.

 

It is not known exactly when the area which is now Bangkok was first settled. It probably originated as a small farming and trading community, situated in a meander of the Chao Phraya River within the mandala of Ayutthaya's influence. The town had become an important customs outpost by as early as the 15th century; the title of its customs official is given as Nai Phra Khanon Thonburi (Thai: นายพระขนอนทณบุรี) in a document from the reign of Ayutthayan king Chao Sam Phraya (1424–1448). The name also appears in the 1805 revised code of laws known as the Law of Three Seals.

 

At the time, the Chao Phraya flowed through what are now the Bangkok Noi and Bangkok Yai canals, forming a large loop in which lay the town. In the reign of King Chairacha (either in 1538 or 1542), a waterway was excavated, bypassing the loop and shortening the route for ships sailing up to Ayutthaya. The flow of the river has since changed to follow the new waterway, dividing the town and making the western part an island. This geographical feature may have given the town the name Bang Ko (บางเกาะ), meaning 'island village', which later became Bangkok (บางกอก, pronounced in Thai as [bāːŋ kɔ̀ːk]). Another theory regarding the origin of the name speculates that it is shortened from Bang Makok (บางมะกอก), makok being the name of Spondias pinnata, a plant bearing olive-like fruit. This is supported by the fact that Wat Arun, a historic temple in the area, used to be named Wat Makok. Specific mention of the town was first made in the royal chronicles from the reign of King Maha Chakkraphat (1548–1568), giving its name as Thonburi Si Mahasamut (ธนบุรีศรีมหาสมุทร). Bangkok was probably a colloquial name, albeit one widely adopted by foreign visitors.

 

The importance of Bangkok/Thonburi increased with the amount of Ayutthaya's maritime trade. Dutch records noted that ships passing through Bangkok were required to declare their goods and number of passengers, as well as pay customs duties. Ships' cannons would be confiscated and held there before they were allowed to proceed upriver to Ayutthaya. An early English language account is that of Adam Denton, who arrived aboard the Globe, an East India Company merchantman bearing a letter from King James I, which arrived in "the Road of Syam" (Pak Nam) on 15 August 1612, where the port officer of Bangkok attended to the ship. Denton's account mentions that he and his companions journeyed "up the river some twenty miles to a town called Bancope, where we were well received, and further 100 miles to the city...."

 

Ayutthaya's maritime trade was at its height during the reign of King Narai (1656–1688). Recognition of the city's strategic location guarding the water passage to Ayutthaya lead to expansion of the military presence there. A fort of Western design was constructed on the east side of the river around 1685–1687 under the supervision of French engineer de la Mare, probably replacing an earlier structure, while plans to rebuild the fort on the west bank were also made. De la Mare had arrived with the French embassy of Chevalier de Chaumont, and remained in Siam along with Chevalier de Forbin, who had been appointed governor of Bangkok. The Bangkok garrison under Forbin consisted of Siamese, Portuguese, and French reportedly totalling about one thousand men.

 

French control over the city was further consolidated when the French General Desfarges, who had arrived with the second French embassy in 1687, secured the king's permission to board troops there. This, however, lead to resentment among Siamese nobles, led by Phetracha, ultimately resulting in the Siamese revolution of 1688, in which King Narai was overthrown and 40,000 Siamese troops besieged Bangkok's eastern fort for four months before an agreement was reached and the French were allowed to withdraw. The revolution resulted in Siam's ties with the West being virtually severed, steering its trade towards China and Japan. The eastern fort was subsequently demolished on Phetracha's orders.

 

Ayutthaya was razed by the Burmese in 1767. In the following months, multiple factions competed for control of the kingdom's lands. Of these, Phraya Tak, governor of Tak and a general fighting in Ayutthaya's defence prior to its fall, emerged as the strongest. After succeeding in reclaiming the cities of Ayutthaya and Bangkok, Phraya Tak declared himself king (popularly known as King Taksin) in 1768 and established Thonburi as his capital. Reasons given for this change include the totality of Ayutthaya's destruction and Thonburi's strategic location. Being a fortified town with a sizeable population meant that not much would need to be reconstructed. The existence of an old Chinese trading settlement on the eastern bank allowed Taksin to use his Chinese connections to import rice and revive trade.

 

King Taksin had the city area extended northwards to border the Bangkok Noi Canal. A moat was dug to protect the city's western border, on which new city walls and fortifications were built. Moats and walls were also constructed on the eastern bank, encircling the city together with the canals on the western side. The king's palace (Thonburi Palace) was built within the old city walls, including the temples of Wat Chaeng (Wat Arun) and Wat Thai Talat (Wat Molilokkayaram) within the palace grounds. Outlying orchards were re-landscaped for rice farming.

 

Much of Taksin's reign was spent in military campaigns to consolidate the Thonburi Kingdom's hold over Siamese lands. His kingdom, however, would last only until 1782 when a coup was mounted against him, and the general Chao Phraya Chakri established himself as king, later to be known as Phutthayotfa Chulalok or Rama I.

 

Rama I re-established the capital on the more strategic east bank of the river, relocating the Chinese already settled there to the area between Wat Sam Pluem and Wat Sampheng (which developed into Bangkok's Chinatown). Fortifications were rebuilt, and another series of moats was created, encircling the city in an area known as Rattanakosin Island.

 

The erection of the city pillar on 21 April 1782 is regarded as the formal date of the city's establishment. (The year would later mark the start of the Rattanakosin Era after calendar reforms by King Rama V in 1888.) Rama I named the new city Krung Rattanakosin In Ayothaya (กรุงรัตนโกสินทร์อินท์อโยธยา). This was later modified by King Nangklao to be: Krungthepmahanakhon Bowonrattanakosin Mahintha-ayutthaya. While settlements on both banks were commonly called Bangkok, both the Burney Treaty of 1826 and the Roberts Treaty of 1833 refer to the capital as the City of Sia-Yut'hia. King Mongkut (Rama IV) would later give the city its full ceremonial name:

 

Rama I modelled his city after the former capital of Ayutthaya, with the Grand Palace, Front Palace and royal temples by the river, next to the royal field (now Sanam Luang). Continuing outwards were the royal court of justice, royal stables and military prison. Government offices were located within the Grand Palace, while residences of nobles were concentrated south of the palace walls. Settlements spread outwards from the city centre.

 

The new capital is referred to in Thai sources as Rattanakosin, a name shared by the Siamese kingdom of this historical period. The name Krung Thep and Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, both shortened forms of the full ceremonial name, began to be used near the end of the 19th century. Foreigners, however, continued to refer to the city by the name Bangkok, which has seen continued use until this day.

 

Most of Rama I's reign was also marked by continued military campaigns, though the Burmese threat gradually declined afterwards. His successors consistently saw to the renovation of old temples, palaces, and monuments in the city. New canals were also built, gradually expanding the fledgling city as areas available for agriculture increased and new transport networks were created.

 

At the time of the city's foundation, most of the population lived by the river or the canals, often in floating houses on the water. Waterways served as the main method of transportation, and farming communities depended on them for irrigation. Outside the city walls, settlements sprawled along both river banks. Forced settlers, mostly captives of war, also formed several ethnic communities outside the city walls.

 

Large numbers of Chinese immigrants continued to settle in Bangkok, especially during the early 19th century. Such was their prominence that Europeans visiting in the 1820s estimated that they formed over half of the city population. The Chinese excelled in trade, and led the development of a market economy. The Chinese settlement at Sampheng had become a bustling market by 1835. 

 

By the mid-19th century, the West had become an increasingly powerful presence. Missionaries, envoys and merchants began re-visiting Bangkok and Siam, bringing with them both modern innovations and the threat of colonialism. King Mongkut (Rama IV, reigned 1851–1868) was open to Western ideas and knowledge, but was also forced to acknowledge their powers, with the signing of the Bowring Treaty in 1855. During his reign, industrialization began taking place in Bangkok, which saw the introduction of the steam engine, modern shipbuilding and the printing press. Influenced by the Western community, Charoen Krung Road, the city's first paved street, was constructed in 1862–1864. This was followed by Bamrung Mueang, Fueang Nakhon, Trong (now Rama IV) and Si Lom Roads. Land transport would later surpass the canals in importance, shifting people's homes from floating dwellings toward permanent buildings. The limits of the city proper were also expanded during his reign, extending to the Phadung Krung Kasem Canal, dug in 1851.

 

King Mongkut's son Chulalongkorn (r. 1868–1910) was set upon modernizing the country. He engaged in wide-ranging reforms, abolishing slavery, corvée (unfree labour) and the feudal system, and creating a centralized bureaucracy and a professional army. The Western concept of nationhood was adopted, and national borders demarcated against British and French territories. Disputes with the French resulted in the Paknam Incident in 1893, when the French sent gunboats up the Chao Phraya to blockade Bangkok, resulting in Siam's concession of territory to France.

 

With Chulalongkorn's reforms, governance of the capital and the surrounding areas, established as Monthon Krung Thep Phra Mahanakhon (มณฑลกรุงเทพพระมหานคร), came under the Ministry of Urban Affairs (Nakhonban). During his reign many more canals and roads were built, expanding the urban reaches of the capital. Infrastructure was developed, with the introduction of railway and telegraph services between Bangkok and Samut Prakan and then expanding countrywide. Electricity was introduced, first to palaces and government offices, then to serve electric trams in the capital and later the general public. The King's fascination with the West was reflected in the royal adoption of Western dress and fashions, but most noticeably in architecture. He commissioned the construction of the neoclassical Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall at the new Dusit Palace, which was linked to the historic city centre by the grand Ratchadamnoen Avenue, inspired by the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Examples of Western influence in architecture became visible throughout the city.

 

By 1900, rural market zones in Bangkok began developing into residential districts. Rama VI (1910–1925) continued his predecessor's program of the development of public works by establishing Chulalongkorn University in 1916, and commissioned a system of locks to control waterway levels surrounding the developing city, he also provided the city's first and largest recreational area, Lumphini Park. The Memorial Bridge was constructed in 1932 to connect Thonburi to Bangkok, which was believed to promote economic growth and modernization in a period when infrastructure was developing considerably. Bangkok became the centre stage for power struggles between the military and political elite as the country abolished absolute monarchy in 1932. It was subject to Japanese occupation and Allied bombing during World War II. With the war over in 1945, British and Indian troops landed in September, and during their brief occupation of the city disarmed the Japanese troops. A significant event following the return of the young king, Ananda Mahidol, to Thailand, intended to defuse post-war tensions lingering between Bangkok's ethnic Chinese and Thai people, was his visit to Bangkok's Chinatown Sam Peng Lane (ซอยสำเพ็ง), on 3 June 1946.

 

As a result of pro-Western bloc treaties Bangkok rapidly grew in the post-war period as a result of United States developmental aid and government-sponsored investment. Infrastructure, including the Don Mueang International Airport and highways, was built and expanded.  Bangkok's role as an American military R&R destination launched its tourism industry as well as sex trade.  Disproportionate urban development led to increasing income inequalities and unprecedented migration from rural areas into Bangkok; its population surged from 1.8 to 3 million in the 1960s. Following the United States' withdrawal from Vietnam, Japanese businesses took over as leaders in investment, and the expansion of export-oriented manufacturing led to growth of the financial market in Bangkok.  Rapid growth of the city continued through the 1980s and early 1990s, until it was stalled by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. By then, many public and social issues had emerged, among them the strain on infrastructure reflected in the city's notorious traffic jams. Bangkok's role as the nation's political stage continues to be seen in strings of popular protests, from the student uprisings in 1973 and 1976, anti-military demonstrations in 1992, and successive anti-government protests by the "Yellow Shirt" and "Red Shirt" movements from 2008 on.

 

Administratively, eastern Bangkok and Thonburi had been established as separate provinces in 1915. (The province east of the river was named Phra Nakhon (พระนคร.) A series of decrees in 1971–1972 resulted in the merger of these provinces and its local administrations, forming the current city of Bangkok which is officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) was created in 1975 to govern the city, and its governor has been elected since 1985.

Sentir nostalgia no siempre es malo, significa que hemos tenido la suerte de vivir cosas muy bellas que echamos de menos.

 

Aunque a veces he sentido nostalgia por los días que nunca llegaron... y es que cuando cerraba los ojos... todo era tan hermoso... que al despertar solo quedaba respirar y desear haberlo vivido.

 

Pero en la vida cada uno de nosotros tenemos un día especial... ese día donde todo sale bien... donde todo es perfecto y nos sentimos tan felices... el día mágico que justifica porque estamos aqui... y cuando ese momento llegue debemos abrir bien los ojos... porque a veces desperdiciamos el tiempo siendo personas tristes... llenas de enojo y rencor... y tal vez nuestro día especial se vaya y nunca más vuelva.

 

Para la persona que me ha ayudado a descubrir mi dia especial... =)

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To feel nostalgic sometimes is not so bad... It means we have had amazing days that we miss somehow...

 

But... to be honest... i have felt nostalgic for those days that never came in my life... i used to close my eyes... and everything looked so perfect there... that when i woke up i just took a breath...

 

In this world... all of us have a special day... That day when everything is perfect... when you feel so happy... and we can justify the reason which we are here...

You have to open your eyes... because we waste our time being sad... feeling anger and resentment... and maybe our special day will never come back...

 

This is for the person who helped me to find my day =)

By far one of the most advanced and iconic British aircraft of the 1960's, the Trident was Britain's attempt at a short-to-medium range jet airliner that was called upon by state-owned carrier British European Airways for their premier routes in Western Europe. However, it's involvement with BEA would later become a thorn in its side, and would ultimately destroy the Trident's chances, especially after the introduction of the Boeing 727 from North America.

 

With the introduction of Jet Airliners in 1952, pioneered by the De Havilland Comet, many airline managers and economists remained sceptical and advocated turboprop airliners as replacements of piston-engined airliners. Initial resentment to the jet airliner proposals however were quickly warmed, with BEA, who had openly rejected the idea of jet powered aircraft, going on to say they would consider jets to work alongside their Turboprop fleet. These jets would be required to carry a payload of some 20,000lb (the equivalent of 70 passengers) up to 1,000 miles, and have the ability to use runways of up to 6,000ft. Other requirements included a cruising speed of 610 to 620mph using two or more engines.

 

Initially, four British aircraft manufacturers took up the challenge of designing such a stringent aircraft. AVRO proposed the AVRO 740 Trijet, but would later join forces with Bristol and Hawker Siddeley. Vickers proposed a short-range version of their VC-10 dubbed the VC-11. The de Havilland company considered three possible contenders for the specification. Two were four-engined developments of the Comet: the D.H.119 and the D.H.120, the latter also intended for offer to British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). The third, the D.H.121 announced in May 1957, had three engines and was pitched at BEA. In February 1958, BEA announced that the D.H.121 had come closest to its requirements and that it would order 24 with options on 12 more. However, development of the D.H. 121 was stalled for another 6 months by the British Government, in which time they had taken favour to Hawker Siddeley for Industrial policy reasons. Meanwhile, BEA has taken a shine to the Sud Aviation Caravelle of France, but was deemed politically unacceptable, and thus the De Havilland option was taken up.

 

Over time the design was tinkered and altered due to BEA's continually changing requirements for the aircraft. Eventually, the aircraft, now dubbed the 'Trident', was brought to a final design. The aircraft would be constructed of metal, and wings would be swept back at 35 degrees. Power came from three Rolls Royce Spey engines mounted at the rear, with the T-Tail design bearing a similarity to the later Boeing 727. Performance wise, the Trident was capable of 610mph cruising speeds, and could take off in less than 6,000ft of runway. The main competition however, the newly developed Boeing 727 of the United States, could take off in 4,500ft. In flight, the Trident could descend routinely at rates of 4,500ft/min, with room to cater for emergency descents.

 

However, the Trident's main party piece was in fact it's automatic landing system, the first of its kind in the world. The Automatic Blind Landing system was developed by Hawker Siddeley and Smiths Aircraft Instruments, and was able to guide the aircraft automatically during airfield approach, flare, touchdown and even roll-out from the landing runway. The system was intended to offer autoland by 1970. In the event, it enabled the Trident to perform the first automatic landing by a civil airliner in scheduled passenger service on 10th June 1965, and the first genuinely "blind" landing in scheduled passenger service on 4th November 1966.

 

This system was primarily developed to overcome the problems of heavy fog at London's Heathrow Airport, which could often result in long delays or diversions to other airports. These advanced avionics though needed room inside the aircraft, and thus were placed underneath the cockpit, resulting in the nose landing gear being offset from the centre of the aircraft, leading to the nose wheel retracting sideways.

 

Hawker Siddeley Aviation which absorbed de Havilland, needed additional customers for the Trident, so entered into discussions with American Airlines in 1960. They demanded an aircraft with a longer range, which meant that the original DH121 design would have fulfilled American's requirements almost perfectly. To fill American's needs, design began on a new Trident 1A, powered with uprated Rolls-Royce Spey 510's greater thrust and a larger wing with more fuel. American Airlines eventually declined the aircraft in favour of the Boeing 727, an aircraft which filled the original DH121 specifications almost exactly.

 

The first Trident 1, G-ARPA, made its maiden flight on 9th January 1962 from Hatfield Aerodrome, and entered service on 1st April 1964. By 1965, there were 15 Tridents in BEA's fleet and by March 1966, the fleet had increased to 21.

 

Sales for the Trident 1 were sadly low, with only three being sold to Kuwait Airways and Iraqi Airways, four for Pakistan International Airlines (later sold to CAAC), two each for Channel Airways and Northeast Airlines of Britain, and one for Air Ceylon. Channel Airways aircraft were operated with cramped, 21in pitch, seven-abreast seating in the forward section (and people say Ryanair is cramped!).

 

Later, a new Trident, the Trident 2E, was launched, which included modified engines for greater journey length and a longer fuselage for more capacity. Again, sales were sadly lukewarm at best, with BEA buying 15, two for Cyprus Airways and 33 by CAAC, the Chinese national airline. The first flight of this version was made on 27th July 1967 and it entered service with BEA in April 1968.

 

The final variant of the Trident, the 3B, was the largest of the fleet, with a capacity of 180 seats. The design came from an earlier proposal of two different aircraft to combat the likes of the newer Boeing 737, both being by Hawker Siddeley. The HS132 intended to have two engines like a DC-9 and would take 158 passengers, whilst the HS134 would take 180 passengers and have engines under the wings, making the aircraft look similar to that of the modern day Boeing 757. Both plans however were declined by BEA, who intended instead to take on Boeing 727's and 737's to replace their fleet of 1-11's and Tridents, but the Government turned them down. In the end a stretched Trident was born and dubbed the 3B. In all, 26 aircraft were ordered by BEA, being launched in December 1969. A later version with extended range fuel tanks was also built called the Super Trident 3B. In all, only 35 of these planes were built, the remainder being sold to CAAC.

 

In the end, only 117 Tridents were ever built, in comparison to the 1,832 Boeing 727's built in the same time period. After the end of production, the Tridents ambled along in a life on borrowed time, their design being quickly overtaken by their Boeing competitors. BEA was eventually merged with BOAC to form British Airways in 1974, who largely consumed the other British Trident operators throughout the 70's and 80's before retiring the fleet in 1985. The last known flights of the Hawker Siddeley Trident were by CAAC in the early 1990's.

 

In all, 9 Tridents were involved in accidents, the most notable and deadliest crashes being:

 

- 1972 Staines Air Disaster, where pilot error caused British European Airways aircraft G-ARPI to stall on departure from Heathrow, killing 118. (G-ARPI has previously been damaged in 1968 when an Airspeed Ambassador crashed into it whilst it was parked at Heathrow, writing off fellow Trident G-ARPT)

 

- 1976 Zagreb mid-air collision, where an ATC error caused British Airways aircraft G-AWZT to crash mid-flight into Inex-Adria Airways Douglas DC-9 YU-AJR, killing 176 in total.

 

- 1988 CAAC Flight 301 crashed on landing at the famous Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong during rain and fog, causing the aircraft to slip off the runway and fall into the harbour, killing 7.

 

Today however, a total of 11 complete and incomplete aircraft remain in existence and in varying conditions:

 

- Trident 1C G-ARPO is at the former RAF Usworth site, now the North East Aircraft Museum.

- Trident 2E G-AVFB is at the Imperial War Museum Duxford near Cambridge.

- Trident 3B G-AWZK is at the Aviation Viewing Park at Manchester Airport, having previously being stored at Heathrow until 2005. This aircraft however has clipped wings due to space constraints.

- Trident 3B G-AWZM at Science Museum's exhibit store at Wroughton in Wiltshire.

 

- Trident 2E G-AVFH (nose/cockpit and front cabin sections only) at the de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre.

- Trident 3B G-AWZI at (Farnborough) owned by Andrew Lee on display at FAST Museum (nose section only)

- Trident 3B G-AWZJ at the Dumfries and Galloway Aviation Museum at the former RAF Dumfries, Scotland.

 

Other examples include:

 

- Trident 1E B-2207 at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution, Beijing, China.

- Trident 2E G-AVFE on the fire ground at Belfast International Airport, a complete airframe now used as a fire trainer.

- Trident 3B G-AWZS at International fire training centre Teesside Airport, again a complete airframe used as a fire trainer.

  

However, the most spectacular of all the survivors is Trident 2E 5B-DAB, which has sat perfectly still at the abandoned Nicosia International Airport in Cyprus since the Turkish invasion of 1974. Much like the terminal it is sat near, this Trident is the perfect time capsule, having been left open to the elements within a UN exclusion zone for 41 years!

 

As for the Trident itself though, it's yet another sad example of a great British concept that never made it to legend. Whilst many Boeing 727's of the same period continue to ply their trade in the skies, the small and subtle reign of the Trident has long since been silenced. But I will say, in spite of the delayed introduction, the poor sales and constantly changing requirements, being undercut by Boeing and Douglas, the Trident still managed to make an impact technologically, with it's Automatic Landing system now something modern airliners take for granted.

 

If only the plane that system had been associated with had succeeded in the same way.

Some History of Brisbane.

The first European settlement in Queensland was a small convict colony which was established at Redcliffe, now a northern beach suburb, in 1824. The settlement was soon moved in 1825 to a better location on the Brisbane River in what is now the CBD of Brisbane. John Oxley suggested this change of location and that the town be known as Brisbane after Sir Thomas Brisbane, Governor of NSW who visited this settlement in 1826. Prior to this the settlement was known as the Moreton Bay. By 1831 Moreton Bay had 1,241 people, but 86% were convicts, and almost all the rest were guards and administrators. One of the founding free men to settle in Brisbane was Andrew Petrie, a government clerk, who arrived in the settlement in 1837. His son later became the first mayor of Brisbane.

 

In 1842 (six years after the settlement of SA) Moreton Bay penal settlement was closed and the area opened to free settlers. Half the convicts at Moreton Bay were Irish Catholics which influenced the development of the settlement thereafter as many stayed on. By 1846 Moreton Bay had a population of 4,000 people, considerably less than that of Burra at the time which had over 5,000 people! In 1848 the first immigrants direct from Britain arrived, as did some Chinese. In 1849 three ship loads of Presbyterians arrived in Brisbane, the first ship being the Fortitude- hence the naming of Fortitude Valley. The colony was still far from self sufficient in terms of food production. In the mid 1850s German immigrants also started to arrive in the settlement. The only building still standing built by convict labour is the Old Windmill in Wickham Park.

 

During the late 1840s a few grand houses were built in Brisbane like Newstead House at Hamilton and the city began to take shape. All the central streets were named after members of Queen Victoria’s family- Adelaide, Alice, Ann, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Margaret, Mary for the streets parallel to Queen Street, and Albert, Edward, George and William for the streets perpendicular to Queen Street. In 1859 the population had grown sufficiently, to about 30,000 people, for Queensland to be proclaimed a separate colony from NSW with Brisbane (about 6,000 people) as the capital city. It was now a self governing independent colony. Old Government House was built shortly after this in 1862 followed by numerous colonial government buildings. The French Empire style Parliament House opposite the old Botanical Gardens was erected in 1865 to a design by Charles Tiffin. It had perfect symmetry a mansard roof and an arcaded loggia. It is still one of the most distinctive buildings in Brisbane. Nearby the pastoralists and wealthy built the Queensland Club in Alice Street in 1882 with classical columns but with Italianate style bay windows. The location near parliament house is much like the situation of the Adelaide Club on North Terrace almost adjacent to the SA parliament. The wealthy and pastoralists in both states had immeasurable influence over early colonial politics. One of the other finest colonial buildings of Brisbane is the Old Customs House with the circular copper domed roof on the edge of the Brisbane River. It was erected in 1888.

 

Although Brisbane grew quickly through the following decades it was not incorporated as a city until 1902.Part of the reason for the relatively slow of growth of Brisbane, compared to Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney was that it was not the focal point of the state railway network. Queensland always had other major regional centres. The railway from Brisbane reached out to southern Queensland only- Ipswich in 1864, Toowoomba in 1867, and Charleville in 1888. There was no early push to have a railway link between the coastal cities. They were not linked by a railway until 1927 when road transport had already taken over the transport of livestock and freight. The coastal railway to Cairns was always for passenger traffic as much as freight traffic.

 

Unlike the other Australian state capitals, Brisbane City Council governs most of the metropolitan area of Brisbane. In 1925 over twenty shires and municipalities were amalgamated into the City of Brisbane. It was at this time that the landmark Brisbane city Hall was built in Art Deco style. It was opened in 1930. During World War Two, Brisbane had a distinctive history as Prime Minister John Curtin had the “Brisbane Line” as a controversial defense plan, whereby if there was a land invasion of Australia, the northern half of the country would be surrendered at a line just north of Brisbane! Brisbane also became the headquarters for the American campaign in the South Pacific with General Douglas MacArthur based there at times. In 1942 a violent clash erupted between American and Australian service personnel in Brisbane. Between 2,000 and 5,000 men were involved in the riots which spread over two days. One soldier was killed and eight injured by gun fire as well as hundreds injured with black eyes, swollen faces, broken noses etc. On the second night 21 Americans were injured with 11 of them having to be hospitalised. This was The Battle of Brisbane. Yet around 1 million American troops passed through Queensland between December 1941 (just after the bombing of Pearl Harbour) and the end of 1945. They were here to spearhead attacks to take back the Philippines and to prevent the Japanese from taking New Guinea. Black American soldiers were especially unpopular in Brisbane as their landing contravened the “White Australia Policy” of those times. In response to this policy General Douglas MacArthur announced his support for the Australian government’s insistence that no more Black American troops be sent to Brisbane after 1942. The Black American units in Australia were later sent to New Guinea and New Caledonia. Black American troops in New Guinea were not allowed to visit Australia for rest and recreation leave although white American troops were allowed to visit Australia, mainly to Mackay. Resentment between American and Australian troops in Brisbane had to be contained and suppressed. Riots between troops also occurred in Townsville during the War.

The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure contumely without resentment.

Elbert Hubbard

More and more white couples are bringing a black bull into their bedroom as the white wife is craving sex that only areal man can give her and the husband is feminized and emasculated There is no jealousy or resentment from me about the reality of our marriage and the roles we now play. I accept that I am a submissive effeminate cuckold and that my wife is addicted to BIG BLACK COCK

Französisch Buchholz in the Berlin borough of Pankow, is a district that developed from an earlier settlement in the 13th century and became known as Buchholz. It got its current name because numerous Huguenot families, religious refugees from France, settled here at the end of the 17th century.

By about 1750, the name Französisch Buchholz had become established and the village had become a popular destination for Berliner day trippers.

Because of anti-French resentment in the run-up to the First World War, the district changed its name to Berlin-Buchholz in 1913 and was incorporated into Greater Berlin in 1920.

At the end of the Second World War, Buchholz became part of the Soviet sector of Berlin. After reunification and with some local pressure, the district became Französisch Buchholz again on 30th May 1999, thus after 86 years, regaining its former name.

It was in this old St. Louis courthouse that the Dred Scott case, Scott vs Emerson, was tried. It was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Dred Scott decision by a conservatively stacked Supreme Court decided that black people, slave or free, could never be considered Americans. That decision widened popular resentment and sentiment between north and south on slavery that soon would ignite the U.S. Civil War.

Photograph taken during the thirty degree record breaking heat of a long overdue British Summertime, at 12:34pm on Thursday July 18th 2013 off Hythe Avenue in Chessington Avenue, Bexleyheath, Kent, England.

  

Model: MANDY FROST

  

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Nikon D800 70mm 1/200s f/3.2 iso100 RAW (14-bit) Handheld

  

Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED IF. Jessops 77mm UV filter. Nikon MB-D12 battery grip. Two Nikon EN-EL15 batteries Lowepro Transporter camera strap.Lowepro Vertex 200 AW camera bag.Sandisc 32GB Ultra Class 10 30MB/s SDHC card. Hoodman HGEC soft viewfinder eyecup. Nikon GP-1 GPS unit. Overhead tabletop umbrella for shade & a high speed oscillating fan to help prevent the model from fainting in the heat.

  

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LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.40s

LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.52s

ALTITUDE: 60.0m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE: 103.00MB

PROCESSED FILE: 15.20MB

To this day, nobody in this town knows who she was. A pretty spectacle arriving unannounced, charming her way into our end-of-summer festivities and causing the quietest scene imaginable. The anger with which she created among the citizens has dissipated over the decades; those who were around during her brief stay speak of her as a legend....a seemingly sweet siren, who literally stole into the night's cool air and left a multitude of victims in a state of heightened befuddlement. Indeed, this photo you see here is the only known item to prove her existence.

 

Ask a hundred different townspeople about her and the goings-on of that night, and you'll receive a hundred different responses. She seemed to use a different name whenever someone dared approach her: "Gloria", "Veronica", "Marilyn", "Jane", "Mamie", and "Anne" have all been examples of the names she supposedly used to introduce herself. The fact that several of these were also the first names of famous movie actresses of the time was probably no coincidence.

 

There is also much debate about the accent - or lack thereof - of which she spoke with. Some say she spoke with a soft Southern drawl, while a few others will insist that she had a flirty Irish or Scottish brogue while conversing. The most frustrating aspect in all of these accounts lies in the one thing each person agreed with: she never spoke within a large group of people. Each encounter was done with a highly personal touch... she'd stand close to whomever she spoke with, eyes intent with her hair periodically drooping over one or the other, smile in place along with a soft biting of her lip. She had a feminine allure that could be perceived as both innocent yet amorous. And this behavior was given to both genders whom she interacted with - a downright scandalous topic shared in the hushed whispers of those not seeking to fraternize with her.

 

One detail about the photo that can be confirmed: the jacket she's wearing here was definitely not hers. She had arrived at the town's Labor Day weekend celebration in a scantily clad outfit, something slightly less modest than the lowest cut bikini. Her unexpected showing completely drew the attention of every man in every age group. Al Gissell, the town's mechanic and biggest male flirt, had his recently washed work jacket with him; and, acting as a modern Sir Lancelot, offered it to her. She eagerly accepted it and donned it for the entire evening. It's oversize on her female frame drew even more attention, and some eyebrows were raised, as the hands of this mysterious visitor would comfortably use the pockets of Al's work coat as if they were her own.

 

As the story goes, the presence of this chanteuse did have a positive effect at first - music normally played to just people standing around and talking, was now the audio backdrop of dancing and much partying by younger and middle-aged members of town. The flasks that would normally be tucked shamefully away in men's and women's pockets and purses were welcomed out openly, their contents mixed with other beverages. Most who remember the night's events will agree that the young, beautiful stranger was at the forefront. Every private encounter with her had a mix of flirtation, fun, dancing and a subtle possibility of romance in every one - even the ones who were married!

 

The details of what happened next that evening have blurred with the sands of time. Many of the revelers, one-by-one, soon either passed out, or somehow trogged their way home in a drunken stupor. Considering this predictable result, it's no surprise that next to nobody could explain what the townsfolk woke up to the following day...

 

It started with one discovery: one married man, whom had danced with the lovely lass the night before, arose off of the ground of the town's park (his wife, probably bitter from his brief mingling with the stranger, had left him there). He searched his pockets to find them bare - no wallet, coins, the key to his vehicle. He walked home and started making phone calls to the others whom had been at the gathering. Similar stories would soon surface.... missing wallets full of money, half-full flasks no longer in a pocket nor purse. Within two hours much of the small community was abuzz with frustration and angst with the reality of what had happened. Almost everyone had a story of being victimized....it's been said that the local authorities worked day and night, tirelessly taking in accounts of what would be later described as a mass pickpocketing.

 

As the realization of just what happened set in, the cooler heads started asking the most obvious question: "What about HER?" The lithe young charmer who swept effortlessly into town, charmed the pants off of almost everyone in her orbit, then seemed to vanish without a trace? At some point in this investigation, the town's librarian, an elegant lady named Judy, came forward with what was a promising lead: as the designated photographer of the Labor Day event, she had taken dozens of pictures of the people there along with the different bonfires that had been set up. By sheer chance, Judy had snapped one photo of the mysterious woman. Whether if real or place subconsciously due to the unfortunate circumstances, Judy recalled the young lady was hesitant to have her picture taken. When Judy insisted, the stranger made the silly face seen here as the flash bulb of her camera went off. Always a keen observer of detail, Judy also pointed out the intriguing bulges in the pockets of Al's coat. Knowing Al pretty well, Judy had rarely seen Al keep much inside them, except for when he was wearing it while fixing up a vehicle. Could those bulges be from just some of the wallets or flasks that had been lifted?

 

Sadly, this unique episode frayed the once tight-nit town when theories of what truly happened began to materialize. The most common rumour centered around Al Gissell. In the aftermath of that evening, it was revealed that he been the least victimized among the lot. He awoke - in his home - to find his wallet still in his possession, his keys still on the countertop of his kitchen. While his beloved jacket was indeed taken, the four silver dollars - one for every pocket on his coat, a quirky method for good luck - had been slipped into his front-left pants pocket, creating quite the jingle when he placed his hand inside. A very noticeable detail since he made a habit of never keeping those in such a pocket! Al had thought his story of being partially spared would bring a degree of solace to his neighbors; instead, it created a bitter resentment, even conspiracy theories that the young woman was a distant relative of his, visiting from out of town to cause a ruckus while he pilfered the billfolds of both men and women alike. There were no reasons to base these accusations - Al was considered an excellent mechanic who charged reasonable rates for his services - but the damage was done. His business suffered from this suddenly negative reputation and he closed up his shop, and moved to a different part of the country.

 

Mad theories like this came about. Everything from the idea of this woman being an operative for the CIA or FBI was one. Her stealing wallets was a form of information gathering, making sure small-town America wasn't having things too good! Another was that the wives and girlfriends of the men whom shown interest in this woman made a secret agreement to pick the pockets of their significant others, a short-term act of vengeance to punish them all for having a wayward eye. The young woman borrowing Al's coat with bulging pockets being the perfect scapegoat!

 

Among all of these stories though, one thing I find striking is that nobody suspected her of being a thief. Dancing with man after man, and even a woman every so often, there'd certainly be eyes on her. And yet nobody ever got the notion nor inclination that her hands were dipping the pockets of the marks she was charming! Was she really that talented a thief - or were people having too good a time to notice?

 

Being a generation removed from this occurrence, I look at what probably happened with the viewpoint of a romantic thief. This woman was probably footloose and fancy free, perhaps a member of a traveling circus or vagabond family. She may have had an older female mentor to teach her the in's and out's of pickpocketing, or thievery in general. As she grew out of adolescense she blossomed into the striking lady seen here. When it comes to stealing, she's probably an opportunist, using any and all vulnerabilities to eventually get what she's after. Al kindly offering his coat was like a Godsend to her; the depth of the pockets was probably an attractive detail, and with Al being the shameless, gentlemanly flirt he was, she had a built-in cover in case anything suspicious arose.

 

Whatever the case of what really happened, there's that part of me picturing her the morning after: driving down a long road in the car she had swiped from one of the men. Her hair and upturned coat collar brushing against her face as she grins with an air of victory. With one hand on the steering wheel, the other slips into the pocket of what is now her coat, caresses the treasures she's pilfered, the coat itself like a cape of a super villain. She's ready for her next adventure....

Some History of Brisbane.

The first European settlement in Queensland was a small convict colony which was established at Redcliffe, now a northern beach suburb, in 1824. The settlement was soon moved in 1825 to a better location on the Brisbane River in what is now the CBD of Brisbane. John Oxley suggested this change of location and that the town be known as Brisbane after Sir Thomas Brisbane, Governor of NSW who visited this settlement in 1826. Prior to this the settlement was known as the Moreton Bay. By 1831 Moreton Bay had 1,241 people, but 86% were convicts, and almost all the rest were guards and administrators. One of the founding free men to settle in Brisbane was Andrew Petrie, a government clerk, who arrived in the settlement in 1837. His son later became the first mayor of Brisbane.

 

In 1842 (six years after the settlement of SA) Moreton Bay penal settlement was closed and the area opened to free settlers. Half the convicts at Moreton Bay were Irish Catholics which influenced the development of the settlement thereafter as many stayed on. By 1846 Moreton Bay had a population of 4,000 people, considerably less than that of Burra at the time which had over 5,000 people! In 1848 the first immigrants direct from Britain arrived, as did some Chinese. In 1849 three ship loads of Presbyterians arrived in Brisbane, the first ship being the Fortitude- hence the naming of Fortitude Valley. The colony was still far from self sufficient in terms of food production. In the mid 1850s German immigrants also started to arrive in the settlement. The only building still standing built by convict labour is the Old Windmill in Wickham Park.

 

During the late 1840s a few grand houses were built in Brisbane like Newstead House at Hamilton and the city began to take shape. All the central streets were named after members of Queen Victoria’s family- Adelaide, Alice, Ann, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Margaret, Mary for the streets parallel to Queen Street, and Albert, Edward, George and William for the streets perpendicular to Queen Street. In 1859 the population had grown sufficiently, to about 30,000 people, for Queensland to be proclaimed a separate colony from NSW with Brisbane (about 6,000 people) as the capital city. It was now a self governing independent colony. Old Government House was built shortly after this in 1862 followed by numerous colonial government buildings. The French Empire style Parliament House opposite the old Botanical Gardens was erected in 1865 to a design by Charles Tiffin. It had perfect symmetry a mansard roof and an arcaded loggia. It is still one of the most distinctive buildings in Brisbane. Nearby the pastoralists and wealthy built the Queensland Club in Alice Street in 1882 with classical columns but with Italianate style bay windows. The location near parliament house is much like the situation of the Adelaide Club on North Terrace almost adjacent to the SA parliament. The wealthy and pastoralists in both states had immeasurable influence over early colonial politics. One of the other finest colonial buildings of Brisbane is the Old Customs House with the circular copper domed roof on the edge of the Brisbane River. It was erected in 1888.

 

Although Brisbane grew quickly through the following decades it was not incorporated as a city until 1902.Part of the reason for the relatively slow of growth of Brisbane, compared to Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney was that it was not the focal point of the state railway network. Queensland always had other major regional centres. The railway from Brisbane reached out to southern Queensland only- Ipswich in 1864, Toowoomba in 1867, and Charleville in 1888. There was no early push to have a railway link between the coastal cities. They were not linked by a railway until 1927 when road transport had already taken over the transport of livestock and freight. The coastal railway to Cairns was always for passenger traffic as much as freight traffic.

 

Unlike the other Australian state capitals, Brisbane City Council governs most of the metropolitan area of Brisbane. In 1925 over twenty shires and municipalities were amalgamated into the City of Brisbane. It was at this time that the landmark Brisbane city Hall was built in Art Deco style. It was opened in 1930. During World War Two, Brisbane had a distinctive history as Prime Minister John Curtin had the “Brisbane Line” as a controversial defense plan, whereby if there was a land invasion of Australia, the northern half of the country would be surrendered at a line just north of Brisbane! Brisbane also became the headquarters for the American campaign in the South Pacific with General Douglas MacArthur based there at times. In 1942 a violent clash erupted between American and Australian service personnel in Brisbane. Between 2,000 and 5,000 men were involved in the riots which spread over two days. One soldier was killed and eight injured by gun fire as well as hundreds injured with black eyes, swollen faces, broken noses etc. On the second night 21 Americans were injured with 11 of them having to be hospitalised. This was The Battle of Brisbane. Yet around 1 million American troops passed through Queensland between December 1941 (just after the bombing of Pearl Harbour) and the end of 1945. They were here to spearhead attacks to take back the Philippines and to prevent the Japanese from taking New Guinea. Black American soldiers were especially unpopular in Brisbane as their landing contravened the “White Australia Policy” of those times. In response to this policy General Douglas MacArthur announced his support for the Australian government’s insistence that no more Black American troops be sent to Brisbane after 1942. The Black American units in Australia were later sent to New Guinea and New Caledonia. Black American troops in New Guinea were not allowed to visit Australia for rest and recreation leave although white American troops were allowed to visit Australia, mainly to Mackay. Resentment between American and Australian troops in Brisbane had to be contained and suppressed. Riots between troops also occurred in Townsville during the War. Today Brisbane is a fast growing city that has far outstripped Adelaide in terms of population, growth and infrastructure.

 

In 1989 I left apartheid South Africa and spent much of the next year travelling Europe. In October I found myself in the outback of Turkey, and the word on the street was that the Berlin Wall was about to fall. With it's fascinating history, cold war angst and strong David Bowie connection, Berlin had always been on my "must visit" list and I accelerated my plans to get there. Unfortunately the wall began crumbling on the evening of November 9, 1989 and continued over the following days and weeks. Nevertheless, I skipped through the Greek islands and caught the ferry from the port of Piraeus in Athens to Brindisi in Italy. I decided to bypass Naples and caught a fast train north to Rome. I think it was either on the ferry or on the train that I met fellow traveller, Serge Bowers from Pennsylvania in the USA. He and I made good companions and has a Chianti-fuelled blast through Rome, Florence, Pisa and Venice (but that's another story).

 

On November 25, Serge and I went our own ways - he headed for Amsterdam, while I spent a couple of days in Milan, visiting the magnificent Il Museo Storico dell’Alfa Romeo in Arese. I then skipped through Switzerland (Lausanne, Bern, Luzern and Lurich) beofre finally making it to Stuttgart in Germany, taking in the Mercedes-Benz Museum and the Porsche Museum. By this time (December 4) I was running low on cash and so resorted to hitch-hiking from Stuttgart to Mannheim, heading for Bonn where I was going to be staying with Prof. Dr. Marcella Rietschel (a Research Fellow at the Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn) who I had met in Istanbul in October. It was freezing cold and snowing out on the road, and by the time I reached Mannheim, I had had enough and headed to the Hauptbahnhof. After a cup of steaming coffee, I bought a ticket to Bonn, boarded the milk-train and continued the journey north. As fate would have it, I ended up in Zeppelinheim, close to Frankfurt, and that extraordinary interlude is detailed here.

 

Being on the bones of my financial arse, and with a severe cold snap making hitch-hiking a really bad idea, I now resorted to using the Mitfahrzentrale - an organised hitch-hiking (or "cap pooling") service where a driver can register how many spare seats they have in their car and where they are travelling from, to, and on what date. Potential passengers are provided with contact details and descriptions of the journey including any proposed stops along the way. As all travellers share costs, the savings can be extensive and it also serves as a good way to meet interesting people and to practice your German!

 

Our route to the east The so-called "inner German border" (a.k.a. "Zonengrenze") was the frontier between the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany) from 1949 to 1990. The border was a physical manifestation of Winston Churchill's metaphorical Iron Curtain that separated the Soviet and Western blocs during the Cold War. The border could be crossed legally only through a limited number of routes and foreigners were able to traverse East German territory to or from West Berlin via a limited number of road corridors, the most used of which was at Helmstedt-Marienborn on the Hanover–Berlin A2 autobahn. Codenamed Checkpoint Alpha, this was the first of three Allied checkpoints on the road to Berlin. The others were Checkpoint Bravo, where the autobahn crossed from East Germany into West Berlin, and most famous of all, Checkpoint Charlie, the only place where non-Germans could cross from West to East Berlin. Lengthy inspections caused long delays to traffic at the crossing points, and for some the whole experience was very disturbing: "Travelling from west to east through [the inner German border] was like entering a drab and disturbing dream, peopled by all the ogres of totalitarianism, a half-lit world of shabby resentments, where anything could be done to you, I used to feel, without anybody ever hearing of it, and your every step was dogged by watchful eyes and mechanisms." (Jan Morris) Personally, having spent almost three decades of my life under the oppression of the apartheid regime, it felt all too familiar.

 

So, after an uncomfortable 6-8 hour road trip, I was finally there - Berlin! One of my German friends from South Africa (P.A.) had been a regular visitor to Berlin during our high school and university years, before relocating to the city in the mid-80's. In those days it made a lot of sense - getting out of South Africa after studying meant escaping two years military service with the south African Defence Force and moving to Berlin meant avoiding conscription into the German military as well. That is, in order to encourage young people to move to West Berlin, they were lured in with exemptions from national service and good study benefits. It was December 8, 1989 and P.A. was unfortunately not in town. But a mutual friend was - L.M. had left Africa at about the same time as Pierre and was an aspirant artist in Berlin. He offered me a place to stay and we spent a brilliant week together, partying, clubbing and taking in all the delights that this city in change had to offer! I don't remember too much, but have some photos that I am sharing for the first time, a quarter of a century later, to the day.

 

45657-15-ew - the caption on the back of the photo reads:

"M.L.P. doing his bit for democracy! Attempting to knock a hole in the "Berlin Wall" and liberate the East Germans!! Actually, I'm screwing up my fingers trying to knock off some nice souvenir chunks! That reinforced concrete was fucking hard! Near "Checkpoint Charlie". "The Wall", West Berlin, Germany. Sunday, December 10, 1989." I still have pieces in my collection :-)

 

The background of our living room has been blacked out - by me (am not an expert at these things!). Smudge (on the left) is no longer with us. The two cats weren't particularly good friends. Cleo - on the left having being intoduced to the family much later, there was some resentment from Smudge that she wasn't the only cat any more. Anyway, their mutual interest in the fish managed to overcome the fact that they didn't like being very close to each other!

The scale of virtues

  

We have reached the fourth Sunday of Lent and our Church projects the face of San Giovanni del Sinai, the so-called Scala. He was born in the 6th century in Syria. At the age of sixteen he became a probationary monk in the holy monastery of Sinai. He practiced obedience and humility at Abba Martirio, having previously acquired secular circular wisdom. At the age of twenty, after four years of constant struggle, he became a monk and was renamed John. He then received the first two degrees of priesthood, deacon and elder, to serve the needs of the monastery. He remained in the Sinai Monastery for nineteen consecutive years.

 

Then, at the age of thirty-five, he retired to a deserted place in the Sinai where he practiced in silence and studied his father's books. At the age of seventy-five he became Abbot of the Sinai Monastery where he remained in this position for four years. He then retired to the desert and at the age of eighty he died on March 30th.

   

The Honorable Santo was today a great scholar and anatomist of the human soul, he was. Man of prayer, temperance, constant love for God, man with ardent divine love and always lit by the fire of divine love, as Synaxari tells us. He was a man who led his soul along the paths of Christ, who led him whole from hell to heaven, from the devil to God, from sin to sin, as Saint Justin Popovic tells us. It is no coincidence that our Holy Church has named this day in honor of St. John. In the sea that we cross during Lent, in the phase of struggles and spiritual virtues, St. John of Sinai is an example to imitate for each of us.

 

The reason why the Saint is called with this name is because he wrote an important book, considered one of the masterpieces of our Ecclesiastical Secretariat, the famous "Scala", a spiritual and ascetic book. It consists of thirty reasons of virtue, each of which includes a virtue, which he wrote himself.

 

The ladder, that is, the ladder, describes the path to divinization as an ascent like an ascent to a ladder that leads to heaven. Every step of him is a virtue that the believer in difficulty must conquer to achieve his goal. This book begins with the more practical virtues, the virtues that are easily acquired and have mainly a practical character, such as the virtue of repentance, obedience, and ends with the theoretically elevated ones, such as humility and discrimination. Each virtue is classified to presuppose the previous one and this is a condition for the next.

 

The first three reasons, which constitute the introduction of this book, refer to the self-denial of the worldly and concern the monks. The next four reasons, which highlight the same number of fundamental virtues, and these are those of obedience, repentance, remembrance of death and joyful mourning, which appear like the roots of a tree that offers its fruits to his faithful in difficulty. From 8 to 25 discourse the hard passions that every Christian must fight and the corresponding virtues that he must recover are described. The 26th discourse generally mentions their passions, virtues, thoughts and simple distinctions. The latter reasons are the fruits of labor and toil and are the symbolic ascent to the top of the ladder of virtues.

 

At this point I would like to refer to three of the Saint's speeches mentioned in the Scala. The first reason refers to the apostasy of this vain life. That is, as the author of the book says, to begin life in Christ, one must renounce the vanity of the present world. And the word world in the Bible does not have the meaning we perceive in the world today. It means the worldly mind, the worldly life and not our fellow men, those around us. One cannot approach God without saying no to sin and above all to his selfish desires. Because these wills hold us captive in the sinful world. According to the Holy Shepherd, man's will is a bronze wall that separates him from God.

 

So, getting away from the world means changing your worldly mind, the worldly way of thinking about life and getting the mind of Christ, that is, the spiritual way in which you see things around you. We see, therefore, that St. John places it as the basis of life in Christ. This also refers us to the word of the Lord "whoever wants to return to me, I renounce myself and see his cross and follow me" [2]. The word of the Lord is understandable. It is the same as our Saint says, to save his own vain life. What the Lord says "I renounce myself" does not mean that man denies himself, his existence, his body, but he renounces sin, the old, his passionate and sinful self "plus sufferings and desires" [3].

 

The other reason I would like to mention is the ninth reason for resentment. Revenge means remembering with disgust the evils that have been done to me by others and finding it difficult to forgive them. Unfortunately, sometimes we also want their revenge. The evangelist John mentions "you go half brother of him is a murderer" [4]. That is, if we want to hurt our brother, it is as if we wanted to kill him. Saint Chrysostom states: "God is not abhorred as a man of vengeance and anger". That is, nothing disgusts God as much as he does not like the man who is vindictive and holds his anger against the other.

   

Passion is fought with forgiveness, which is the most effective medicine that cures this disease. How will God forgive us if we do not forgive those who have wronged us? So, in order for God to forgive us, it is necessary to forgive our enemies. Love them, so that God can love us too. St. Maximus the Confessor says that we find forgiveness for our transgressions by forgiving our brothers and we find God's mercy by having mercy on our brothers. The more long-suffering we show our brothers that they have offended us, the more we enjoy divine long-suffering.

 

Through the Bible we see that the spirit prevails over revenge. In the Old Testament there are several testimonies that condemn resentment. The prophet Zechariah says: "Don't let each of you take revenge on this brother." In the book of Proverbs we read that the vindictive are illegal "he who does not resent, illegal" [7] and their end will be physical and spiritual death "the way of the vindictive to death" [8]. In the New Testament, resentment is unequivocally condemned and forgiveness is taught.

 

The last word refers to love, hope and faith. These virtues are the last because all three maintain the connection of all the other virtues, according to the apostle Paul, faith, hope, love "and love is greater than these" [9]. As John of Klimakos says, I see one as a ray, the other as light and the other as your solar disk, but all three together as a luminous splendor and the same brilliance. Faith can accomplish anything, hope is surrounded by God's mercy and does not shame the hopeful. Love never falls from his height, nor does it stop running, nor does it allow those who have been wounded by its arrows to calm down from the blissful mania it caused them. [10]

 

Love is a cornerstone of the Orthodox faith. Love is a good disposition of the soul, which makes it prefer none of beings more than the knowledge of God [11], says St. Maximus the Confessor. And he goes on to say that without love, salvation is problematic.

 

The New Testament promotes love not only as a good human sentiment, but as a mystery determined by the essence of God and imbued with the cross of Christ. God's love was expressed to the world through the incarnation of the second person of the Holy Trinity, our Lord Jesus Christ. With love man becomes perfect and according to love we will be judged on the Day of Judgment, as the evangelist Matthew tells us [12].

 

Hope in God removes despair, takes away divine mercy and salvation, redeems all men who sin, raises the wounded and the afflicted, rejuvenates man, tones hearts and highlights them strong and courageous to face adversity . Hope is the original creative force of all goods, according to Saint Nektarios.

 

What is faith? Our definition is given by the apostle Paul in the letter to the Hebrews: "Faith is in you, the hope of your being, the control of things seen" [14]. Faith is absolute certainty and unshakable conviction, that I as a believer will enjoy in the future goods that do not exist now, it seems that they do not exist, but I hope, that is, I wait for them with lively hope, I wait to realize them and enjoy them, like the resurrection of the dead, the Second Coming, the eternal judgment.

 

Faith is the key with which the divine treasure is opened, it is the spiritual mouth, says St. John of Krostand [15]. And the same father goes on to say that the more the mouth of faith moves, the more ruthlessly we believe in the omnipotence of God, the more divine mercies will be upon us. The Holy Successor of the Light says that faith without works and works without faith will be rejected by God in the same way. This is why the believer must offer God the faith that is manifested through works.

 

My dear brothers and sisters, our celebrated Saint, Saint John of Klimakos, is a great example for every Christian in need. He urges us not to hesitate, but also not to be shy in the arising of our spiritual struggle. Let us strive every day to carry on our spiritual struggle, so that, by the grace of God, we can claim to ascend to spiritual levels, just like him. Amen!

++++++ Form Wikipedia +++++

  

Kalaw (Burmese: ကလောမြို့; Shan: ၵလေႃး [ka lɔ]) is a hill town in the Shan State of Myanmar. It is located in Kalaw Township in Taunggyi District.

Kalaw

ကလောမြို့

Kalaw 21.jpg

Kalaw is located in Myanmar

Kalaw

 

Location in Myanmar

Coordinates: 20°38′N 96°34′E

Country Myanmar

Division Shan State

Districts Taunggyi District

Township Kalaw Township

Population (2005)

• Religions Buddhism

Time zone MST (UTC+6.30)

OverviewEdit

 

The town was popular with the British during colonial rule. Kalaw is the main setting of the novel "The Art of Hearing Heartbeats" by Jan-Philipp Sendker.

 

The hill station is located at an elevation of 1320 metres, 50 km from the Inle lake. Kalaw is famous for hiking and trekking.[1]

Kalaw Train station sign altitude.

 

Myanmar (Burmese pronunciation: [mjəmà]),[nb 1][8] officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also known as Burma, is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia. Myanmar is bordered by India and Bangladesh to its west, Thailand and Laos to its east and China to its north and northeast. To its south, about one third of Myanmar's total perimeter of 5,876 km (3,651 mi) forms an uninterrupted coastline of 1,930 km (1,200 mi) along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The country's 2014 census counted the population to be 51 million people.[9] As of 2017, the population is about 54 million.[10] Myanmar is 676,578 square kilometers (261,228 square miles) in size. Its capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city and former capital is Yangon (Rangoon).[1] Myanmar has been a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 1997.

 

Early civilisations in Myanmar included the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states in Upper Burma and the Mon kingdoms in Lower Burma.[11] In the 9th century, the Bamar people entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and, following the establishment of the Pagan Kingdom in the 1050s, the Burmese language, culture and Theravada Buddhism slowly became dominant in the country. The Pagan Kingdom fell due to the Mongol invasions and several warring states emerged. In the 16th century, reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty, the country was for a brief period the largest empire in the history of Mainland Southeast Asia.[12] The early 19th century Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Myanmar and briefly controlled Manipur and Assam as well. The British took over the administration of Myanmar after three Anglo-Burmese Wars in the 19th century and the country became a British colony. Myanmar was granted independence in 1948, as a democratic nation. Following a coup d'état in 1962, it became a military dictatorship.

 

For most of its independent years, the country has been engrossed in rampant ethnic strife and its myriad ethnic groups have been involved in one of the world's longest-running ongoing civil wars. During this time, the United Nations and several other organisations have reported consistent and systematic human rights violations in the country.[13] In 2011, the military junta was officially dissolved following a 2010 general election, and a nominally civilian government was installed. This, along with the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners, has improved the country's human rights record and foreign relations, and has led to the easing of trade and other economic sanctions.[14] There is, however, continuing criticism of the government's treatment of ethnic minorities, its response to the ethnic insurgency, and religious clashes.[15] In the landmark 2015 election, Aung San Suu Kyi's party won a majority in both houses. However, the Burmese military remains a powerful force in politics.

 

Myanmar is a country rich in jade and gems, oil, natural gas and other mineral resources. In 2013, its GDP (nominal) stood at US$56.7 billion and its GDP (PPP) at US$221.5 billion.[6] The income gap in Myanmar is among the widest in the world, as a large proportion of the economy is controlled by supporters of the former military government.[16] As of 2016, Myanmar ranks 145 out of 188 countries in human development, according to the Human Development Index.[7]

Etymology

Main article: Names of Myanmar

 

In 1989, the military government officially changed the English translations of many names dating back to Burma's colonial period or earlier, including that of the country itself: "Burma" became "Myanmar". The renaming remains a contested issue.[17] Many political and ethnic opposition groups and countries continue to use "Burma" because they do not recognise the legitimacy of the ruling military government or its authority to rename the country.[18]

 

In April 2016, soon after taking office, Aung San Suu Kyi clarified that foreigners are free to use either name, "because there is nothing in the constitution of our country that says that you must use any term in particular".[19]

 

The country's official full name is the "Republic of the Union of Myanmar" (ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်, Pyidaunzu Thanmăda Myăma Nainngandaw, pronounced [pjìdàʊɴzṵ θàɴməda̰ mjəmà nàɪɴŋàɴdɔ̀]). Countries that do not officially recognise that name use the long form "Union of Burma" instead.[20]

 

In English, the country is popularly known as either "Burma" or "Myanmar" /ˈmjɑːnˌmɑːr/ (About this sound listen).[8] Both these names are derived from the name of the majority Burmese Bamar ethnic group. Myanmar is considered to be the literary form of the name of the group, while Burma is derived from "Bamar", the colloquial form of the group's name.[17] Depending on the register used, the pronunciation would be Bama (pronounced [bəmà]) or Myamah (pronounced [mjəmà]).[17] The name Burma has been in use in English since the 18th century.

 

Burma continues to be used in English by the governments of many countries, such as Canada and the United Kingdom.[21][22] Official United States policy retains Burma as the country's name, although the State Department's website lists the country as "Burma (Myanmar)" and Barack Obama has referred to the country by both names.[23] The Czech Republic officially uses Myanmar, although its Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentions both Myanmar and Burma on its website.[24] The United Nations uses Myanmar, as do the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Australia,[25] Russia, Germany,[26] China, India, Bangladesh, Norway,[27] Japan[21] and Switzerland.[28]

 

Most English-speaking international news media refer to the country by the name Myanmar, including the BBC,[29] CNN,[30] Al Jazeera,[31] Reuters,[32] RT (Russia Today) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)/Radio Australia.[33]

 

Myanmar is known with a name deriving from Burma as opposed to Myanmar in Spanish, Italian, Romanian, and Greek – Birmania being the local version of Burma in the Spanish language, for example. Myanmar used to be known as "Birmânia" in Portuguese, and as "Birmanie" in French.[34] As in the past, French-language media today consistently use Birmanie.,[35][36]

History

Main article: History of Myanmar

Prehistory

Main articles: Prehistory of Myanmar and Migration period of ancient Burma

Pyu city-states c. 8th century; Pagan is shown for comparison only and is not contemporary.

 

Archaeological evidence shows that Homo erectus lived in the region now known as Myanmar as early as 750,000 years ago, with no more erectus finds after 75,000 years ago.[37] The first evidence of Homo sapiens is dated to about 11,000 BC, in a Stone Age culture called the Anyathian with discoveries of stone tools in central Myanmar. Evidence of neolithic age domestication of plants and animals and the use of polished stone tools dating to sometime between 10,000 and 6,000 BC has been discovered in the form of cave paintings in Padah-Lin Caves.[38]

 

The Bronze Age arrived circa 1500 BC when people in the region were turning copper into bronze, growing rice and domesticating poultry and pigs; they were among the first people in the world to do so.[39] Human remains and artefacts from this era were discovered in Monywa District in the Sagaing Division.[40] The Iron Age began around 500 BC with the emergence of iron-working settlements in an area south of present-day Mandalay.[41] Evidence also shows the presence of rice-growing settlements of large villages and small towns that traded with their surroundings as far as China between 500 BC and 200 AD.[42] Iron Age Burmese cultures also had influences from outside sources such as India and Thailand, as seen in their funerary practices concerning child burials. This indicates some form of communication between groups in Myanmar and other places, possibly through trade.[43]

Early city-states

Main articles: Pyu city-states and Mon kingdoms

 

Around the second century BC the first-known city-states emerged in central Myanmar. The city-states were founded as part of the southward migration by the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states, the earliest inhabitants of Myanmar of whom records are extant, from present-day Yunnan.[44] The Pyu culture was heavily influenced by trade with India, importing Buddhism as well as other cultural, architectural and political concepts, which would have an enduring influence on later Burmese culture and political organisation.[45]

 

By the 9th century, several city-states had sprouted across the land: the Pyu in the central dry zone, Mon along the southern coastline and Arakanese along the western littoral. The balance was upset when the Pyu came under repeated attacks from Nanzhao between the 750s and the 830s. In the mid-to-late 9th century the Bamar people founded a small settlement at Bagan. It was one of several competing city-states until the late 10th century when it grew in authority and grandeur.[46]

Imperial Burma

Main articles: Pagan Kingdom, Taungoo Dynasty, and Konbaung Dynasty

See also: Ava Kingdom, Hanthawaddy Kingdom, Kingdom of Mrauk U, and Shan States

Pagodas and kyaungs in present-day Bagan, the capital of the Pagan Kingdom.

 

Pagan gradually grew to absorb its surrounding states until the 1050s–1060s when Anawrahta founded the Pagan Kingdom, the first ever unification of the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Pagan Empire and the Khmer Empire were two main powers in mainland Southeast Asia.[47] The Burmese language and culture gradually became dominant in the upper Irrawaddy valley, eclipsing the Pyu, Mon and Pali norms by the late 12th century.[48]

 

Theravada Buddhism slowly began to spread to the village level, although Tantric, Mahayana, Hinduism, and folk religion remained heavily entrenched. Pagan's rulers and wealthy built over 10,000 Buddhist temples in the Pagan capital zone alone. Repeated Mongol invasions (1277–1301) toppled the four-century-old kingdom in 1287.[48]

Temples at Mrauk U.

 

Pagan's collapse was followed by 250 years of political fragmentation that lasted well into the 16th century. Like the Burmans four centuries earlier, Shan migrants who arrived with the Mongol invasions stayed behind. Several competing Shan States came to dominate the entire northwestern to eastern arc surrounding the Irrawaddy valley. The valley too was beset with petty states until the late 14th century when two sizeable powers, Ava Kingdom and Hanthawaddy Kingdom, emerged. In the west, a politically fragmented Arakan was under competing influences of its stronger neighbours until the Kingdom of Mrauk U unified the Arakan coastline for the first time in 1437.

 

Early on, Ava fought wars of unification (1385–1424) but could never quite reassemble the lost empire. Having held off Ava, Hanthawaddy entered its golden age, and Arakan went on to become a power in its own right for the next 350 years. In contrast, constant warfare left Ava greatly weakened, and it slowly disintegrated from 1481 onward. In 1527, the Confederation of Shan States conquered Ava itself, and ruled Upper Myanmar until 1555.

 

Like the Pagan Empire, Ava, Hanthawaddy and the Shan states were all multi-ethnic polities. Despite the wars, cultural synchronisation continued. This period is considered a golden age for Burmese culture. Burmese literature "grew more confident, popular, and stylistically diverse", and the second generation of Burmese law codes as well as the earliest pan-Burma chronicles emerged.[49] Hanthawaddy monarchs introduced religious reforms that later spread to the rest of the country.[50] Many splendid temples of Mrauk U were built during this period.

Taungoo and colonialism

Bayinnaung's Empire in 1580.

 

Political unification returned in the mid-16th century, due to the efforts of Taungoo, a former vassal state of Ava. Taungoo's young, ambitious king Tabinshwehti defeated the more powerful Hanthawaddy in the Toungoo–Hanthawaddy War (1534–41). His successor Bayinnaung went on to conquer a vast swath of mainland Southeast Asia including the Shan states, Lan Na, Manipur, Mong Mao, the Ayutthaya Kingdom, Lan Xang and southern Arakan. However, the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia unravelled soon after Bayinnaung's death in 1581, completely collapsing by 1599. Ayutthaya seized Tenasserim and Lan Na, and Portuguese mercenaries established Portuguese rule at Thanlyin (Syriam).

 

The dynasty regrouped and defeated the Portuguese in 1613 and Siam in 1614. It restored a smaller, more manageable kingdom, encompassing Lower Myanmar, Upper Myanmar, Shan states, Lan Na and upper Tenasserim. The Restored Toungoo kings created a legal and political framework whose basic features would continue well into the 19th century. The crown completely replaced the hereditary chieftainships with appointed governorships in the entire Irrawaddy valley, and greatly reduced the hereditary rights of Shan chiefs. Its trade and secular administrative reforms built a prosperous economy for more than 80 years. From the 1720s onward, the kingdom was beset with repeated Meithei raids into Upper Myanmar and a nagging rebellion in Lan Na. In 1740, the Mon of Lower Myanmar founded the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom. Hanthawaddy forces sacked Ava in 1752, ending the 266-year-old Toungoo Dynasty.

A British 1825 lithograph of Shwedagon Pagoda shows British occupation during the First Anglo-Burmese War.

 

After the fall of Ava, the Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War involved one resistance group under Alaungpaya defeating the Restored Hanthawaddy, and by 1759, he had reunited all of Myanmar and Manipur, and driven out the French and the British, who had provided arms to Hanthawaddy. By 1770, Alaungpaya's heirs had subdued much of Laos (1765) and fought and won the Burmese–Siamese War (1765–67) against Ayutthaya and the Sino-Burmese War (1765–69) against Qing China (1765–1769).[51]

 

With Burma preoccupied by the Chinese threat, Ayutthaya recovered its territories by 1770, and went on to capture Lan Na by 1776. Burma and Siam went to war until 1855, but all resulted in a stalemate, exchanging Tenasserim (to Burma) and Lan Na (to Ayutthaya). Faced with a powerful China and a resurgent Ayutthaya in the east, King Bodawpaya turned west, acquiring Arakan (1785), Manipur (1814) and Assam (1817). It was the second-largest empire in Burmese history but also one with a long ill-defined border with British India.[52]

 

The breadth of this empire was short lived. Burma lost Arakan, Manipur, Assam and Tenasserim to the British in the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826). In 1852, the British easily seized Lower Burma in the Second Anglo-Burmese War. King Mindon Min tried to modernise the kingdom, and in 1875 narrowly avoided annexation by ceding the Karenni States. The British, alarmed by the consolidation of French Indochina, annexed the remainder of the country in the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885.

 

Konbaung kings extended Restored Toungoo's administrative reforms, and achieved unprecedented levels of internal control and external expansion. For the first time in history, the Burmese language and culture came to predominate the entire Irrawaddy valley. The evolution and growth of Burmese literature and theatre continued, aided by an extremely high adult male literacy rate for the era (half of all males and 5% of females).[53] Nonetheless, the extent and pace of reforms were uneven and ultimately proved insufficient to stem the advance of British colonialism.

British Burma (1824–1948)

Main articles: British rule in Burma and Burma Campaign

Burma in British India

The landing of British forces in Mandalay after the last of the Anglo-Burmese Wars, which resulted in the abdication of the last Burmese monarch, King Thibaw Min.

British troops firing a mortar on the Mawchi road, July 1944.

 

The eighteenth century saw Burmese rulers, whose country had not previously been of particular interest to European traders, seek to maintain their traditional influence in the western areas of Assam, Manipur and Arakan. Pressing them, however, was the British East India Company, which was expanding its interests eastwards over the same territory. Over the next sixty years, diplomacy, raids, treaties and compromises continued until, after three Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824–1885), Britain proclaimed control over most of Burma.[54] British rule brought social, economic, cultural and administrative changes.

 

With the fall of Mandalay, all of Burma came under British rule, being annexed on 1 January 1886. Throughout the colonial era, many Indians arrived as soldiers, civil servants, construction workers and traders and, along with the Anglo-Burmese community, dominated commercial and civil life in Burma. Rangoon became the capital of British Burma and an important port between Calcutta and Singapore.

 

Burmese resentment was strong and was vented in violent riots that paralysed Yangon (Rangoon) on occasion all the way until the 1930s.[55] Some of the discontent was caused by a disrespect for Burmese culture and traditions such as the British refusal to remove shoes when they entered pagodas. Buddhist monks became the vanguards of the independence movement. U Wisara, an activist monk, died in prison after a 166-day hunger strike to protest against a rule that forbade him to wear his Buddhist robes while imprisoned.[56]

Separation of British Burma from British India

 

On 1 April 1937, Burma became a separately administered colony of Great Britain and Ba Maw the first Prime Minister and Premier of Burma. Ba Maw was an outspoken advocate for Burmese self-rule and he opposed the participation of Great Britain, and by extension Burma, in World War II. He resigned from the Legislative Assembly and was arrested for sedition. In 1940, before Japan formally entered the Second World War, Aung San formed the Burma Independence Army in Japan.

 

A major battleground, Burma was devastated during World War II. By March 1942, within months after they entered the war, Japanese troops had advanced on Rangoon and the British administration had collapsed. A Burmese Executive Administration headed by Ba Maw was established by the Japanese in August 1942. Wingate's British Chindits were formed into long-range penetration groups trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines.[57] A similar American unit, Merrill's Marauders, followed the Chindits into the Burmese jungle in 1943.[58] Beginning in late 1944, allied troops launched a series of offensives that led to the end of Japanese rule in July 1945. The battles were intense with much of Burma laid waste by the fighting. Overall, the Japanese lost some 150,000 men in Burma. Only 1,700 prisoners were taken.[59]

 

Although many Burmese fought initially for the Japanese as part of the Burma Independence Army, many Burmese, mostly from the ethnic minorities, served in the British Burma Army.[60] The Burma National Army and the Arakan National Army fought with the Japanese from 1942 to 1944 but switched allegiance to the Allied side in 1945. Under Japanese occupation, 170,000 to 250,000 civilians died.[61]

 

Following World War II, Aung San negotiated the Panglong Agreement with ethnic leaders that guaranteed the independence of Myanmar as a unified state. Aung Zan Wai, Pe Khin, Bo Hmu Aung, Sir Maung Gyi, Dr. Sein Mya Maung, Myoma U Than Kywe were among the negotiators of the historical Panglong Conference negotiated with Bamar leader General Aung San and other ethnic leaders in 1947. In 1947, Aung San became Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of Myanmar, a transitional government. But in July 1947, political rivals[62] assassinated Aung San and several cabinet members.[63]

Independence (1948–1962)

Main article: Post-independence Burma, 1948–62

British governor Hubert Elvin Rance and Sao Shwe Thaik at the flag raising ceremony on 4 January 1948 (Independence Day of Burma).

 

On 4 January 1948, the nation became an independent republic, named the Union of Burma, with Sao Shwe Thaik as its first President and U Nu as its first Prime Minister. Unlike most other former British colonies and overseas territories, Burma did not become a member of the Commonwealth. A bicameral parliament was formed, consisting of a Chamber of Deputies and a Chamber of Nationalities,[64] and multi-party elections were held in 1951–1952, 1956 and 1960.

 

The geographical area Burma encompasses today can be traced to the Panglong Agreement, which combined Burma Proper, which consisted of Lower Burma and Upper Burma, and the Frontier Areas, which had been administered separately by the British.[65]

 

In 1961, U Thant, then the Union of Burma's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and former Secretary to the Prime Minister, was elected Secretary-General of the United Nations, a position he held for ten years.[66] Among the Burmese to work at the UN when he was Secretary-General was a young Aung San Suu Kyi (daughter of Aung San), who went on to become winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

 

When the non-Burman ethnic groups pushed for autonomy or federalism, alongside having a weak civilian government at the centre, the military leadership staged a coup d’état in 1962. Though incorporated in the 1947 Constitution, successive military governments construed the use of the term ‘federalism’ as being anti-national, anti-unity and pro-disintegration.[67]

Military rule (1962–2011)

 

On 2 March 1962, the military led by General Ne Win took control of Burma through a coup d'état, and the government has been under direct or indirect control by the military since then. Between 1962 and 1974, Myanmar was ruled by a revolutionary council headed by the general. Almost all aspects of society (business, media, production) were nationalised or brought under government control under the Burmese Way to Socialism,[68] which combined Soviet-style nationalisation and central planning.

 

A new constitution of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma was adopted in 1974. Until 1988, the country was ruled as a one-party system, with the General and other military officers resigning and ruling through the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP).[69] During this period, Myanmar became one of the world's most impoverished countries.[70]

Protesters gathering in central Rangoon, 1988.

 

There were sporadic protests against military rule during the Ne Win years and these were almost always violently suppressed. On 7 July 1962, the government broke up demonstrations at Rangoon University, killing 15 students.[68] In 1974, the military violently suppressed anti-government protests at the funeral of U Thant. Student protests in 1975, 1976, and 1977 were quickly suppressed by overwhelming force.[69]

 

In 1988, unrest over economic mismanagement and political oppression by the government led to widespread pro-democracy demonstrations throughout the country known as the 8888 Uprising. Security forces killed thousands of demonstrators, and General Saw Maung staged a coup d'état and formed the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). In 1989, SLORC declared martial law after widespread protests. The military government finalised plans for People's Assembly elections on 31 May 1989.[71] SLORC changed the country's official English name from the "Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma" to the "Union of Myanmar" in 1989.

 

In May 1990, the government held free elections for the first time in almost 30 years and the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, won 392 out of a total 492 seats (i.e., 80% of the seats). However, the military junta refused to cede power[72] and continued to rule the nation as SLORC until 1997, and then as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) until its dissolution in March 2011.

Protesters in Yangon during the 2007 Saffron Revolution with a banner that reads non-violence: national movement in Burmese. In the background is Shwedagon Pagoda.

 

On 23 June 1997, Myanmar was admitted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). On 27 March 2006, the military junta, which had moved the national capital from Yangon to a site near Pyinmana in November 2005, officially named the new capital Naypyidaw, meaning "city of the kings".[73]

Cyclone Nargis in southern Myanmar, May 2008.

 

In August 2007, an increase in the price of diesel and petrol led to the Saffron Revolution led by Buddhist monks that were dealt with harshly by the government.[74] The government cracked down on them on 26 September 2007. The crackdown was harsh, with reports of barricades at the Shwedagon Pagoda and monks killed. There were also rumours of disagreement within the Burmese armed forces, but none was confirmed. The military crackdown against unarmed protesters was widely condemned as part of the international reactions to the Saffron Revolution and led to an increase in economic sanctions against the Burmese Government.

 

In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis caused extensive damage in the densely populated, rice-farming delta of the Irrawaddy Division.[75] It was the worst natural disaster in Burmese history with reports of an estimated 200,000 people dead or missing, damage totalled to 10 billion US dollars, and as many as 1 million left homeless.[76] In the critical days following this disaster, Myanmar's isolationist government was accused of hindering United Nations recovery efforts.[77] Humanitarian aid was requested but concerns about foreign military or intelligence presence in the country delayed the entry of United States military planes delivering medicine, food, and other supplies.[78]

 

In early August 2009, a conflict known as the Kokang incident broke out in Shan State in northern Myanmar. For several weeks, junta troops fought against ethnic minorities including the Han Chinese,[79] Wa, and Kachin.[80][81] During 8–12 August, the first days of the conflict, as many as 10,000 Burmese civilians fled to Yunnan province in neighbouring China.[80][81][82]

Civil wars

Main articles: Internal conflict in Myanmar, Kachin Conflict, Karen conflict, and 2015 Kokang offensive

 

Civil wars have been a constant feature of Myanmar's socio-political landscape since the attainment of independence in 1948. These wars are predominantly struggles for ethnic and sub-national autonomy, with the areas surrounding the ethnically Bamar central districts of the country serving as the primary geographical setting of conflict. Foreign journalists and visitors require a special travel permit to visit the areas in which Myanmar's civil wars continue.[83]

 

In October 2012, the ongoing conflicts in Myanmar included the Kachin conflict,[84] between the Pro-Christian Kachin Independence Army and the government;[85] a civil war between the Rohingya Muslims, and the government and non-government groups in Rakhine State;[86] and a conflict between the Shan,[87] Lahu, and Karen[88][89] minority groups, and the government in the eastern half of the country. In addition, al-Qaeda signalled an intention to become involved in Myanmar. In a video released on 3 September 2014, mainly addressed to India, the militant group's leader Ayman al-Zawahiri said al-Qaeda had not forgotten the Muslims of Myanmar and that the group was doing "what they can to rescue you".[90] In response, the military raised its level of alertness, while the Burmese Muslim Association issued a statement saying Muslims would not tolerate any threat to their motherland.[91]

 

Armed conflict between ethnic Chinese rebels and the Myanmar Armed Forces have resulted in the Kokang offensive in February 2015. The conflict had forced 40,000 to 50,000 civilians to flee their homes and seek shelter on the Chinese side of the border.[92] During the incident, the government of China was accused of giving military assistance to the ethnic Chinese rebels. Burmese officials have been historically "manipulated" and pressured by the Chinese government throughout Burmese modern history to create closer and binding ties with China, creating a Chinese satellite state in Southeast Asia.[93] However, uncertainties exist as clashes between Burmese troops and local insurgent groups continue.

Democratic reforms

Main article: 2011–12 Burmese political reforms

 

The goal of the Burmese constitutional referendum of 2008, held on 10 May 2008, is the creation of a "discipline-flourishing democracy". As part of the referendum process, the name of the country was changed from the "Union of Myanmar" to the "Republic of the Union of Myanmar", and general elections were held under the new constitution in 2010. Observer accounts of the 2010 election describe the event as mostly peaceful; however, allegations of polling station irregularities were raised, and the United Nations (UN) and a number of Western countries condemned the elections as fraudulent.[94]

U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with Aung San Suu Kyi and her staff at her home in Yangon, 2012

 

The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party declared victory in the 2010 elections, stating that it had been favoured by 80 percent of the votes; however, the claim was disputed by numerous pro-democracy opposition groups who asserted that the military regime had engaged in rampant fraud.[95][96] One report documented 77 percent as the official turnout rate of the election.[95] The military junta was dissolved on 30 March 2011.

 

Opinions differ whether the transition to liberal democracy is underway. According to some reports, the military's presence continues as the label "disciplined democracy" suggests. This label asserts that the Burmese military is allowing certain civil liberties while clandestinely institutionalising itself further into Burmese politics. Such an assertion assumes that reforms only occurred when the military was able to safeguard its own interests through the transition—here, "transition" does not refer to a transition to a liberal democracy, but transition to a quasi-military rule.[97]

 

Since the 2010 election, the government has embarked on a series of reforms to direct the country towards liberal democracy, a mixed economy, and reconciliation, although doubts persist about the motives that underpin such reforms. The series of reforms includes the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission, the granting of general amnesties for more than 200 political prisoners, new labour laws that permit labour unions and strikes, a relaxation of press censorship, and the regulation of currency practices.[98]

 

The impact of the post-election reforms has been observed in numerous areas, including ASEAN's approval of Myanmar's bid for the position of ASEAN chair in 2014;[99] the visit by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in December 2011 for the encouragement of further progress, which was the first visit by a Secretary of State in more than fifty years,[100] during which Clinton met with the Burmese president and former military commander Thein Sein, as well as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi;[101] and the participation of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party in the 2012 by-elections, facilitated by the government's abolition of the laws that previously barred the NLD.[102] As of July 2013, about 100[103][104] political prisoners remain imprisoned, while conflict between the Burmese Army and local insurgent groups continues.

Map of Myanmar and its divisions, including Shan State, Kachin State, Rakhine State and Karen State.

 

In 1 April 2012 by-elections, the NLD won 43 of the 45 available seats; previously an illegal organisation, the NLD had not won a single seat under new constitution. The 2012 by-elections were also the first time that international representatives were allowed to monitor the voting process in Myanmar.[105]

2015 general elections

Main article: Myanmar general election, 2015

 

General elections were held on 8 November 2015. These were the first openly contested elections held in Myanmar since 1990. The results gave the National League for Democracy an absolute majority of seats in both chambers of the national parliament, enough to ensure that its candidate would become president, while NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi is constitutionally barred from the presidency.[106]

 

The new parliament convened on 1 February 2016[107] and, on 15 March 2016, Htin Kyaw was elected as the first non-military president since the military coup of 1962.[108] On 6 April 2016, Aung San Suu Kyi assumed the newly created role of State Counsellor, a role akin to a Prime Minister.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Myanmar

A map of Myanmar

Myanmar map of Köppen climate classification.

 

Myanmar has a total area of 678,500 square kilometres (262,000 sq mi). It lies between latitudes 9° and 29°N, and longitudes 92° and 102°E. As of February 2011, Myanmar consisted of 14 states and regions, 67 districts, 330 townships, 64 sub-townships, 377 towns, 2,914 Wards, 14,220 village tracts and 68,290 villages.

 

Myanmar is bordered in the northwest by the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh and the Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh states of India. Its north and northeast border is with the Tibet Autonomous Region and Yunnan province for a Sino-Myanmar border total of 2,185 km (1,358 mi). It is bounded by Laos and Thailand to the southeast. Myanmar has 1,930 km (1,200 mi) of contiguous coastline along the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea to the southwest and the south, which forms one quarter of its total perimeter.[20]

 

In the north, the Hengduan Mountains form the border with China. Hkakabo Razi, located in Kachin State, at an elevation of 5,881 metres (19,295 ft), is the highest point in Myanmar.[109] Many mountain ranges, such as the Rakhine Yoma, the Bago Yoma, the Shan Hills and the Tenasserim Hills exist within Myanmar, all of which run north-to-south from the Himalayas.[110]

 

The mountain chains divide Myanmar's three river systems, which are the Irrawaddy, Salween (Thanlwin), and the Sittaung rivers.[111] The Irrawaddy River, Myanmar's longest river, nearly 2,170 kilometres (1,348 mi) long, flows into the Gulf of Martaban. Fertile plains exist in the valleys between the mountain chains.[110] The majority of Myanmar's population lives in the Irrawaddy valley, which is situated between the Rakhine Yoma and the Shan Plateau.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Myanmar

A clickable map of Burma/Myanmar exhibiting its first-level administrative divisions.

About this image

 

Myanmar is divided into seven states (ပြည်နယ်) and seven regions (တိုင်းဒေသကြီး), formerly called divisions.[112] Regions are predominantly Bamar (that is, mainly inhabited by the dominant ethnic group). States, in essence, are regions that are home to particular ethnic minorities. The administrative divisions are further subdivided into districts, which are further subdivided into townships, wards, and villages.

 

Climate

Main article: Climate of Myanmar

The limestone landscape of Mon State.

 

Much of the country lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator. It lies in the monsoon region of Asia, with its coastal regions receiving over 5,000 mm (196.9 in) of rain annually. Annual rainfall in the delta region is approximately 2,500 mm (98.4 in), while average annual rainfall in the Dry Zone in central Myanmar is less than 1,000 mm (39.4 in). The Northern regions of Myanmar are the coolest, with average temperatures of 21 °C (70 °F). Coastal and delta regions have an average maximum temperature of 32 °C (89.6 °F).[111]

Environment

Further information: Deforestation in Myanmar

 

Myanmar continues to perform badly in the global Environmental Performance Index (EPI) with an overall ranking of 153 out of 180 countries in 2016; among the worst in the South Asian region, only ahead of Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The EPI was established in 2001 by the World Economic Forum as a global gauge to measure how well individual countries perform in implementing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. The environmental areas where Myanmar performs worst (ie. highest ranking) are air quality (174), health impacts of environmental issues (143) and biodiversity and habitat (142). Myanmar performs best (ie. lowest ranking) in environmental impacts of fisheries (21), but with declining fish stocks. Despite several issues, Myanmar also ranks 64 and scores very good (ie. a high percentage of 93.73%) in environmental effects of the agricultural industry because of an excellent management of the nitrogen cycle.[114][115]

Wildlife

 

Myanmar's slow economic growth has contributed to the preservation of much of its environment and ecosystems. Forests, including dense tropical growth and valuable teak in lower Myanmar, cover over 49% of the country, including areas of acacia, bamboo, ironwood and Magnolia champaca. Coconut and betel palm and rubber have been introduced. In the highlands of the north, oak, pine and various rhododendrons cover much of the land.[116]

 

Heavy logging since the new 1995 forestry law went into effect has seriously reduced forest acreage and wildlife habitat.[117] The lands along the coast support all varieties of tropical fruits and once had large areas of mangroves although much of the protective mangroves have disappeared. In much of central Myanmar (the Dry Zone), vegetation is sparse and stunted.

 

Typical jungle animals, particularly tigers, occur sparsely in Myanmar. In upper Myanmar, there are rhinoceros, wild water buffalo, clouded leopard, wild boars, deer, antelope, and elephants, which are also tamed or bred in captivity for use as work animals, particularly in the lumber industry. Smaller mammals are also numerous, ranging from gibbons and monkeys to flying foxes. The abundance of birds is notable with over 800 species, including parrots, myna, peafowl, red junglefowl, weaverbirds, crows, herons, and barn owl. Among reptile species there are crocodiles, geckos, cobras, Burmese pythons, and turtles. Hundreds of species of freshwater fish are wide-ranging, plentiful and are very important food sources.[118] For a list of protected areas, see List of protected areas of Myanmar.

Government and politics

Main article: Politics of Myanmar

Assembly of the Union (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw)

 

The constitution of Myanmar, its third since independence, was drafted by its military rulers and published in September 2008. The country is governed as a parliamentary system with a bicameral legislature (with an executive President accountable to the legislature), with 25% of the legislators appointed by the military and the rest elected in general elections.

Asking For Forgiveness

Human remains have been found which have been dated to about 50,000 BC although this is an estimate. These ancient inhabitants probably migrated from Southeast Asia, from people whose ancestors had originated in Africa 50,000 to 70,000 years ago. New Guinea was one of the first landmasses after Africa and Eurasia to be populated by modern humans, with the first migration at approximately the same time as that of Australia.

 

Agriculture was independently developed in the New Guinea highlands around 7000 BC, making it one of the few areas in the world where people independently domesticated plants. A major migration of Austronesian speaking peoples came to coastal regions roughly 500 BC. This has been correlated with the introduction of pottery, pigs, and certain fishing techniques. More recently, in the 18th century, the sweet potato was taken to New Guinea, having been introduced to the Moluccas from South America by Portuguese traders, representing the locally dominant colonial power.[12] The far higher crop yields from sweet potato gardens radically transformed traditional agriculture; sweet potato largely supplanted the previous staple, taro, and gave rise to a significant increase in population in the highlands.

 

Although headhunting and cannibalism have been practically eradicated, in the past they occurred in many parts of the country as part of ritual practices. For example, in 1901, on Goaribari Island in the Gulf of Papua, a missionary, Harry Dauncey, found 10,000 skulls in the island’s Long Houses. According to the writer Marianna Torgovnick, "The most fully documented instances of cannibalism as a social institution come from New Guinea, where head-hunting and ritual cannibalism survived, in certain isolated areas, into the fifties, sixties, and seventies, and still leave traces within certain social groups."

 

Little was known in the West about the island until the nineteenth century, although Portuguese and Spanish explorers, such as Dom Jorge de Meneses and Yñigo Ortiz de Retez, respectively, had encountered it as early as the sixteenth century. Traders from Southeast Asia had visited New Guinea as long as 5,000 years ago collecting bird of paradise plumes.The country's dual name results from its complex administrative history before independence. The word papua is derived from pepuah, a Malay word describing the curly, coiled, Melanesian hair, and "New Guinea" (Nueva Guinea) was the name coined by the Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez. In 1545 he noted the resemblance of the people to those he had earlier seen along the Guinea coast of Africa. The northern half of the country was ruled as a colony for some decades by Germany, beginning in 1884, as German New Guinea.

 

During World War I, the territory was occupied by Australia, which had begun administering British New Guinea, the southern part, renamed Papua in 1904. After World War I, Australia was given a mandate to administer the former German New Guinea by the League of Nations. Papua, by contrast, was deemed to be an External Territory of the Australian Commonwealth, though as a matter of law it remained a British possession. This was significant for the country's post-independence legal system. The difference in legal status meant that Papua and New Guinea had entirely separate administrations, both controlled by Australia.

 

The New Guinea campaign (1942–1945) was one of the major military campaigns of World War II. Approximately 216,000 Japanese, Australian and U.S. soldiers, sailors and airmen died during the New Guinea Campaign.[18] The two territories were combined into the Territory of Papua and New Guinea after World War II, which later was simply referred to as "Papua New Guinea".

 

However, certain statutes continued to have application only in one of the two territories. This territorial difference of law was complicated further by the adjustment of the former boundary among contiguous provinces with respect to road access and language groups. Some of such statutes apply on one side only of a boundary which no longer exists

 

The administration of Papua became open to United Nations oversight; a peaceful independence from Australia occurred on September 16, 1975, and close ties remain (Australia continues as the largest bilateral aid donor to Papua New Guinea). Papua New Guinea was admitted to membership in the United Nations on 10 October 1975.

 

A secessionist revolt in 1975–76 on Bougainville Island resulted in an eleventh-hour modification of the draft Constitution of Papua New Guinea to allow for Bougainville and the other eighteen districts to have quasi-federal status as provinces. A renewed uprising started in 1988 and claimed 20,000 lives until it was resolved in 1997. Following the revolt, the autonomous Bougainville elected Joseph Kabui as president. He was succeeded by his deputy John Tabinaman, who continued to be re-elected as leader until the election of December 2008, which James Tanis won.

 

Anti-Chinese rioting, involving tens of thousands of people, broke out in May 2009. The initial spark was a fight between Chinese and Papua New Guinean workers at a nickel factory under construction by a Chinese company. Native resentment against the numerous small businesses being run by Chinese led to the rioting

 

Wat Pho, also spelled Wat Po, is a Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace. Known also as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, its official name is Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan. The more commonly known name, Wat Pho, is a contraction of its older name, Wat Photaram

 

The temple is first on the list of six temples in Thailand classed as the highest grade of the first-class royal temples. It is associated with King Rama I who rebuilt the temple complex on an earlier temple site. It became his main temple and is where some of his ashes are enshrined. The temple was later expanded and extensively renovated by Rama III. The temple complex houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand, including a 46 m long reclining Buddha. The temple is considered the earliest centre for public education in Thailand, and the marble illustrations and inscriptions placed in the temple for public instructions has been recognised by UNESCO in its Memory of the World Programme. It houses a school of Thai medicine, and is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage which is still taught and practiced at the temple.

 

Wat Pho is one of Bangkok's oldest temples. It existed before Bangkok was established as the capital by King Rama I. It was originally named Wat Photaram or Podharam, from which the name Wat Pho is derived. The name refers to the monastery of the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India where Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment. The date of the construction of the old temple and its founder are unknown, but it is thought to have been built or expanded during the reign of King Phetracha (1688–1703). The southern section of Wat Pho used to be occupied by part of a French Star fort that was demolished by King Phetracha after the 1688 Siege of Bangkok.

 

After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 to the Burmese, King Taksin moved the capital to Thonburi where he located his palace beside Wat Arun on the opposite side of the Chao Phraya River from Wat Pho. The proximity of Wat Pho to this royal palace elevated it to the status of a wat luang ('royal monastery').

 

In 1782, King Rama I moved the capital from Thonburi across the river to Bangkok and built the Grand Palace adjacent to Wat Pho. In 1788, he ordered the construction and renovation at the old temple site of Wat Pho, which had by then become dilapidated. The site, which was marshy and uneven, was drained and filled in before construction began. During its construction, Rama I also initiated a project to remove Buddha images from abandoned temples in Ayutthaya, Sukhothai, as well other sites in Thailand, and many of these retrieved Buddha images were kept at Wat Pho. These include the remnants of an enormous Buddha image from Ayuthaya's Wat Phra Si Sanphet destroyed by the Burmese in 1767, and these were incorporated into a chedi in the complex. The rebuilding took over seven years to complete. In 1801, twelve years after work began, the new temple complex was renamed Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklavas in reference to the vihara of Jetavana, and it became the main temple for Rama I.

 

The complex underwent significant changes over the next 260 years, particularly during the reign of Rama III (1824-1851). In 1832, King Rama III began renovating and enlarging the temple complex, a process that took 16 years and seven months to complete. The ground of the temple complex was expanded to 56 rai (9.0 ha; 22 acres), and most of the structures now present in Wat Pho were either built or rebuilt during this period, including the Chapel of the Reclining Buddha. He also turned the temple complex into a public center of learning by decorating the walls of the buildings with diagrams and inscriptions on various subjects.: 90  The inscriptions were written by about 50 people from the court of Rama III and learned monks led by Supreme Patriarch Prince Paramanuchitchinorot (1790-1853), the abbot of Wat Pho, a Buddhist scholar, historian and poet. On 21 February 2008, these marble illustrations and inscriptions was registered in the Memory of the World Programme launched by UNESCO to promote, preserve and propagate the wisdom of the world heritage. Wat Pho is regarded as Thailand's first university and a center for traditional Thai massage. It served as a medical teaching center in the mid-19th century before the advent of modern medicine, and the temple remains a center for traditional medicine today where a private school for Thai medicine founded in 1957 still operates.

 

The name of the complex was changed again to Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm during the reign of King Rama IV. Apart from the construction of a fourth great chedi and minor modifications by Rama IV, there had been no significant changes to Wat Pho since. Repair work, however, is a continuing process, often funded by devotees of the temple. The temple was restored again in 1982 before the Bangkok Bicentennial Celebration.

 

Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest wats in Bangkok covering an area of 50 rai or 80,000 square metres. It is home to more than one thousand Buddha images, as well as one of the largest single Buddha images at 46 metres (151 ft) in length. The Wat Pho complex consists of two walled compounds bisected by Chetuphon Road running in the east–west direction. The larger northern walled compound, the phutthawat, is open to visitors and contains the finest buildings dedicated to the Buddha, including the bot with its four directional viharn, and the temple housing the reclining Buddha. The southern compound, the sankhawat, contains the residential quarters of the monks and a school. The perimeter wall of the main temple complex has sixteen gates, two of which serve as entrances for the public (one on Chetuphon Road, the other near the northwest corner).

 

The temple grounds contain four great chedis, 91 small chedis, two belfries, a bot (central shrine), a number of viharas (halls) and various buildings such as pavilions, as well as gardens and a small temple museum. Architecturally the chedis and buildings in the complex are different in style and sizes. A number of large Chinese statues, some of which depict Europeans, are also found in the complex guarding the gates of the perimeter walls as well as other gates in the compound. These stone statues were originally imported as ballast on ships trading with China.

 

Wat Pho was also intended to serve as a place of education for the general public. To this end a pictorial encyclopedia was engraved on granite slabs covering eight subject areas: history, medicine, health, custom, literature, proverbs, lexicography, and the Buddhist religion. These plaques, inscribed with texts and illustrations on medicine, Thai traditional massage, and other subjects, are placed around the temple, for example, within the Sala Rai or satellite open pavilions. Dotted around the complex are 24 small rock gardens (khao mor) illustrating rock formations of Thailand, and one, called the Contorting Hermit Hill, contains some statues showing methods of massage and yoga positions. There are also drawings of constellations on the wall of the library, inscriptions on local administration, as well as paintings of folk tales and animal husbandry.

 

Phra Ubosot (Phra Uposatha) or bot is the ordination hall, the main hall used for performing Buddhist rituals, and the most sacred building of the complex. It was constructed by King Rama I in the Ayuthaya-style, and later enlarged and reconstructed in the Rattanakosin-style by Rama III. The bot was dedicated in 1791, before the rebuilding of Wat Pho was completed. This building is raised on a marble platform, and the ubosot lies in the center of courtyard enclosed by a double cloister (Phra Rabiang).

 

Inside the ubosot is a gold and crystal three-tiered pedestal topped with a gilded Buddha made of a gold-copper alloy, and over the statue is a nine-tiered umbrella representing the authority of Thailand. The Buddha image, known as Phra Buddha Theva Patimakorn and thought to be from the Ayutthaya period, was moved here by Rama I from Wat Sala Si Na (now called Wat Khuhasawan) in Thonburi. Rama IV later placed some ashes of Rama I under the pedestal of the Buddha image so that the public may pay homage to both Rama I and the Buddha at the same time. There are also ten images of Buddha's disciples in the hall: Moggalana is to the left of Buddha and Sariputta to the right, with eight Arahants below.

 

The exterior balustrade surrounding the main hall has around 150 depictions in stone of the epic, Ramakien, the ultimate message of which is transcendence from secular to spiritual dimensions. The stone panels were recovered from a temple in Ayuthaya. The ubosot is enclosed by a low wall called kamphaeng kaew, which is punctuated by gateways guarded by mythological lions, as well as eight structures that house bai sema, stone markers that delineate the sacred space of the bot.

 

Phra Rabiang - This double cloister contains around 400 images of Buddha from northern Thailand selected out of the 1,200 originally brought by King Rama I. Of these Buddha images, 150 are on the inner side of the double cloister, another 244 images are on the outer side. These Buddha figures, some standing and some seated, are evenly mounted on matching gilded pedestals. These images are from different periods in Siamese history, such as the Chiangsaen, Sukhothai, U-Thong, and Ayutthaya eras, but they were renovated by Rama I and covered with stucco and gold leaves to make them look similar.

 

The Phra Rabiang is intersected by four viharns. The viharn in the east contains an eight metre tall standing Buddha, the Buddha Lokanatha, originally from Ayutthaya. In its antechamber is Buddha Maravichai, sitting under a bodhi tree, originally from Sawankhalok of the late-Sukhothai period. The one on the west has a seated Buddha sheltered by a naga, the Buddha Chinnasri, while the Buddha on the south, the Buddha Chinnaraja, has five disciples seated in front listening to his first sermon. Both Buddhas in the south and west viharns were brought from Sukhothai by Rama I. The Buddha in the north viharn, called Buddha Palilai, was cast in the reign of Rama I. The viharn on the west contains a small museum.

 

Phra Prang - There are four towers, or phra prang, at each corner of the courtyard around the bot. Each of the towers is tiled with marble and contains four Khmer-style statues which are the guardian divinities of the Four Cardinal Points.

 

This is a group of four large stupas, each 42 metres high. These four chedis are dedicated to the first four Chakri kings. The first, in green mosaic tiles, was constructed by Rama I to house the remnants of the great Buddha from Ayuthaya, which was scorched to remove its gold covering by the Burmese. Two more were built by Rama III, one in white tiles to hold the ashes of his father Rama II, another in yellow for himself. A fourth in blue was built by Rama IV who then enclosed the four chedis leaving no space for more to be built.

 

The viharn or wihan contains the reclining Buddha and was constructed in the reign of Rama III emulating the Ayutthaya style. The interior is decorated with panels of mural.

 

Adjacent to this building is a small raised garden (Missakawan Park) with a Chinese-style pavilion; the centre piece of the garden is a bodhi tree which was propagated from the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree in Sri Lanka that is believed to have originally came from a tree in India where Buddha sat while awaiting enlightenment.

 

Phra Mondop or the ho trai is the Scripture Hall containing a small library of Buddhist scriptures. The building is not generally open to the public as the scriptures, which are inscribed on palm leaves, need to be kept in a controlled environment for preservation. The library was built by King Rama III. Guarding its entrance are figures called Yak Wat Pho ('Wat Pho's Giants') placed in niches beside the gates. Around Phra Mondop are three pavilions with mural paintings of the beginning of Ramayana.

 

Phra Chedi Rai - Outside the Phra Rabiang cloisters are dotted many smaller chedis, called Phra Chedi Rai. Seventy-one of these small chedis were built by Rama III, each five metres in height. There are also four groups of five chedis that shared a single base built by Rama I, one on each corner outside the cloister. The 71 chedis of smaller size contain the ashes of the royal family, and 20 slightly larger ones clustered in groups of five contain the relics of Buddha.

 

Sala Karn Parien - This hall is next to the Phra Mondop at the southwest corner of the compound, and is thought to date from the Ayutthaya period. It serves as a learning and meditation hall. The building contains the original Buddha image from the bot which was moved here to make way for the Buddha image currently in the bot. Next to it is a garden called The Crocodile Pond.

Sala Rai - There are 16 satellite pavilions, most of them placed around the edge of the compound, and murals depicting the life of Buddha may be found in some of these. Two of these are the medical pavilions between Phra Maha Chedi Si Ratchakarn and the main chapel. The north medicine pavilion contains Thai traditional massage inscriptions with 32 drawings of massage positions on the walls while the one to the south has a collection of inscriptions on guardian angel that protects the newborn.

Phra Viharn Kod - This is the gallery which consists of four viharas, one on each corner outside the Phra Rabiang.

Tamnak Wasukri - Also called the poet's house, this is the former residence of Prince Patriarch Paramanuchitchinorot, a scholar, historian and poet. The house was a gift from his nephew Rama III. This building is in the living quarters of the monks in the southern compound and is open once a year on his birthday.

 

The wat and the reclining Buddha (Phra Buddhasaiyas, Thai: พระพุทธไสยาสน์) were built by Rama III in 1832. The image of the reclining Buddha represents the entry of Buddha into Nirvana and the end of all reincarnations. The posture of the image is referred to as sihasaiyas, the posture of a sleeping or reclining lion. The figure is 15 m high and 46 m long, and it is one of the largest Buddha statues in Thailand.

 

The figure has a brick core, which was modelled and shaped with plaster, then gilded. The right arm of the Buddha supports the head with tight curls, which rests on two box-pillows encrusted with glass mosaics. The soles of the feet of the Buddha are 3 m high and 4.5 m long, and inlaid with mother-of-pearl. They are each divided into 108 arranged panels, displaying the auspicious symbols by which Buddha can be identified, such as flowers, dancers, white elephants, tigers, and altar accessories. At the center of each foot is a circle representing a chakra or 'energy point'. There are 108 bronze bowls in the corridor representing the 108 auspicious characters of Buddha. Visitors may drop coins in these bowls as it is believed to bring good fortune, and it also helps the monks to maintain the wat.

 

Although the reclining Buddha is not a pilgrimage destination, it remains an object of popular piety. An annual celebration for the reclining Buddha is held around the time of the Siamese Songkran or New Year in April, which also helps raise funds for the upkeep of Wat Pho.

 

The temple is considered the first public university of Thailand, teaching students in the fields of religion, science, and literature through murals and sculptures. A school for traditional medicine and massage was established at the temple in 1955, and now offers four courses in Thai medicine: Thai pharmacy, Thai medical practice, Thai midwifery, and Thai massage. This, the Wat Pho Thai Traditional Medical and Massage School, is the first school of Thai medicine approved by the Thai Ministry of Education, and one of the earliest massage schools. It remains the national headquarters and the center of education of traditional Thai medicine and massage to this day. Courses on Thai massage are held in Wat Pho, and these may last a few weeks to a year. Two pavilions at the eastern edge of the Wat Pho compound are used as classrooms for practising Thai traditional massage and herbal massage, and visitors can received massage treatment here for a fee. The Thai massage or Nuad Thai taught at Wat Pho has been included in UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Wat Pho has trained more than 200,000 massage therapists who practice in 145 countries.

 

There are many medical inscriptions and illustrations placed in various buildings around the temple complex, some of which serve as instructions for Thai massage therapists, particularly those in the north medical pavilion. They were inscribed by scholars during the reign of King Rama III. Among these are 60 inscribed plaques, 30 each for the front and back of human body, showing pressure points used in traditional Thai massage. These therapeutic points and energy pathways, known as sen, with explanations given on the walls next to the plaques.

 

Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres (605.7 sq mi) in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated population of 10.539 million as of 2020, 15.3 percent of the country's population. Over 14 million people (22.2 percent) lived within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region at the 2010 census, making Bangkok an extreme primate city, dwarfing Thailand's other urban centres in both size and importance to the national economy.

 

Bangkok traces its roots to a small trading post during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th century, which eventually grew and became the site of two capital cities, Thonburi in 1768 and Rattanakosin in 1782. Bangkok was at the heart of the modernization of Siam, later renamed Thailand, during the late-19th century, as the country faced pressures from the West. The city was at the centre of Thailand's political struggles throughout the 20th century, as the country abolished absolute monarchy, adopted constitutional rule, and underwent numerous coups and several uprisings. The city, incorporated as a special administrative area under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration in 1972, grew rapidly during the 1960s through the 1980s and now exerts a significant impact on Thailand's politics, economy, education, media and modern society.

 

The Asian investment boom in the 1980s and 1990s led many multinational corporations to locate their regional headquarters in Bangkok. The city is now a regional force in finance and business. It is an international hub for transport and health care, and has emerged as a centre for the arts, fashion, and entertainment. The city is known for its street life and cultural landmarks, as well as its red-light districts. The Grand Palace and Buddhist temples including Wat Arun and Wat Pho stand in contrast with other tourist attractions such as the nightlife scenes of Khaosan Road and Patpong. Bangkok is among the world's top tourist destinations, and has been named the world's most visited city consistently in several international rankings.

 

Bangkok's rapid growth coupled with little urban planning has resulted in a haphazard cityscape and inadequate infrastructure. Despite an extensive expressway network, an inadequate road network and substantial private car usage have led to chronic and crippling traffic congestion, which caused severe air pollution in the 1990s. The city has since turned to public transport in an attempt to solve the problem, operating eight urban rail lines and building other public transit, but congestion still remains a prevalent issue. The city faces long-term environmental threats such as sea level rise due to climate change.

 

The history of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, dates at least to the early 15th century, when it was under the rule of Ayutthaya. Due to its strategic location near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, the town gradually increased in importance, and after the fall of Ayutthaya King Taksin established his new capital of Thonburi there, on the river's west bank. King Phutthayotfa Chulalok, who succeeded Taksin, moved the capital to the eastern bank in 1782, to which the city dates its foundation under its current Thai name, "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon". Bangkok has since undergone tremendous changes, growing rapidly, especially in the second half of the 20th century, to become the primate city of Thailand. It was the centre of Siam's modernization in the late 19th century, subjected to Allied bombing during the Second World War, and has long been the modern nation's central political stage, with numerous uprisings and coups d'état having taken place on its streets throughout the years.

 

It is not known exactly when the area which is now Bangkok was first settled. It probably originated as a small farming and trading community, situated in a meander of the Chao Phraya River within the mandala of Ayutthaya's influence. The town had become an important customs outpost by as early as the 15th century; the title of its customs official is given as Nai Phra Khanon Thonburi (Thai: นายพระขนอนทณบุรี) in a document from the reign of Ayutthayan king Chao Sam Phraya (1424–1448). The name also appears in the 1805 revised code of laws known as the Law of Three Seals.

 

At the time, the Chao Phraya flowed through what are now the Bangkok Noi and Bangkok Yai canals, forming a large loop in which lay the town. In the reign of King Chairacha (either in 1538 or 1542), a waterway was excavated, bypassing the loop and shortening the route for ships sailing up to Ayutthaya. The flow of the river has since changed to follow the new waterway, dividing the town and making the western part an island. This geographical feature may have given the town the name Bang Ko (บางเกาะ), meaning 'island village', which later became Bangkok (บางกอก, pronounced in Thai as [bāːŋ kɔ̀ːk]). Another theory regarding the origin of the name speculates that it is shortened from Bang Makok (บางมะกอก), makok being the name of Spondias pinnata, a plant bearing olive-like fruit. This is supported by the fact that Wat Arun, a historic temple in the area, used to be named Wat Makok. Specific mention of the town was first made in the royal chronicles from the reign of King Maha Chakkraphat (1548–1568), giving its name as Thonburi Si Mahasamut (ธนบุรีศรีมหาสมุทร). Bangkok was probably a colloquial name, albeit one widely adopted by foreign visitors.

 

The importance of Bangkok/Thonburi increased with the amount of Ayutthaya's maritime trade. Dutch records noted that ships passing through Bangkok were required to declare their goods and number of passengers, as well as pay customs duties. Ships' cannons would be confiscated and held there before they were allowed to proceed upriver to Ayutthaya. An early English language account is that of Adam Denton, who arrived aboard the Globe, an East India Company merchantman bearing a letter from King James I, which arrived in "the Road of Syam" (Pak Nam) on 15 August 1612, where the port officer of Bangkok attended to the ship. Denton's account mentions that he and his companions journeyed "up the river some twenty miles to a town called Bancope, where we were well received, and further 100 miles to the city...."

 

Ayutthaya's maritime trade was at its height during the reign of King Narai (1656–1688). Recognition of the city's strategic location guarding the water passage to Ayutthaya lead to expansion of the military presence there. A fort of Western design was constructed on the east side of the river around 1685–1687 under the supervision of French engineer de la Mare, probably replacing an earlier structure, while plans to rebuild the fort on the west bank were also made. De la Mare had arrived with the French embassy of Chevalier de Chaumont, and remained in Siam along with Chevalier de Forbin, who had been appointed governor of Bangkok. The Bangkok garrison under Forbin consisted of Siamese, Portuguese, and French reportedly totalling about one thousand men.

 

French control over the city was further consolidated when the French General Desfarges, who had arrived with the second French embassy in 1687, secured the king's permission to board troops there. This, however, lead to resentment among Siamese nobles, led by Phetracha, ultimately resulting in the Siamese revolution of 1688, in which King Narai was overthrown and 40,000 Siamese troops besieged Bangkok's eastern fort for four months before an agreement was reached and the French were allowed to withdraw. The revolution resulted in Siam's ties with the West being virtually severed, steering its trade towards China and Japan. The eastern fort was subsequently demolished on Phetracha's orders.

 

Ayutthaya was razed by the Burmese in 1767. In the following months, multiple factions competed for control of the kingdom's lands. Of these, Phraya Tak, governor of Tak and a general fighting in Ayutthaya's defence prior to its fall, emerged as the strongest. After succeeding in reclaiming the cities of Ayutthaya and Bangkok, Phraya Tak declared himself king (popularly known as King Taksin) in 1768 and established Thonburi as his capital. Reasons given for this change include the totality of Ayutthaya's destruction and Thonburi's strategic location. Being a fortified town with a sizeable population meant that not much would need to be reconstructed. The existence of an old Chinese trading settlement on the eastern bank allowed Taksin to use his Chinese connections to import rice and revive trade.

 

King Taksin had the city area extended northwards to border the Bangkok Noi Canal. A moat was dug to protect the city's western border, on which new city walls and fortifications were built. Moats and walls were also constructed on the eastern bank, encircling the city together with the canals on the western side. The king's palace (Thonburi Palace) was built within the old city walls, including the temples of Wat Chaeng (Wat Arun) and Wat Thai Talat (Wat Molilokkayaram) within the palace grounds. Outlying orchards were re-landscaped for rice farming.

 

Much of Taksin's reign was spent in military campaigns to consolidate the Thonburi Kingdom's hold over Siamese lands. His kingdom, however, would last only until 1782 when a coup was mounted against him, and the general Chao Phraya Chakri established himself as king, later to be known as Phutthayotfa Chulalok or Rama I.

 

Rama I re-established the capital on the more strategic east bank of the river, relocating the Chinese already settled there to the area between Wat Sam Pluem and Wat Sampheng (which developed into Bangkok's Chinatown). Fortifications were rebuilt, and another series of moats was created, encircling the city in an area known as Rattanakosin Island.

 

The erection of the city pillar on 21 April 1782 is regarded as the formal date of the city's establishment. (The year would later mark the start of the Rattanakosin Era after calendar reforms by King Rama V in 1888.) Rama I named the new city Krung Rattanakosin In Ayothaya (กรุงรัตนโกสินทร์อินท์อโยธยา). This was later modified by King Nangklao to be: Krungthepmahanakhon Bowonrattanakosin Mahintha-ayutthaya. While settlements on both banks were commonly called Bangkok, both the Burney Treaty of 1826 and the Roberts Treaty of 1833 refer to the capital as the City of Sia-Yut'hia. King Mongkut (Rama IV) would later give the city its full ceremonial name:

 

Rama I modelled his city after the former capital of Ayutthaya, with the Grand Palace, Front Palace and royal temples by the river, next to the royal field (now Sanam Luang). Continuing outwards were the royal court of justice, royal stables and military prison. Government offices were located within the Grand Palace, while residences of nobles were concentrated south of the palace walls. Settlements spread outwards from the city centre.

 

The new capital is referred to in Thai sources as Rattanakosin, a name shared by the Siamese kingdom of this historical period. The name Krung Thep and Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, both shortened forms of the full ceremonial name, began to be used near the end of the 19th century. Foreigners, however, continued to refer to the city by the name Bangkok, which has seen continued use until this day.

 

Most of Rama I's reign was also marked by continued military campaigns, though the Burmese threat gradually declined afterwards. His successors consistently saw to the renovation of old temples, palaces, and monuments in the city. New canals were also built, gradually expanding the fledgling city as areas available for agriculture increased and new transport networks were created.

 

At the time of the city's foundation, most of the population lived by the river or the canals, often in floating houses on the water. Waterways served as the main method of transportation, and farming communities depended on them for irrigation. Outside the city walls, settlements sprawled along both river banks. Forced settlers, mostly captives of war, also formed several ethnic communities outside the city walls.

 

Large numbers of Chinese immigrants continued to settle in Bangkok, especially during the early 19th century. Such was their prominence that Europeans visiting in the 1820s estimated that they formed over half of the city population. The Chinese excelled in trade, and led the development of a market economy. The Chinese settlement at Sampheng had become a bustling market by 1835. 

 

By the mid-19th century, the West had become an increasingly powerful presence. Missionaries, envoys and merchants began re-visiting Bangkok and Siam, bringing with them both modern innovations and the threat of colonialism. King Mongkut (Rama IV, reigned 1851–1868) was open to Western ideas and knowledge, but was also forced to acknowledge their powers, with the signing of the Bowring Treaty in 1855. During his reign, industrialization began taking place in Bangkok, which saw the introduction of the steam engine, modern shipbuilding and the printing press. Influenced by the Western community, Charoen Krung Road, the city's first paved street, was constructed in 1862–1864. This was followed by Bamrung Mueang, Fueang Nakhon, Trong (now Rama IV) and Si Lom Roads. Land transport would later surpass the canals in importance, shifting people's homes from floating dwellings toward permanent buildings. The limits of the city proper were also expanded during his reign, extending to the Phadung Krung Kasem Canal, dug in 1851.

 

King Mongkut's son Chulalongkorn (r. 1868–1910) was set upon modernizing the country. He engaged in wide-ranging reforms, abolishing slavery, corvée (unfree labour) and the feudal system, and creating a centralized bureaucracy and a professional army. The Western concept of nationhood was adopted, and national borders demarcated against British and French territories. Disputes with the French resulted in the Paknam Incident in 1893, when the French sent gunboats up the Chao Phraya to blockade Bangkok, resulting in Siam's concession of territory to France.

 

With Chulalongkorn's reforms, governance of the capital and the surrounding areas, established as Monthon Krung Thep Phra Mahanakhon (มณฑลกรุงเทพพระมหานคร), came under the Ministry of Urban Affairs (Nakhonban). During his reign many more canals and roads were built, expanding the urban reaches of the capital. Infrastructure was developed, with the introduction of railway and telegraph services between Bangkok and Samut Prakan and then expanding countrywide. Electricity was introduced, first to palaces and government offices, then to serve electric trams in the capital and later the general public. The King's fascination with the West was reflected in the royal adoption of Western dress and fashions, but most noticeably in architecture. He commissioned the construction of the neoclassical Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall at the new Dusit Palace, which was linked to the historic city centre by the grand Ratchadamnoen Avenue, inspired by the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Examples of Western influence in architecture became visible throughout the city.

 

By 1900, rural market zones in Bangkok began developing into residential districts. Rama VI (1910–1925) continued his predecessor's program of the development of public works by establishing Chulalongkorn University in 1916, and commissioned a system of locks to control waterway levels surrounding the developing city, he also provided the city's first and largest recreational area, Lumphini Park. The Memorial Bridge was constructed in 1932 to connect Thonburi to Bangkok, which was believed to promote economic growth and modernization in a period when infrastructure was developing considerably. Bangkok became the centre stage for power struggles between the military and political elite as the country abolished absolute monarchy in 1932. It was subject to Japanese occupation and Allied bombing during World War II. With the war over in 1945, British and Indian troops landed in September, and during their brief occupation of the city disarmed the Japanese troops. A significant event following the return of the young king, Ananda Mahidol, to Thailand, intended to defuse post-war tensions lingering between Bangkok's ethnic Chinese and Thai people, was his visit to Bangkok's Chinatown Sam Peng Lane (ซอยสำเพ็ง), on 3 June 1946.

 

As a result of pro-Western bloc treaties Bangkok rapidly grew in the post-war period as a result of United States developmental aid and government-sponsored investment. Infrastructure, including the Don Mueang International Airport and highways, was built and expanded.  Bangkok's role as an American military R&R destination launched its tourism industry as well as sex trade.  Disproportionate urban development led to increasing income inequalities and unprecedented migration from rural areas into Bangkok; its population surged from 1.8 to 3 million in the 1960s. Following the United States' withdrawal from Vietnam, Japanese businesses took over as leaders in investment, and the expansion of export-oriented manufacturing led to growth of the financial market in Bangkok.  Rapid growth of the city continued through the 1980s and early 1990s, until it was stalled by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. By then, many public and social issues had emerged, among them the strain on infrastructure reflected in the city's notorious traffic jams. Bangkok's role as the nation's political stage continues to be seen in strings of popular protests, from the student uprisings in 1973 and 1976, anti-military demonstrations in 1992, and successive anti-government protests by the "Yellow Shirt" and "Red Shirt" movements from 2008 on.

 

Administratively, eastern Bangkok and Thonburi had been established as separate provinces in 1915. (The province east of the river was named Phra Nakhon (พระนคร.) A series of decrees in 1971–1972 resulted in the merger of these provinces and its local administrations, forming the current city of Bangkok which is officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) was created in 1975 to govern the city, and its governor has been elected since 1985.

The Postcard

 

A postally unused postcard that was published by The South African Garrison Institutes. The card was printed by Whitehead, Morris & Co. Ltd. of Cape Town. The card has a divided back.

 

Windhoek

 

Windhoek is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre.

 

The population of Windhoek in 2020 was 431,000 which is growing continuously due to an influx from all over Namibia.

 

Windhoek is the social, economic, political, and cultural centre of the country. Nearly every Namibian national enterprise, governmental body, educational and cultural institution is headquartered there.

 

The city developed at the site of a permanent hot spring known to the indigenous pastoral communities. It developed rapidly after Jonker Afrikaner, Captain of the Orlam, settled here in 1840 and built a stone church for his community.

 

In the decades following, multiple wars and armed hostilities resulted in the neglect and destruction of the new settlement. Windhoek was founded a second time in 1890 by Imperial German Army Major Curt von François, when the territory was colonised by the German Empire.

 

Herero and Nama Genocide

 

The Herero and Nama genocide was a campaign of ethnic extermination and collective punishment waged by the German Empire against the Herero and the Nama in German South West Africa.

 

It was the first genocide of the 20th. century, occurring between 1904 and 1908.

 

In January 1904, the Herero and Nama people rebelled against German colonial rule. On the 12th. January they killed more than 100 German settlers in the area of Okahandja, although women, children, missionaries and non-German Europeans were spared.

 

In August, German General Lothar von Trotha defeated the Hereros in the Battle of Waterberg and drove them into the desert of Omaheke, where most of them died of dehydration. In October, the Nama people also rebelled against the Germans, only to suffer a similar fate.

 

Between 24,000 and 100,000 Hereros and 10,000 Nama died in the genocide. The first phase of the genocide was characterised by widespread death from starvation and dehydration, due to the prevention of the Herero from leaving the Namib desert by German forces.

 

Once defeated, thousands of Hereros and Namas were imprisoned in concentration camps, where the majority died of diseases, abuse, and exhaustion.

 

In 1985, the United Nations' Whitaker Report classified the aftermath as an attempt to exterminate the Herero and Nama peoples of South West Africa.

 

In 2004, the German government recognised and apologised for the events, but ruled out financial compensation for the victims' descendants.

 

In July 2015, the German government and the speaker of the Bundestag officially called the events a "genocide". However, it still refused to consider reparations. Despite this, the last batch of skulls and other remains of slaughtered tribesmen which were taken to Germany to promote racial superiority were taken back to Namibia in 2018.

 

In May 2021, the German government agreed to pay €1.1 billion over 30 years to fund projects in communities that were impacted by the genocide.

 

Background to the Genocide

 

The Herero, who speak a Bantu language, were originally a group of cattle herders who migrated into what is now Namibia during the mid-18th. century. The Herero seized vast swaths of the arable upper plateaus which were ideal for cattle grazing.

 

Agricultural duties, which were minimal, were assigned to enslaved Khoisan and Bushmen. Over the rest of the 18th. century, the Herero slowly drove the Khoisan into the dry, rugged hills to the south and east.

 

The Hereros were a pastoral people whose entire way of life centred on their cattle. The Herero language, while limited in its vocabulary for most areas, contains more than a thousand words for the colours and markings of cattle. The Hereros were content to live in peace as long as their cattle were safe and well-pastured, but became formidable warriors when their cattle were threatened.

 

According to Robert Gaudi:

 

"The newcomers, much taller and more fiercely warlike

than the indigenous Khoisan people, were possessed

of the fierceness that comes from basing one's way of

life on a single source: everything they valued, all wealth

and personal happiness, had to do with cattle.

Regarding the care and protection of their herds, the

Herero showed themselves utterly merciless, and far

more 'savage' than the Khoisan had ever been.

Because of their dominant ways and elegant bearing,

the few Europeans who encountered Herero tribesmen

in the early days regarded them as the region's 'natural

aristocrats.'"

 

By the time of the Scramble for Africa, the area which was occupied by the Herero was known as Damaraland.

 

The Nama were pastorals and traders, and lived to the south of the Herero. 

 

In 1883, Adolf Lüderitz, a German merchant, purchased a stretch of coast near Lüderitz Bay (Angra Pequena) from the reigning chief. The terms of the purchase were fraudulent, but the German government nonetheless established a protectorate over it. At that time, it was the only overseas German territory deemed suitable for European settlement.

 

Chief of the neighbouring Herero, Maherero rose to power by uniting all the Herero. Faced with repeated attacks by the Khowesin, a clan of the Khoekhoe under Hendrik Witbooi, he signed a protection treaty on the 21st. October 1885 with Imperial Germany's colonial governor Heinrich Ernst Göring (father of World War I flying ace and World War II convicted war criminal Hermann Göring), but did not cede the land of the Herero.

 

This treaty was renounced in 1888 due to lack of German support against Witbooi, but it was reinstated in 1890.

 

The Herero leaders repeatedly complained about violation of this treaty, as Herero women and girls were raped by Germans, a crime that the German judges and prosecutors were reluctant to punish.

 

In 1890 Maherero's son, Samuel, signed a great deal of land over to the Germans in return for helping him to ascend to the Herero throne, and to subsequently be established as paramount chief.

 

German involvement in ethnic fighting ended in tenuous peace in 1894.  In that year, Theodor Leutwein became governor of the territory, which underwent a period of rapid development, while the German government sent the Schutztruppe (imperial colonial troops) to pacify the region.

 

German Colonial Policy

 

Both German colonial authorities and European settlers envisioned a predominately white "new African Germany," wherein the native populations would be put onto reservations and their land distributed among settlers and companies.

 

Under German colonial rule, colonists were encouraged to seize land and cattle from the native Herero and Nama peoples and to subjugate them as slave laborers. 

 

Resentment understandably brewed among the native populations over their loss of status and property to German ranchers arriving in South West Africa, and the dismantling of traditional political hierarchies. Previously ruling tribes were reduced to the same status as the other tribes they had previously ruled over and enslaved. This resentment contributed to the Herero Wars that began in 1904.

 

Major Theodor Leutwein, the Governor of German South West Africa, was well aware of the effect of the German colonial rule on the Hereros. He later wrote :

 

"The Hereros from early years were a freedom-loving

people, courageous and proud beyond measure. On

the one hand, there was the progressive extension of

German rule over them, and on the other their own

sufferings increasing from year to year."

 

The Dietrich Case

 

In January 1903, a German trader named Dietrich was walking from his homestead to the nearby town of Omaruru to buy a new horse. Halfway to Dietrich's destination, a wagon carrying the son of a Herero chief, his wife, and their son stopped by. As a common courtesy in Hereroland, the chief's son offered Dietrich a ride.

 

That night, however, Dietrich got very drunk and after everyone was asleep, he attempted to rape the wife of the chief's son. When she resisted, Dietrich shot her dead.

 

When he was tried for murder in Windhoek, Dietrich denied attempting to rape his victim. He alleged that he awoke thinking the camp was under attack, and had fired blindly into the darkness. The killing of the Herero woman, he claimed, was an unfortunate accident. The court acquitted him, alleging that Dietrich was suffering from "tropical fever" and temporary insanity.

 

The murder aroused extraordinary interest in Hereroland, especially since the murdered woman had been the wife of the son of a Chief and the daughter of another. Everywhere the question was asked:

 

"Have white people the right

to shoot native women?"

 

Governor Leutwein intervened. He made the Public Prosecutor appeal Dietrich's acquittal. A second trial took place (before the colony's supreme court), and this time Dietrich was found guilty of manslaughter and imprisoned.

 

The move prompted violent objections of German settlers who considered Leutwein a "race traitor".

 

Rising Tension

 

In 1903, some of the Nama clans rose in revolt under the leadership of Hendrik Witbooi. A number of factors led the Herero to join them in January 1904.

 

(a) Land Rights

 

One of the major issues was land rights. In 1903 the Herero learned of a plan to divide their territory with a railway line and to set up reservations where they would be concentrated.

 

The Herero had already ceded more than a quarter of their 130,000 km2 (50,000 sq mi) territory to German colonists by 1903,  before the Otavi railway line running from the African coast to inland German settlements was completed.

 

Completion of this line would have made the German colonies much more accessible, and would have ushered in a new wave of Europeans into the area.

 

Historian Horst Drechsler states that there was discussion of establishing and placing the Herero in native reserves, and that this was further proof of the German colonists' sense of ownership over the land.

 

Drechsler illustrates the gap between the rights of a European and an African; the Reichskolonialbund (German Colonial League) held that, in regards to legal matters, the testimony of seven Africans was equivalent to that of one colonist.

 

(b) Racial Tensions

 

There were also racial tensions underlying these developments; the average German colonist viewed native Africans as a lowly source of cheap labour, and others welcomed their extermination.  The German settlers often referred to black Africans as "baboons" and treated them with contempt.

 

One missionary reported:

 

"The real cause of the bitterness among the Hereros

toward the Germans is without question the fact that

the average German looks down upon the natives as

being about on the same level as the higher primates

('baboon' being their favourite term for the natives),

and treat them like animals.

The settler holds that the native has a right to exist only

in so far as he is useful to the white man. This sense of

contempt led the settlers to commit violence against

the Hereros."

 

The contempt manifested itself particularly in the concubinage of native women. In a practice referred to in Südwesterdeutsch as Verkafferung, native women were taken by male European traders and ranchers both willingly and by force.

 

(c) Debt Collection

 

A new policy on debt collection, enforced in November 1903, also played a role in the uprising. For many years, the Herero population had fallen in the habit of borrowing money from colonist moneylenders at extremely high interest rates.

 

For a long time, much of this debt went uncollected, and it accumulated, as most Herero had no means to pay. In order to correct this growing problem, Governor Leutwein decreed with good intentions that all debts not paid within the following year would be voided.

 

In the absence of hard cash, traders often seized cattle, or whatever objects of value they could get their hands on, as collateral. This fostered a feeling of resentment towards the Germans on the part of the Herero people. Resentment escalated to hopelessness when they saw that German officials were sympathetic to the moneylenders who were about to lose what they were owed.

 

Revolts

 

In 1903, the Hereros saw an opportunity to revolt. At that time, there was a distant Khoisan tribe in the south called the Bondelzwarts, who resisted German demands to register their guns. The Bondelzwarts engaged in a firefight with the German authorities which led to three Germans being killed and a fourth wounded.

 

The situation deteriorated further, and the governor of the Herero colony, Major Theodor Leutwein, went south to take personal command, leaving almost no troops in the north.

 

The Herero revolted in early 1904, killing between 123 and 150 German settlers, as well as seven Boers and three women, in what Nils Ole Oermann calls a "desperate surprise attack".

 

The timing of their attack was carefully planned. After successfully asking a large Herero clan to surrender their weapons, Governor Leutwein was convinced that they and the rest of the native population were essentially pacified, and so withdrew half of the German troops stationed in the colony.

 

Led by Chief Samuel Maherero, the Herero surrounded Okahandja and cut railroad and telegraph links to Windhoek, the colonial capital.

 

Maharero then issued a manifesto in which he forbade his troops to kill any Englishmen, Boers, uninvolved peoples, women and children in general, or German missionaries. 

 

The Herero revolts catalysed a separate revolt and attack on Fort Namutoni in the north of the country a few weeks later by the Ondonga.

 

A Herero warrior interviewed by German authorities in 1895 had described his people's traditional way of dealing with suspected cattle rustlers, a treatment which, during the uprising, was regularly extended to German soldiers and civilians:

 

"We came across a few Khoisan whom of course

we killed. I myself helped to kill one of them.

-- First we cut off his ears, saying, 'You will never

hear Herero cattle lowing.'

-- Then we cut off his nose, saying, 'Never again

shall you smell Herero cattle.'

-- And then we cut off his lips, saying, 'You shall

never again taste Herero cattle.'

And finally we cut his throat."

 

According to Robert Gaudi:

 

"Leutwein knew that the wrath of the German Empire

was about to fall on them and hoped to soften the

blow. He sent desperate messages to Chief Samuel

Maherero in hopes of negotiating an end to the war.

In this, Leutwein acted on his own, heedless of the

prevailing mood in Germany, which called for bloody

revenge."

 

The Hereros, however, were emboldened by their success and had come to believe that the Germans were too cowardly to fight in the open. They rejected Leutwein's offers of peace.

 

One missionary wrote:

 

"The Germans are filled with fearful hate. I must really

call it a blood thirst against the Hereros. One hears

nothing but talk of 'cleaning up,' 'executing,' 'shooting

down to the last man,' 'no pardon,' etc."

 

According to Robert Gaudi:

 

"The Germans suffered more than defeat in the early

months of 1904; they suffered humiliation, their brilliant

modern army unable to defeat a rabble of 'half-naked

savages.'

Cries in the Reichstag, and from the Kaiser himself, for

total eradication of the Hereros grew strident. When a

leading member of the Social Democratic Party pointed

out that the Hereros were as human as any German and

possessed immortal souls, he was howled down by the

entire conservative side of the legislature."

 

Leutwein was forced to request reinforcements and an experienced officer from the German government in Berlin. Lieutenant-General Lothar von Trotha was appointed commander-in-chief (German: Oberbefehlshaber) of South West Africa, arriving with an expeditionary force of 10,000 troops on the 11th. June 1904.

 

Leutwein was subordinate to the civilian Colonial Department of the Prussian Foreign Office, which was supported by Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow, while General Trotha reported to the military German General Staff, which was supported by Emperor Wilhelm II.

 

Leutwein wanted to defeat the most determined Herero rebels and negotiate a surrender with the remainder in order to achieve a political settlement.  Trotha, however, planned to crush the native resistance through military force. He stated that:

 

"My intimate knowledge of many central African

nations (Bantu and others) has everywhere

convinced me of the necessity that the Negro

does not respect treaties, but only brute force."

 

By late spring of 1904, German troops were pouring into the colony. In August 1904, the main Herero forces were surrounded and crushed at the Battle of Waterberg. 

 

Genocide

 

In 1900, Kaiser Wilhelm II had been enraged by the killing of Baron Clemens von Ketteler, the Imperial German minister plenipotentiary in Beijing, during the Boxer Rebellion. The Kaiser took it as a personal insult from a people he viewed as racially inferior, all the more because of his obsession with the "Yellow Peril".

 

On the 27th. July 1900, the Kaiser gave the infamous Hunnenrede (Hun speech) in Bremerhaven to German soldiers being sent to Imperial China, ordering them to show the Boxers no mercy, and to behave like Attila's Huns.

 

General von Trotha had served in China, and was chosen in 1904 to command the expedition to German South West Africa precisely because of his record in China.

 

In 1904, the Kaiser was made furious by the latest revolt in his colonial empire by a people whom he also viewed as inferior, and took the Herero rebellion as a personal insult, just as he had viewed the Boxers' assassination of Baron von Ketteler.

 

The tactless and bloodthirsty language that Wilhelm II used about the Herero people in 1904 is strikingly similar to the language he had used about the Chinese Boxers in 1900. Nevertheless, the Kaiser denied, together with Chancellor von Bülow, von Trotha's request to quickly quell the rebellion.

 

No written order by Wilhelm II ordering or authorising genocide has survived. In February 1945 an Allied bombing raid destroyed the building housing all of the documents of the Prussian Army from the Imperial period.

 

Despite this fact, surviving documents indicate that Trotha used the same tactics in Namibia that he had used in China, only on a much vaster scale. It is also known that throughout the genocide, Trotha sent regular reports to both the General Staff and to the Kaiser.

 

Historian Jeremy-Sarkin Hughes believes that regardless of whether or not a written order was given, the Kaiser must have given General von Trotha verbal orders. According to Hughes, the fact that Trotha was decorated and not court-martialed after the genocide had become public knowledge lends support to the thesis that he was acting under orders.

 

General von Trotha stated his proposed solution to end the resistance of the Herero people in a letter, before the Battle of Waterberg:

 

"I believe that the nation as such should be annihilated,

or, if this is not possible by tactical measures, have to be

expelled from the country. This will be possible if the water-

holes from Grootfontein to Gobabis are occupied.

The constant movement of our troops will enable us to

find the small groups of this nation who have moved

backwards, and destroy them gradually."

 

Trotha's troops defeated 3,000–5,000 Herero combatants at the Battle of Waterberg on 11th. and 12th. August 1904, but were unable to encircle and annihilate the retreating survivors. 

 

The pursuing German forces prevented groups of Herero from breaking from the main body of the fleeing force, and pushed them further into the desert. As exhausted Herero fell to the ground, unable to go on, German soldiers killed men, women, and children. Jan Cloete, acting as a guide for the Germans, witnessed the atrocities committed by the German troops, and deposed the following statement: 

 

"I was present when the Herero were defeated in a

battle in the vicinity of Waterberg. After the battle all

men, women, and children who fell into German hands,

wounded or otherwise, were mercilessly put to death.

Then the Germans set off in pursuit of the rest, and all

those found by the wayside and in the sandveld were

shot down and bayoneted to death.

The mass of the Herero men were unarmed and thus

unable to offer resistance. They were just trying to get

away with their cattle."

 

A portion of the Herero escaped the Germans and went to the Omaheke Desert, hoping to reach British Bechuanaland; fewer than 1,000 Herero managed to get there, where they were granted asylum by the British authorities.

 

To prevent them from returning, Trotha ordered the desert to be sealed off. German patrols later found skeletons around holes 13 m (43 ft) deep that had been dug in a vain attempt to find water. Some sources also state that the German colonial army systematically poisoned desert water wells.

 

Maherero and 500–1,500 men crossed the Kalahari into Bechuanaland where he was accepted as a vassal of the Batswana chief Sekgoma.

 

On the 2nd. October 1904, Trotha issued a warning to the Herero:

 

"I, the great general of the German soldiers, send this

letter to the Herero. The Herero are German subjects

no longer. They have killed, stolen, cut off the ears

and other parts of the body of wounded soldiers, and

now are too cowardly to want to fight any longer.

I announce to the people that whoever hands me one

of the chiefs shall receive 1,000 marks, and 5,000

marks for Samuel Maherero.

The Herero nation must now leave the country. If it

refuses, I shall compel it to do so with the 'long tube'

[cannon].

Any Herero found inside the German frontier, with or

without a gun or cattle, will be executed. I shall spare

neither women nor children. I shall give the order to

drive them away and fire on them. Such are my words

to the Herero people."

 

Trotha further gave orders that:

 

"This proclamation is to be read to the troops at roll-call,

with the addition that the unit that catches a captain will

also receive the appropriate reward, and that the shooting

at women and children is to be understood as shooting

above their heads, so as to force them to run away.

I assume absolutely that this proclamation will result in

taking no more male prisoners, but will not degenerate

into atrocities against women and children. The latter will

run away if one shoots at them a couple of times. The

troops will remain conscious of the good reputation of

the German soldier." 

 

Trotha gave orders that captured Herero males were to be executed, while women and children were to be driven into the desert where their death from starvation and thirst was to be certain.

 

Trotha argued that there was no need to make exceptions for Herero women and children, since these would "infect German troops with their diseases."

 

Trotha explained that:

 

"The insurrection is and remains

the beginning of a racial struggle."

 

After the war, Trotha argued that his orders were necessary, writing in 1909 that:

 

"If I had made the small water holes accessible

to the womenfolk, I would run the risk of an African

catastrophe comparable to the Battle of Beresonia." 

 

The German general staff were aware of the atrocities that were taking place; its official publication, named Der Kampf, noted that:

 

"This bold enterprise shows up in the most brilliant

light the ruthless energy of the German command

in pursuing their beaten enemy.

No pains, no sacrifices were spared in eliminating

the last remnants of enemy resistance. Like a

wounded beast the enemy was tracked down from

one water-hole to the next, until finally he became

the victim of his own environment.

The arid Omaheke Desert was to complete what

the German army had begun: the extermination of

the Herero nation."

 

Alfred von Schlieffen (Chief of the Imperial German General Staff and architect of the Great War Schlieffen Plan) approved of Trotha's intentions in terms of a "racial struggle" and the need to wipe out the entire nation or to drive them out of the country, but had doubts about his strategy, preferring their surrender.

 

Governor Leutwein, later relieved of his duties, complained to Chancellor von Bülow about Trotha's actions, seeing the general's orders as intruding upon the civilian colonial jurisdiction, and ruining any chance of a political settlement. 

 

According to Professor Mahmood Mamdani of Columbia University, opposition to the policy of annihilation was largely due to the fact that colonial officials looked at the Herero people as a potential source of labour, and thus economically important.  For instance, Governor Leutwein wrote that:

 

"I do not concur with those fanatics who want to

see the Herero destroyed altogether. I would

consider such a move a grave mistake from an

economic point of view. We need the Herero as

cattle breeders, and especially as labourers.

 

Having no authority over the military, Chancellor Bülow could only advise Emperor Wilhelm II that:

 

"Trotha's actions are contrary to Christian and

humanitarian principle, economically devastating

and damaging to Germany's international

reputation". 

 

Upon the arrival of new orders at the end of 1904, prisoners were herded into labor camps, where they were given to private companies as slave labourers, or exploited as human guinea pigs in medical experiments.

 

Concentration Camps

 

Survivors of the massacre, the majority of whom were women and children, were eventually put in places like Shark Island concentration camp, where the German authorities forced them to work as slave labour for the German military and settlers.

 

All prisoners were categorised into groups fit and unfit for work, and pre-printed death certificates indicating "death by exhaustion following privation" were issued. The British government published their well-known account of the German genocide of the Nama and Herero peoples in 1918.

 

Many Herero and Nama died of disease, exhaustion, starvation and malnutrition. Estimates of the mortality rate at the camps are between 45% and 74%.

 

Food in the camps was extremely scarce, consisting of rice with no additions.  As the prisoners lacked pots and the rice they received was uncooked, it was indigestible. Horses and oxen that died in the camp were later distributed to the inmates as food. 

 

Dysentery and lung diseases were common.  Despite the living conditions, the prisoners were taken outside the camp every day for labour under harsh treatment by the German guards, while the sick were left without any medical assistance or nursing care.  Many Herero and Nama were worked to death.

 

Shootings, hangings, beatings, and other harsh treatment of the forced labourers (including use of sjamboks) were common. A sjambok is a long, stiff whip, originally made from rhinoceros hide.

 

A 28th. September 1905 article in the South African newspaper Cape Argus detailed some of the abuse with the heading:

 

"In German S. W. Africa: Further Startling

Allegations: Horrible Cruelty".

 

In an interview with Percival Griffith, "an accountant of profession, who owing to hard times, took up on transport work at Angra Pequena, Lüderitz", related his experiences:

 

"There are hundreds of them, mostly women and

children and a few old men. When they fall they are

sjamboked by the soldiers in charge of the gang,

with full force, until they get up.

On one occasion I saw a woman carrying a child

of under a year old slung at her back, and with a

heavy sack of grain on her head - she fell.

The corporal sjamboked her for certainly more

than four minutes and sjamboked the baby as well.

The woman struggled slowly to her feet, and went

on with her load.

She did not utter a sound the whole time, but the

baby cried very hard."

 

During the war, a number of people from the Cape (in modern-day South Africa) sought employment as transport riders for German troops in Namibia. Upon their return to the Cape, some of these people recounted their stories, including those of the imprisonment and genocide of the Herero and Nama people. Fred Cornell, an aspiring British diamond prospector, was in Lüderitz when the Shark Island concentration camp was being used. Cornell wrote of the camp:

 

"Cold – for the nights are often bitterly cold there –

hunger, thirst, exposure, disease and madness

claimed scores of victims every day, and cartloads

of their bodies were every day carted over to the

back beach, buried in a few inches of sand at low

tide, and as the tide came in the bodies went out,

food for the sharks."

 

Shark Island was the worst of the German South West African camps. Lüderitz lies in southern Namibia, flanked by desert and ocean. In the harbour lies Shark Island, which then was connected to the mainland by only a small causeway.

 

The island is now, as it was then, barren and characterised by solid rock carved into surreal formations by the ocean winds. The camp was placed on the far end of the relatively small island, where the prisoners would have suffered complete exposure to the strong winds that sweep Lüderitz for most of the year.

 

German Commander Ludwig von Estorff wrote in a report that approximately 1,700 prisoners (including 1,203 Nama) had died by April 1907.

 

In December 1906, four months after their arrival, 291 Nama died (a rate of more than nine people per day). Missionary reports put the death rate at 12–18 per day; as many as 80% of the prisoners sent to Shark Island eventually died there.

 

There are accusations of Herero women being coerced into sex slavery as a means of survival.

 

Trotha was opposed to contact between natives and settlers, believing that the insurrection was "the beginning of a racial struggle," and fearing that the colonists would be infected by native diseases. 

 

Benjamin Madley has concluded that although Shark Island is referred to as a concentration camp, it in fact functioned as an extermination camp or death camp.

 

Medical Experiments and Scientific Racism

 

Prisoners were used for medical experiments, and their illnesses or their recoveries from them were used for research.

 

Experiments on live prisoners were performed by Dr. Bofinger, who injected Herero who were suffering from scurvy with various substances including arsenic and opium; afterwards he researched the effects of these substances via autopsy.

 

Experimentation with the dead body parts of the prisoners was rife. Zoologist Leonhard Schultze (1872–1955) noted taking "body parts from fresh native corpses" which according to him, was "a welcome addition." He also noted that he could use prisoners for that purpose.

 

An estimated 300 skulls were sent to Germany for experimentation, in part from concentration camp prisoners. In October 2011, after three years of talks, the first 20 of an estimated 300 skulls stored in the museum of the Charité were returned to Namibia for burial. In 2014, 14 additional skulls were repatriated by the University of Freiburg.

 

The Number of Victims

 

A census conducted in 1905 revealed that 25,000 Herero remained in German South West Africa.

 

According to the Whitaker Report, the population of 80,000 Herero had been reduced to 15,000 "starving refugees" by 1907. In 'Colonial Genocide and Reparations Claims in the 21st. Century: The Socio-Legal Context of Claims under International Law by the Herero against Germany for Genocide in Namibia' by Jeremy Sarkin-Hughes, the number of 100,000 victims is given. Up to 80% of the indigenous population were killed.

 

A political cartoon on German South West Africa was run in 1906 with the following caption:

 

"Even if it hasn't brought in much profit and

there are no better quality goods on offer,

at least we can use it to set up a bone-

grinding plant."

 

Newspapers in 2004 reported 65,000 victims when announcing that Germany officially recognized the genocide.

 

Aftermath of the Genocide

 

With the closure of the concentration camps, all surviving Herero were distributed as labourers for settlers in the German colony. From that time on, all Herero over the age of seven were forced to wear a metal disc with their labour registration number. They were also banned from owning land or cattle, a necessity for pastoral society. 

 

About 19,000 German troops were engaged in the conflict, of which 3,000 saw combat. The rest were used for upkeep and administration.

 

The German losses were 676 soldiers killed in combat, 76 missing, and 689 dead from disease.  The Reiterdenkmal (English: Equestrian Monument) in Windhoek was erected in 1912 to celebrate the victory and to remember the fallen German soldiers and civilians. Until after Independence, no monument was built to the killed indigenous population. It remains a bone of contention in independent Namibia.

 

The campaign cost Germany 600 million marks. The normal annual subsidy to the colony was 14.5 million marks. In 1908, diamonds were discovered in the territory, and this did much to boost its prosperity, though it was short-lived. 

 

In 1915, during the Great War, the German colony was taken over and occupied by the Union of South Africa, which was victorious in the South West Africa campaign. South Africa received a League of Nations mandate over South West Africa on the 17th. December 1920.

 

Link Between the Herero Genocide and the Holocaust

 

The Herero genocide has commanded the attention of historians who study issues of continuity between the Herero genocide and The Holocaust of WWII. It is argued that the Herero genocide set a precedent in Imperial Germany that would later be followed by Nazi Germany's establishment of death camps.

 

According to Benjamin Madley, the German experience in South West Africa was a crucial precursor to Nazi colonialism and genocide. He argues that personal connections, literature, and public debates served as conduits for communicating colonialist and genocidal ideas and methods from the colony to Germany.

 

Tony Barta, a research associate at La Trobe University, argues that the Herero genocide was an inspiration for Hitler in his war against the Jews, Slavs, Romani, and others whom he described as "non-Aryans".

 

According to Clarence Lusane, Eugen Fischer's medical experiments can be seen as a testing ground for medical procedures which were later followed during the Nazi Holocaust.

 

Fischer later became chancellor of the University of Berlin, where he taught medicine to Nazi physicians. Otmar von Verschuer was a student of Fischer; Verschuer himself had a prominent pupil, Josef Mengele.

 

Franz Ritter von Epp, who was later responsible for the liquidation of virtually all Bavarian Jews and Roma as governor of Bavaria, took part in the Herero and Nama genocide.

 

Mahmood Mamdani argues that the links between the Herero genocide and the Holocaust are beyond the execution of an annihilation policy and the establishment of concentration camps as there are also ideological similarities in the conduct of both genocides. He focuses on a written statement by General Trotha:

 

"I destroy the African tribes with streams

of blood. Only following this cleansing can

something new emerge, which will remain." 

 

Mamdani takes note of the similarity between the aims of the General and of the Nazis. According to Mamdani, in both cases there was a Social Darwinist notion of "cleansing", after which "something new" would "emerge". 

 

Reconciliation

 

In 1985, the United Nations' Whitaker Report classified the massacres as an attempt to exterminate the Herero and Nama peoples of South West Africa, and therefore one of the earliest cases of genocide in the 20th. century.

 

In 1998, German President Roman Herzog visited Namibia and met Herero leaders. Chief Munjuku Nguvauva demanded a public apology and compensation. Herzog expressed regret but stopped short of an apology. He pointed out that international law requiring reparation did not exist in 1907, but he undertook to take the Herero petition back to the German government.

 

On the 16th. August 2004, on the 100th, anniversary of the start of the genocide, a member of the German government, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, Germany's Federal Minister for Economic Development and Cooperation, officially apologised and expressed grief about the genocide, declaring in a speech that:

 

"We Germans accept our historical and

moral responsibility and the guilt incurred

by Germans at that time.

 

She ruled out paying special compensation, but promised continued economic aid for Namibia which in 2004 amounted to $14M a year. This amount has been significantly increased since then, with the budget for the years 2016–17 allocating a sum total of €138M in monetary support payments.

 

The Trotha family travelled to Omaruru in October 2007 by invitation of the royal Herero chiefs and publicly apologised for the actions of their relative. Wolf-Thilo von Trotha said,

 

"We, the von Trotha family, are deeply ashamed

of the terrible events that took place 100 years

ago. Human rights were grossly abused that time."

 

Negotiations and Agreement

 

The Herero filed a lawsuit in the United States in 2001 demanding reparations from the German government and Deutsche Bank, which financed the German government and companies in Southern Africa.

 

With a complaint filed with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in January 2017, descendants of the Herero and Nama people sued Germany for damages in the United States. The plaintiffs sued under the Alien Tort Statute, a 1789 U.S. law often invoked in human rights cases. Their proposed class-action lawsuit sought unspecified sums for thousands of descendants of the victims, for the "incalculable damages" that were caused.

 

Germany seeks to rely on its state immunity as implemented in US law as the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, arguing that, as a sovereign nation, it cannot be sued in US courts in relation to its acts outside the United States. In March 2019, the judge dismissed the claims due to the exceptions to sovereign immunity being too narrow for the case.

 

In September 2020, the Second Circuit stated that the claimants did not prove that money used to buy property in New York could be traced back to wealth resulting from the seized property, and therefore the lawsuit could not overcome Germany's immunity. In June 2021, the Supreme Court declined to hear a petition to revive the case.

 

Germany, while admitting brutality in Namibia, at first refused to call it a "genocide", claiming that the term only became international law in 1945.

 

However, in July 2015, then foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier issued a political guideline stating that the massacre should be referred to as a "war crime and a genocide". Bundestag president Norbert Lammert wrote an article in Die Zeit that same month referring to the events as a genocide. These events paved the way for negotiations with Namibia.

 

In 2015, the German government began negotiations with Namibia over a possible apology, and by 2016, Germany committed itself to apologizing for the genocide, as well as to refer to the event as a genocide; but the actual declaration was postponed while negotiations stalled over questions of compensation.

 

On the 11th. August 2020, following negotiations over a potential compensation agreement between Germany and Namibia, President Hage Geingob of Namibia stated that the German government's offer was "not acceptable", while German envoy Ruprecht Polenz said:

 

"I am still optimistic that a

solution can be found."

 

On the 28th. May 2021, the German government announced that it was formally recognizing the atrocities committed as a genocide, following five years of negotiations. The declaration was made by foreign minister Heiko Maas, who also stated that Germany was asking Namibia and the descendants of the genocide victims for forgiveness.

 

In addition to recognizing the events as a genocide, Germany agreed to give as a "gesture of recognition of the immeasurable suffering" €1.1 billion in aid to the communities impacted by the genocide.

 

Following the announcement, the agreement needs to be ratified by both countries' parliaments, after which Germany will send its president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, to officially apologize for the genocide. The nations agreed not to use the term "reparation" to describe the financial aid package.

 

The agreement was criticized by the chairman of the Namibian Genocide Association, Laidlaw Peringanda, who insisted that Germany should purchase their ancestral lands back from the descendants of the German settlers and return it to the Herero and Nama people.

 

The agreement was also criticized because negotiations were held solely between the German and Namibian governments, and did not include representatives of the Herero and Nama people.

 

Repatriation of the Skulls

 

Peter Katjavivi, a former Namibian ambassador to Germany, demanded in August 2008 that the skulls of Herero and Nama prisoners of the 1904–1908 uprising, which were taken to Germany for scientific research to claim the superiority of white Europeans over Africans, be returned to Namibia.

 

Katjavivi was reacting to a German television documentary which reported that its investigators had found more than 40 of these skulls at two German universities, among them probably the skull of a Nama chief who had died on Shark Island.

 

In September 2011 the skulls were returned to Namibia. In August 2018, Germany returned all of the remaining skulls and other human remains which were examined in Germany to scientifically promote white supremacy. This was the third such transfer, and shortly before it occurred, German Protestant bishop Petra Bosse-Huber stated:

 

"Today, we want to do what should have been

done many years ago – to give back to their

descendants the remains of people who

became victims of the first genocide of the

20th. century."

 

As part of the repatriation process, the German government announced on the 17th. May 2019 that it would return a stone symbol it took from Namibia in the 1900's.

 

The Genocide in the Media

 

-- A BBC documentary, 'Namibia – Genocide and the Second Reich' (2005), explores the Herero and Nama genocide and the circumstances surrounding it.

 

-- In the documentary '100 Years of Silence', filmmakers Halfdan Muurholm and Casper Erichsen portray a 23-year-old Herero woman, whose great-grandmother was raped by a German soldier. The documentary explores the past and the way Namibia deals with it now.

 

-- Mama Namibia, a historical novel by Mari Serebrov, provides two perspectives of the 1904 genocide in German South West Africa. The first is that of Jahohora, a 12-year-old Herero girl who survives on her own in the veld for two years after her family is killed by German soldiers. The second story is that of Kov, a Jewish doctor who volunteered to serve in the German military to prove his patriotism. As he witnesses the atrocities of the genocide, he rethinks his loyalty to the Fatherland.

 

-- Thomas Pynchon's novel 'V'. (1963) has a chapter that included recollections of the genocide; there are memories of events that took place in 1904 in various locations, including the Shark Island concentration camp.

 

-- Jackie Sibblies Drury's play, 'We Are Proud To Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia Between the Years 1884–1915', is about a group of actors developing a play about the Herero and Nama genocide.

 

Groupe, marbre jardin des Tuileries Paris

  

Minotaur

Pasiphae, wife of King Minos of Crete, had several children before the minotaur. The eldest of these, Androgeus, set sail for Athens to take part in the Pan-Athenian games which were held there every five years. Being strong and skillful, he did very well, winning some events outright. He soon became a crowd favourite, much to the resentment of the Pallantides, sons of Pallas and nephews of King Aegeus, who were then living at the royal court in the sanctuary of Delphic Apollo,[9] and they assassinated him, incurring the wrath of Minos.

 

When King Minos had heard of what befell his son, he ordered the Cretan fleet to set sail for Athens. Minos asked Aegeus for his son's assassins, and if they were to be handed to him, the town would be spared. However, not knowing who they were, King Aegeus surrendered the whole town to Minos' mercy. His retribution was that, at the end of every Great Year (seven solar years), the seven most courageous youths and the seven most beautiful maidens were to board a boat and sent as tribute to Crete, never to be seen again.

 

In another version, King Minos of Crete had waged war with the Athenians and was successful. He then demanded that, at nine-year intervals, seven Athenian boys and seven Athenian girls were to be sent to Crete to be devoured by the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull monster that lived in the Labyrinth created by Daedalus.

 

On the third occasion, Theseus volunteered to slay the monster. He took the place of one of the youths and set off with a black sail, promising to his father, Aegeus, that if successful he would return with a white sail.[10] Like the others, Theseus was stripped of his weapons when they sailed. On his arrival in Crete, Ariadne, King Minos' daughter, fell in love with Theseus and gave him a ball of string. This was so he could find his way out of the Labyrinth.[11] That night, Ariadne escorted Theseus to the Labyrinth, and Theseus promised that if he returned from the Labyrinth he would take Ariadne with him. As soon as Theseus entered the Labyrinth, he tied one end of the ball of string to the door post and brandished his sword which he had kept hidden from the guards inside his tunic. Theseus followed Daedalus' instructions given to Ariadne; go forwards, always down and never left or right. Theseus came to the heart of the Labyrinth and also upon the sleeping Minotaur. The beast awoke and a tremendous fight then occurred. Theseus overpowered the Minotaur with his strength and used his sword to stab the beast in the throat.

 

After decapitating the beast, Theseus used the string to escape the Labyrinth and managed to escape with all of the young Athenians and Ariadne as well as her younger sister Phaidra. On the return journey Theseus abandoned Ariadne on the island of Naxos. In other versions of the story, the god Dionysus appeared to Theseus and told him that he had already chosen Ariadne for his bride, and to abandon her on Naxos, a favorite island. Ariadne then cursed Theseus to forget to change the black sail to white. Seeing a black sail, Theseus' father Aegeus committed suicide by throwing himself into the sea (hence named Aegean). Theseus and the other Athenian youths returned safely. Theseus returned safely back as a king of heroes.

  

Nearly halfway through the month, and it's the weekend again, and the the good news is that the sore throat I had on Friday went and did not return.

 

Which is nice.

 

Jools's cough, however, which seemed like it was getting better, returned slightly on Friday evening, and would again on Saturday. We had tockets to see Public Service Bradcasting again, this time in Margate, but our hearts were not in it, if I'm honest, and in the end we decided not to go in light of her coughing, but also as I said, we saw them a month back, though this would be a different show.

 

And Norwich were on the tellybox, what could be better than watching that?

 

Anything, as it turned out.

 

But that was for later.

 

We went to Tesco, a little later than usual, as we had slept in rather, then back home for breakfast before the decision on what to do for the day. Jools decided to stay home to bead and read, I would go out.

 

There are three churches near to home that I feel I needed to revisit, St Margaret's itself I should be able to get the key from the village shop at any time, but St Mary in Dover hasn't been open the last few times I have been in town, and Barfrestone was closed most of the year due to vandalism.

 

But Saturday morning there is usually a coffee morning in St Mary, so I went down armed with camera and lenses to take more shots of the details, especially of the windows.

 

There was a small group with the Vicar, talking in one of the chapels, so I made busy getting my shots, just happy that the church was open. I left a fiver with the vicar, and walked back to the car, passing the old guy supping from a tin of cider sitting outside the church hall.

 

-------------------------------------------------

 

In the heart of the town with a prominent twelfth-century tower. From the outside it is obvious that much work was carried out in the nineteenth century. The church has major connections with the Lord Wardens of the Cinque Ports and is much used for ceremonial services. The western bays of the nave with their low semi-circular arches are contemporary with the tower, while the pointed arches to the east are entirely nineteenth century. The scale and choice of stone is entirely wrong, although the carving is very well done. However the east end, with its tall narrow lancet windows, is not so successful. The Royal Arms, of the reign of William and Mary, are of carved and painted wood, with a French motto - Jay Maintendray - instead of the more usual Dieu et Mon Droit. The church was badly damaged in the Second World War, but one of the survivors was the typical Norman font of square Purbeck marble construction. One of the more recent additions to the church is the Herald of Free Enterprise memorial window of 1989 designed by Frederick Cole.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Dover+1

 

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THE TOWN AND PORT OF DOVER.

DOVER lies at the eastern extremity of Kent, adjoining to the sea, the great high London road towards France ending at it. It lies adjoining to the parish of Charlton last-described, eastward, in the lath of St. Augustine and eastern division of the county. It is within the liberty of the cinque ports, and the juristion of the corporation of the town and port of Dover.

 

DOVER, written in the Latin Itinerary of Antonine, Dubris. By the Saxons, Dorsa, and Dofris. By later historians, Doveria; and in the book of Domesday, Dovere; took its name most probably from the British words, Dufir, signifying water, or Dusirrha, high and steep, alluding to the cliffs adjoining to it. (fn. 1)

 

It is situated at the extremity of a wide and spacious valley, inclosed on each side by high and steep hills or cliffs, and making allowance for the sea's withdrawing itself from between them, answers well to the description given of it by Julius Cæfar in his Commentaries.

 

In the middle space, between this chain of high cliffs, in a break or opening, lies the town of Dover and its harbour, which latter, before the sea was shut out, so late as the Norman conquest, was situated much more within the land than it is at present, as will be further noticed hereafter.

 

ON THE SUMMIT of one of these cliffs, of sudden and stupendous height, close on the north side of the town and harbour, stands DOVER CASTLE, so famous and renowned in all the histories of former times. It is situated so exceeding high, that it is at most times plainly to be seen from the lowest lands on the coast of France, and as far beyond as the eye can discern. Its size, for it contains within it thirty five acres of ground, six of which are taken up by the antient buildings, gives it the appearance of a small city, having its citadel conspicuous in the midst of it, with extensive fortifications, around its walls. The hill, or rather rock, on which it stands, is ragged and steep towards the town and harbour; but towards the sea, it is a perpendicular precipice of a wonderful height, being more than three hundred and twenty feet high, from its basis on the shore.

 

Common tradition supposes, that Julius Cæfar was the builder of this castle, as well as others in this part of Britain, but surely without a probability of truth; for our brave countrymen found Cæfar sufficient employment of a far different sort, during his short stay in Britain, to give him any opportunity of erecting even this one fortress. Kilburne says, there was a tower here, called Cæsar's tower, afterwards the king's lodgings; but these, now called the king's keep, were built by king Henry II. as will be further mentioned hereafter; and he further says, there were to be seen here great pipes and casks bound with iron hoops, in which was liquor supposed to be wine, which by long lying had become as thick as treacle, and would cleave like birdlime; salt congealed together as hard as stone; cross and long bows and arrows, to which brass was fastened instead of feathers, and they were of such size, as not to be fit for the use of men of that or any late ages. These, Lambarde says, the inhabitants shewed as having belonged to Cæfar, and the wine and salt as part of the provision he had brought with him hither; and Camden relates, that he was shewn these arrows, which he thinks were such as the Romans used to shoot out of their engines, which were like to large crossbows. These last might, no doubt, though not Cæsar's, belong to the Romans of a later time; and the former might, perhaps, be part of the provisions and stores which king Henry VIII. laid in here, at a time when he passed from hence over sea to France. But for many years past it has not been known what is become of any of these things.

 

Others, averse to Cæsar's having built this castle, and yet willing to give the building of it to the empire of the Romans of a later time, suppose, and that perhaps with some probability, it was first erected by Arviragus, (or Arivog, as he is called on his coin) king of Britain, in the time of Claudius, the Roman emperor. (fn. 2)

 

That there was one built here, during the continuance of the Roman empire in Britain, must be supposed from the necessity of it, and the circumstances of those times; and the existence of one plainly appears, from the remains of the tower and other parts of the antient church within it, and the octagon tower at the west end, in which are quantities of Roman brick and tile. These towers are evidently the remains of Roman work, the former of much less antiquity than the latter, which may be well supposed to have been built as early as the emperor Claudius, whose expedition hither was about or immediately subsequent to the year of Christ 44. Of these towers, probably the latter was built for a speculum, or watch-tower, and was used, not only to watch the approach of enemies, but with another on the opposite hill, to point out the safe entrance into this port between them, by night as well as by day.

 

In this fortress, the Romans seem afterwards to have kept a garrison of veterans, as we learn from Pancirollus, who tells us that a company of soldiers under their chief, called Præpositus Militum Tungricanorum, was stationed within this fortess.

 

Out of the remains of part of the above-mentioned Roman buildings here, a Christian church was erected, as most historians write, by Lucius, king of Britain, about the year 161; but it is much to be doubted whether there ever was such a king in Britain; if there was, he was only a tributary chief to the Roman emperor, under whose peculiar government Britain was then accounted. This church was built, no doubt, for the use of that part of the garrison in particular, who were at that time believers of the gospel, and afterwards during the different changes of the Christian and Pagan religions in these parts, was made use of accordingly, till St. Augustine, soon after the year 597, at the request of king Ethelbert, reconsecrated it, and dedicated it anew, in honour of the blessed Virgin Mary.

 

¶His son and successor Eadbald, king of Kent, founded a college of secular canons and a provost in this church, whose habitations, undoubtedly near it, there are not the least traces of. These continued here till after the year 691; when Widred, king of Kent, having increated the fortifications, and finding the residence of the religious within them an incumbrance, removed them from hence into the town of Dover, to the antient church of St. Martin; in the description of which hereafter, a further account of them will be given.

  

DOVER does not seem to have been in much repute as a harbour, till some time after Cæsar's expedition hither; for the unfitness, as well as insecurity of the place, especially for a large fleet of shipping, added to the character which he had given of it, deterred the Romans from making a frequent use of it, so that from Boleyne, or Gessoriacum, their usual port in Gaul, they in general failed with their fleets to Richborough, or Portus Rutupinus, situated at the mouth of the Thames, in Britain, and thence back again; the latter being a most safe and commodious haven, with a large and extensive bay.

 

Notwithstanding which, Dover certainly was then made use of as a port for smaller vessels, and a nearer intercourse for passengers from the continent; and to render the entrance to it more safe, the Romans built two Specula, or watch-towers, here, on the two hills opposite to each other, to point out the approach to it, and one likewise on the opposite hill at Bologne, for the like purpose there; and it is mentioned as a port by Antoninus, in his Itinerary, in which, ITER III. is A Londinio ad Portum Dubris, i. e. from London to the port of Dover.

 

After the departure of the Romans from Britain, when the port of Bologne, as well as Richborough, fell into decay and disuse, and instead of the former a nearer port came into use, first at Whitsan, and when that was stopped up, a little higher at Calais, Dover quickly became the more usual and established port of passage between France and Britain, and it has continued so to the present time.

 

When the antient harbour of Dover was changed from its antient situation is not known; most probably by various occurrences of nature, the sea left it by degrees, till at last the farmer scite of it became entirely swallowed up by the beach. That the harbour was much further within land, even at the time of the conquest than it is at present, seems to be confirmed by Domesday, in which it is said, that at the entrance of it, there was a mill which damaged almost every ship that passed by it, on account of the great swell of the sea there. Where the scite of this mill was, is now totally unknown, though it is probable it was much within the land, and that by the still further accumulation of the beach, and other natural causes, this haven was in process of time so far filled up towards the inland part of it, as to change its situation still more to the south-west, towards the sea.

 

From the time of the Norman conquest this port continued the usual passage to the continent, and to confine the intercourse to this port only, there was a statute passed anno 4 Edward IV. that none should take shipping for Calais, but at Dover. (fn. 20) But in king Henry VII.'s time, which was almost the next reign, the harbour was become so swerved up, as to render it necessary for the king's immediate attention, to prevent its total ruin, and he expended great sums of money for its preservation. But it was found, that all that was done, would not answer the end proposed, without the building of a pier to seaward, which was determined on about the middle of Henry VIII.'s reign, and one was constructed, which was compiled of two rows of main posts, and great piles, which were let into holes hewn in the rock underneath, and some were shod with iron, and driven down into the main chalk, and fastened together with iron bands and bolts. The bottom being first filled up with great rocks of stone, and the remainder above with great chalk stones, beach, &c. During the whole of this work, the king greatly encouraged the undertaking, and came several times to view it; and in the whole is said to have expended near 63,000l. on it. But his absence afterwards abroad, his ill health, and at last his death, joined to the minority of his successor, king Edward VI. though some feeble efforts were made in his reign, towards the support of this pier, put a stop to, and in the end exposed this noble work to decay and ruin.

 

Queen Mary, indeed, attempted to carry it on again, but neither officers nor workmen being well paid, it came to nothing, so that in process of time the sea having brought up great quantities of beach again upon it, the harbour was choaked up, and the loss of Calais happening about the same time, threatened the entire destruction of it. Providentially the shelf of beach was of itself became a natural defence against the rage of the sea, insomuch, that if a passage could be made for ships to get safely within it, they might ride there securely.

 

To effect this, several projects were formed, and queen Elizabeth, to encourage it, gave to the town the free transportation of several thousand quarters of corn and tuns of beer; and in the 23d of her reign, an act passed for giving towards the repair of the harbour, a certain tonnage from every vessel above twenty tons burthen, passing by it, which amounted to 1000l. yearly income; and the lord Cobham, then lordwarden, and others, were appointed commissioners for this purpose; and in the end, after many different trials to effect it, a safe harbour was formed, with a pier, and different walls and sluices, at a great expence; during the time of which a universal diligence and public spirit appeared in every one concerned in this great and useful work. During the whole of the queen's reign, the improvement of this harbour continued without intermission, and several more acts passed for that purpose; but the future preservation of it was owing to the charter of incorporation of the governors of it, in the first year of king James I. by an act passed that year, by the name of the warden and assistants of the harbour of Dover, the warden being always the lord-warden of the cinque ports for the time being, and his assistants, his lieutenant, and the mayor of Dover, for the time being, and eight others, the warden and assistants only making a quorum; six to be present to make a session; at any of which, on a vacancy, the assistants to be elected; and the king granted to them his land or waste ground, or beach, commonly called the Pier, or Harbour ground, as it lay without Southgate, or Snargate, the rents of which are now of the yearly value of about three hundred pounds.

 

Under the direction of this corporation, the works and improvements of this harbour have been carried on, and acts of parliament have been passed in almost every reign since, to give the greater force to their proceedings.

 

From what has been said before, the reader will observe, that this harbour has always been a great national object, and that in the course of many ages, prodigious sums of money have been from time to time expended on it, and every endeavour used to keep it open, and render it commodious; but after all these repeated endeavours and expences, it still labours under such circumstances, as in a very great degree renders unsuccessful all that has ever been done for that purpose.

 

DOVER, as has been already mentioned, was of some estimation in the time of the Roman empire in Britain, on account of its haven, and afterwards for the castle, in which they kept a strong garrison of sol. diers, not only to guard the approach to it, but to keep the natives in subjection; and in proof of their residence here, the Rev. Mr. Lyon some years since discovered the remains of a Roman structure, which he apprehended to have been a bath, at the west end of the parish-church of St. Mary, in this town, which remains have since repeatedly been laid open when interments have taken place there.

 

This station of the Romans is mentioned by Antonine, in his Itinerary of the Roman roads in Britain, by the name of Dubris, as being situated from the station named Durovernum, or Canterbury, fourteen miles; which distance, compared with the miles as they are now numbered from Canterbury, shews the town, as well as the haven, for they were no doubt contiguous to each other, to have both been nearer within land than either of them are at present, the present distance from Canterbury being near sixteen miles as the road now goes, The sea, indeed, seems antiently to have occupied in great part the space where the present town of Dover, or at least the northwest part of it, now stands; but being shut out by the quantity of beach thrown up, and the harbour changed by that means to its present situation, left that place a dry ground, on which the town of Dover, the inhabitants following the traffic of the harbour, was afterwards built.

 

This town, called by the Saxons, Dofra, and Dofris; by later historians, Doveria; and in Domesday, Dovere; is agreed by all writers to have been privileged before the conquest; and by the survey of Domesday, appears to have been of ability in the time of king Edward the Confessor, to arm yearly twenty vessels for sea service. In consideration of which, that king granted to the inhabitants, not only to be free from the payment of thol and other privileges throughout the realm, but pardoned them all manner of suit and service to any of his courts whatsoever; and in those days, the town seems to have been under the protection and government of Godwin, earl of Kent, and governor of this castle.

 

Soon after the conquest, this town was so wasted by fire, that almost all the houses were reduced to ashes, as appears by the survey of Domesday, at the beginning of which is the following entry of it:

 

DOVERE, in the time of king Edward, paid eighteen pounds, of which money, king E had two parts, and earl Goduin the third. On the other hand, the canons of St. Martin had another moiety. The burgesses gave twenty ships to the king once in the year, for fifteen days; and in each ship were twenty and one men. This they did on the account that he had pardoned them sac and soc. When the messengers of the king came there, they gave for the passage of a horse three pence in winter, and two in summer. But the burgesses found a steerman, and one other assistant, and if there should be more necessary, they were provided at his cost. From the festival of St. Michael to the feast of St. Andrew, the king's peace was in the town. Sigerius had broke it, on which the king's bailiff had received the usual fine. Whoever resided constantly in the town paid custom to the king; he was free from thol throughout England. All these customs were there when king William came into England. On his first arrival in England, the town itself was burnt, and therefore its value could not be computed how much it was worth, when the bishop of Baieux received it. Now it is rated at forty pounds, and yet the bailiff pays from thence fifty-four pounds to the king; of which twenty-four pounds in money, which were twenty in an one, but thirty pounds to the earl by tale.

 

In Dovere there are twenty-nine plats of ground, of which the king had lost the custom. Of these Robert de Romenel has two. Ralph de Curbespine three. William, son of Tedald, one. William, son of Oger, one. William, son of Tedold, and Robert niger, six. William, son of Goisfrid, three, in which the guildhall of the burgesses was. Hugo de Montfort one house. Durand one. Rannulf de Colubels one. Wadard six. The son of Modbert one. And all these vouch the bishop of Baieux as the protector and giver of these houses. Of that plat of ground, which Rannulf de Colubels holds, which was a certain outlaw, they agree that the half of the land was the king's, and Rannulf himself has both parts. Humphry the lame man holds one plat of ground, of which half the forfeiture is the king's. Roger de Ostrabam made a certain house over the king's water, and held to this time the custom of the king; nor was a house there in the time of king Edward. In the entrance of the port of Dovere, there is one mill, which damages almost every ship, by the great swell of the sea, and does great damage to the king and his tenants; and it was not there in the time of king Edward. Concerning this, the grandson of Herbert says, that the bishop of Baieux granted it to his uncle Herbert, the son of Ivo.

 

And a little further, in the same record, under the bishop's possessions likewise:

 

In Estrei hundred, Wibertus holds half a yoke, which lies in the gild of Dover, and now is taxed with the land of Osbert, the son of Letard, and is worth per annum four shillings.

 

From the Norman conquest, the cities and towns of this realm appear to have been vested either in the crown, or else in the clergy or great men of the laity, and they were each, as such, immediately lords of the same. Thus, when the bishop of Baieux, to whom the king had, as may be seen by the above survey, granted this town, was disgraced. It returned into the king's hands by forfeiture, and king Richard I. afterwards granted it in ferme to Robt. Fitz-bernard. (fn. 21)

 

After the time of the taking of the survey of Domesday, the harbour of Dover still changing its situation more to the south-westward, the town seems to have altered its situation too, and to have been chiefly rebuilt along the sides of the new harbour, and as an encouragement to it, at the instance, and through favour especially to the prior of Dover, king Edward I. in corporated this town, the first that was so of any of the cinque ports, by the name of the mayor and commonalty. The mayor to be chosen out of the latter, from which body he was afterwards to chuse the assistants for his year, who were to be sworn for that purpose. At which time, the king had a mint for the coinage of money here; and by patent, anno 27 of that reign, the table of the exchequer of money was appointed to be held here, and at Yarmouth. (fn. 22) But the good effects of these marks of the royal favour were soon afterwards much lessened, by a dreadful disaster; for the French landed here in the night, in the 23d year of that reign, and burnt the greatest part of the town, and several of the religious houses, in it, and this was esteemed the more treacherousk, as it was done whilst the two cardinals were here, treating for a peace between England and France; which misfortune, however, does not seem to have totally impoverished it, for in the 17th year of the next reign of king Edward II it appears in some measure to have recovered its former state, and to have been rebuilt, as appears by the patent rolls of that year, in which the town of Dover is said to have then had in it twenty-one wards, each of which was charged with one ship for the king's use; in consideration of which, each ward had the privilege of a licensed packetboat, called a passenger, from Dover across the sea to Whitsan, in France, the usual port at that time of embarking from thence.

 

The state of this place in the reign of Henry VIII. is given by Leland, in his Itinerary, as follows:

 

"Dovar ys xii myles fro Canterbury and viii fro Sandwich. Ther hath bene a haven yn tyme past and yn taken ther of the ground that lyith up betwyxt the hilles is yet in digging found wosye. Ther hath bene found also peeces of cabelles and anchores and Itinerarium Antonini cawlyth hyt by the name of a haven. The towne on the front toward the se hath bene right strongly walled and embateled and almost al the residew; but now yt is parly fawlen downe and broken downe. The residew of the towne as far as I can perceyve was never waulled. The towne is devided into vi paroches. Wherof iii be under one rose at S. Martines yn the hart of the town. The other iii stand that yt hath be walled abowt but not dyked. The other iii stand abrode, of the which one is cawled S. James of Rudby or more likely Rodeby a statione navium. But this word ys not sufficient to prove that Dovar showld be that place, the which the Romaynes cawlled Portus Rutupi or Rutupinum. For I cannot yet se the contrary but Retesboro otherwise cawlled Richeboro by Sandwich, both ways corruptly, must neades be Rutupinum. The mayne strong and famose castel of Dovar stondeth on the loppe of a hille almost a quarter of a myle of fro the towne on the lyst side and withyn the castel ys a chapel, yn the sides wherof appere sum greate Briton brykes. In the town was a great priory of blacke monkes late suppressed. There is also an hospitalle cawlled the Meason dew. On the toppe of the hye clive betwene the towne and the peere remayneth yet abowt a slyte shot up ynto the land fro the very brymme of the se clysse as ruine of a towr, the which has bene as a pharos or a mark to shyppes on the se and therby was a place of templarys. As concerning the river of Dovar it hath no long cowrse from no spring or hedde notable that descendith to that botom. The principal hed, as they say is at a place cawled Ewelle and that is not past a iii or iiii myles fro Dovar. Ther be springes of frech waters also at a place cawled Rivers. Ther is also a great spring at a place cawled …… and that once in a vi or vii yeres brasted owt so abundantly that a great part of the water cummeth into Dovar streme, but als yt renneth yn to the se betwyxt Dovar and Folchestan, but nerer to Folchestan that is to say withyn a ii myles of yt. Surely the hedde standeth so that it might with no no great cost be brought to run alway into Dovar streame." (fn. 23)

Cougate Crosse-gate Bocheruy-gate stoode with toures toward the se. There is beside Beting-gate and Westegate.

Howbeyt MTuine tol me a late that yt hath be walled abowt but not dyked.

 

This was the state of Dover just before the time of the dissolution of religious houses, in Henry VIII.'s reign, when the abolition of private masses, obits, and such like services in churches, occasioned by the reformation, annillilated the greatest part of the income of the priests belonging to them, in this as well as in other towns, in consequence of which most of them were deserted, and falling to ruin, the parishes belonging to them were united to one or two of the principal ones of them. Thus, in this town, of the several churches in it, two only remained in use for divine service, viz. St. Mary's and St. James's, to which the parishes of the others were united.

 

After this, the haven continuting to decay more than ever, notwithstanding the national assistance afforded to it, the town itself seemed hastening to impoverishment. What the state of it was in the 8th year of queen Elizabeth, may be seen, by the certificate returned by the queen's order of the maritime places, in her 8th year, by which it appears that there were then in Dover, houses inhabited three hundred and fifty-eight; void, or lack of inhabiters, nineteen; a mayor, customer, comptroller of authorities, not joint but several; ships and crayers twenty, from four tons to one hundred and twenty.

 

¶This probable ruin of the town, however, most likely induced the queen, in her 20th year, to grant it a new charter of incorporation, in which the manner of chusing mayor, jurats, and commoners, and of making freemen, was new-modelled, and several surther liberties and privileges granted, and those of the charter of king Edward I. confirmed likewise by inspeximus. After which, king Charles II. in his 36th year, anno 1684, granted to it a new charter, which, however, was never inrolled in chancery, and in consequence of a writ of quo warranto was that same year surrendered, and another again granted next year; but this last, as well as another charter granted by king James II. and forced on the corporation, being made wholly subservient to the king's own purposes, were annulled by proclamation, made anno 1688, being the fourth and last year of his reign: but none of the above charters being at this time extant, (the charters of this corporation, as well as those of the other cinque ports, being in 1685, by the king's command, surrendered up to Col. Strode, then governor of Dover castle, and never returned again, nor is it known what became of them,) Dover is now held to be a corporation by prescription, by the stile of the mayor, jurats, and commonalty of the town and port of Dover. It consists at present of a mayor, twelve jurats, and thirty-six commoners, or freemen, together with a chamberlain, recorder, and town-clerk. The mayor, who is coroner by virtue of his office, is chosen on Sept. 8, yearly, in St. Mary's church, and together with the jurats, who are justices within this liberty, exclusive of all others, hold a court of general sessions of the peace and gaol delivery, together with a court of record, and it has other privileges, mostly the same as the other corporations, within the liberties of the cinque ports. It has the privilege of a mace. The election of mayor was antiently in the church of St. Peter, whence in 1581 it was removed to that of St. Mary, where it has been, as well as the elections of barons to serve in parliament, held ever since. These elections here, as well as elsewhere in churches, set apart for the worship of God, are certainly a scandal to decency and religion, and are the more inexcusable here, as there is a spacious court-hall, much more fit for the purposes. After this, there was another byelaw made, in June, 1706, for removing these elections into the court-hall; but why it was not put in execution does not appear, unless custom prevented it—for if a decree was of force to move them from one church to another, another decree was of equal force to remove them from the church to the courthall. Within these few years indeed, a motion was made in the house of commons, by the late alderman Sawbridge, a gentlemand not much addicted to speak in favour of the established church, to remove all such elections, through decency, from churches to other places not consecrated to divine worship; but though allowed to be highly proper, yet party resentment against the mover of it prevailed, and the motion was negatived by a great majority.

 

The mayor is chosen by the resident freemen. The jurats are nominated from the common-councilmen by the jurats, and appointed by the mayor, jurats, and common-councilmen, by ballot.

  

THE CHURCH OF ST. Mary stands at some distance from the entrance into this town from Canterbury, near the market-place. It is said to have been built by the prior and convent of St. Martin, (fn. 47) in the year 1216; but from what authority, I know not.—Certain it is, that it was in king John's reign, in the gift of the king, and was afterwards given by him to John de Burgh; but in the 8th year of Richard II.'s reign, anno 1384, it was become appropriated to the abbot of Pontiniac. After which, by what means, I cannot discover, this appropriation, as well as the advowson of the church, came into the possession of the master and brethren of the hospital of the Maison Dieu, who took care that the church should be daily served by a priest, who should officiate in it for the benefit of the parish. In which state it continued till the suppression of the hospital, in the 36th year of king Henry VIII.'s reign, when it came into the hands of the crown, at which time the parsonage was returned by John Thompson, master of the hospital, to be worth six pounds per annum.

 

Two years after which, the king being at Dover, at the humble entreaty of the inhabitants of this parish, gave to them, as it is said, this church, with the cemetery adjoining to it, to be used by them as a parochial church; at the same time he gave the pews of St. Martin's church for the use of it; and on the king's departure, in token of possession, they sealed up the church doors; since which, the patronage of it, which is now esteemed as a perpetual curacy, the minister of it being licensed by the archbishop, has been vested in the inhabitants of this parish. Every parishioner, paying scot and lot, having a vote in the chusing of the minister, whose maintenance had been from time to time, at their voluntary option, more or less. It is now fixed at eighty pounds per annum. Besides which he has the possession of a good house, where he resides, which was purchased by the inhabitants in 1754, for the perpetual use of the minister of it. It is exempt from the jurisdiction of the archdeacon. (fn. 48)

 

There is a piece of ground belonging, as it is said, to the glebe of this church, rented annually at ten pounds, which is done by vestry, without the minister being at all concerned in it. In 1588 here were eight hundred and twenty-one communicants. This parish contains more than five parts out of six of the whole town, and a greater proportion of the inhabitants.

 

The church of St. Mary is a large handsome building of three isles, having a high and south chancel, all covered with lead, and built of flints, with ashler windows and door cases, which are arched and ornamented. At the west end is the steeple, which is a spire covered with lead, in which are eight bells, a clock, and chimes. The pillars in the church are large and clumsy; the arches low and semicircular in the body, but eliptical in the chancel; but there is no separation between the body and chancel, and the pews are continued on to the east end of the church. In the high chancel, at the eastern extremity of it, beyond the altar, are the seats for the mayor and jurats; and here the mayor is now chosen, and the barons in parliament for this town and port constantly elected.

 

In 1683, there was a faculty granted to the churchwardens, to remove the magistrates seats from the east end of the church to the north side, or any other more convenient part of it, and for the more decent and commodious placing the communion table: in consequence of which, these seats were removed, and so placed, but they continued there no longer than 1689, when, by several orders of vestry, they were removed back again to where they remain at present.

 

The mayor was antiently chosen in St. Peter's church; but by a bye-law of the corporation, it was removed to this church in 1583, where it has ever since been held. In 1706, another bye law was made, to remove, for the sake of decency, all elections from this church to the court-hall, but it never took place. More of which has been mentioned before.

 

From the largeness, as well as the populousness of this parish, the church is far from being sufficient to contain the inhabitants who resort to it for public worship, notwithstanding there are four galleries in it, and it is otherwise well pewed. This church was paved in 1642, but it was not ceiled till 1706. In 1742, there was an organ erected in it. The two branches in it were given, one by subscription in 1738, and the other by the pilots in 1742.

 

Thomas Toke, of Dover, buried in the chapel of St. Katharine, in this church, by his will in 1484, gave seven acres of land at Dugate, under Windlass-down, to the wardens of this church, towards the repairs of it for ever.

 

¶The monuments and memorials in this church and church yard, are by far too numerous to mention here. Among them are the following: A small monument in the church for the celebrated Charles Churchill, who was buried in the old church-yard of St. Martin in this town, as has been noticed before; and a small stone, with a memorial for Samuel Foote, esq. the celebrated comedian, who died at the Ship inn, and had a grave dug for him in this church, but was afterwards carried to London, and buried there. A monument and several memorials for the family of Eaton; arms, Or, a sret, azure. A small tablet for John Ker, laird of Frogden, in Twit dale, in Scotland, who died suddenly at Dover, in his way to France, in 1730. Two monuments for Farbrace, arms, Azure, a bend, or, between two roses, argent, seeded, or, bearded vert. A monument in the middle isle, to the memory of the Minet family. In the north isle are several memorials for the Gunmans, of Dover; arms,. … a spread eagle, argent, gorged with a ducal coronet, or. There are others, to the memory of Broadley, Rouse, and others, of good account in this town.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp475-548

11 Years Later, I Let Go of My Resentment Toward Mother Finally

 

Young Yu Xi snuggled in her mother’s arms, enjoying the warmth from her mother’s patting. Yu Xi sang softly: “Mom is the best in the world, a kid who has a mom is like a gem. Snuggling into a mom’s arms, a kid enjoys endless happiness. It’s the most upset for a kid to have no mom. A kid who has no mom is like grass. Leaving a mom’s arms, where he can go to find the happiness …” Glancing at her father cooking in the kitchen, Yu Xi smiled, and she really hoped this moment could last forever and her family would never separate.

 

Terms of Use

The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London, England. The structure was designed by John Nash in 1827 as the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near the site of what is today the three-bayed, central projection of the palace containing the well-known balcony. In 1851, on the initiative of architect and urban planner Decimus Burton, a one-time pupil of John Nash, the arch was relocated to its current site, near the northeast corner of Hyde Park, so that expansion of Buckingham Palace could proceed.

 

The arch gives its name to the area surrounding it, particularly the southern portion of Edgware Road and also to the underground station. The arch is not part of the Royal Parks and is maintained by Westminster City Council.

 

Design and construction

Nash's three-arch design is based on that of the Arch of Constantine in Rome and the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in Paris. The triumphal arch is faced with Carrara marble with embellishments of marble extracted from quarries near Seravezza in Tuscany.

 

John Flaxman was chosen to make the commemorative sculpture. After his death in 1826, the commission was divided between Sir Richard Westmacott, Edward Hodges Baily and J. C. F. Rossi. In 1829, a bronze equestrian statue of George IV was commissioned from Sir Francis Chantrey, with the intention of placing it on top of the arch.

 

Construction began in 1827, but was cut short in 1830, following the death of the spendthrift King George IV – the rising costs were unacceptable to the new king, William IV, who later tried to offload the uncompleted palace onto Parliament as a substitute for the recently destroyed Palace of Westminster.

 

Work restarted in 1832, this time under the supervision of Edward Blore, who greatly reduced Nash's planned attic stage and omitted its sculpture, including the statue of George IV. The arch was completed in 1833.

 

Some of the unused sculpture, including parts of Westmacott's frieze of Waterloo and the Nelson panels, were used at Buckingham Palace. His victory statues and Rossi's relief of Europe and Asia were used at the National Gallery. In 1843 the equestrian statue of George IV was installed on one of the pedestals in Trafalgar Square.

 

The white marble soon lost its light colouring in the polluted London atmosphere. In 1847, Sharpe's London Magazine described it as "discoloured by smoke and damp, and in appearance resembling a huge sugar erection in a confectioner's shop window."

 

The arch is 45 feet (14 m) high, and measures 60 by 30 feet (18.3 by 9.1 m) east-west by north–south.

 

Relocation

Buckingham Palace remained unoccupied, and for the most part unfinished, until it was hurriedly completed upon the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. Within a few years, the palace was found to be too small for the large court and the Queen's expanding family. The solution was to enlarge the palace by enclosing the cour d'honneur with a new east range. This façade is today the principal front and public face of the palace and shields the inner façades containing friezes and marbles matching and complementing those of the arch.

 

When building work began in 1847, the arch was dismantled and rebuilt by Thomas Cubitt as a ceremonial entrance to the northeast corner of Hyde Park at Cumberland Gate. The reconstruction was completed in March 1851. A popular story says that the arch was moved because it was too narrow for the Queen's state coach to pass through, but, in fact, the Gold State Coach passed under it during Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953

 

Three small rooms inside the rebuilt arch were used as a police station from 1851 until at least 1968 (John Betjeman made a programme inside it in 1968 and referred to it as a fully functional police station). It firstly housed officers of the Royal Parks Constabulary and later the Metropolitan Police. One policeman stationed there during the early 1860s was Samuel Parkes, who won the Victoria Cross in the Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854, during the Crimean War.

 

Park Lane widening

Park Lane was widened as part of the Park Lane Improvement Scheme of the London County Council, and the Marble Arch became stranded on a traffic island. The scheme required an act of Parliament – the Park Lane Improvement Act 1958 (6 & 7 Eliz. 2. c. 63) – and during the passage of this act the possibility of providing an underpass instead of a roundabout was dismissed due to excessive cost and the need to demolish buildings on Edgware Road. As part of the scheme, gardens were laid out around the arch on the traffic island. The works took place between 1960 and 1964.

 

Still Water, a large bronze sculpture of a horse's head by Nic Fiddian-Green, was unveiled on the same traffic island a short distance from the arch in 2011.

 

In 2005 it was speculated that the arch might be moved across the street to Hyde Park, or to a more accessible location than its position on what was then a large traffic island.

 

Marble Arch area

In 1900 the Central London Railway opened Marble Arch tube station across the road from the arch. The station is now on the Central line of the London Underground.

 

Having a tube station means that the arch gives rise to a colloquial, entirely modern London "area", with no parishes or established institutions bearing its name. This generally equates to parts in view of the arch of Mayfair, Marylebone and often all of St George's Fields, Marylebone (west of Edgware Road) all in the City of Westminster, London, W1H.

 

The area around the arch forms a major road junction connecting Oxford Street to the east, Park Lane (A4202) to the south, Bayswater Road (A402) to the west, and Edgware Road (A5) to the north-west. The short road directly to the north of the arch is also known as Marble Arch.

 

The former cinema Odeon Marble Arch was located directly adjacent to the junction. Before 1997 this had the largest cinema screen in London. The screen was originally over 75 feet (23 m) wide. The Odeon showcased 70 mm films in a large circle-and-stalls auditorium. It closed in 2016 and was demolished later that same year.

 

The arch also stands close to the former site of the Tyburn gallows (sometimes called "Tyburn Tree"), a place of public execution from 1388 until 1793.

 

In 2021 the Marble Arch Mound, a temporary viewing platform, was opened at the site.

 

John Nash (18 January 1752 – 13 May 1835) was one of the foremost British architects of the Georgian and Regency eras, during which he was responsible for the design, in the neoclassical and picturesque styles, of many important areas of London. His designs were financed by the Prince Regent and by the era's most successful property developer, James Burton. Nash also collaborated extensively with Burton's son, Decimus Burton.

 

Nash's best-known solo designs are the Royal Pavilion, Brighton; Marble Arch; and Buckingham Palace. His best-known collaboration with James Burton is Regent Street and his best-known collaborations with Decimus Burton are Regent's Park and its terraces and Carlton House Terrace. The majority of his buildings, including those that the Burtons did not contribute to, were built by James Burton's company.

 

Background and early career

Nash was born in 1752, probably in Lambeth, south London. His father was a millwright also called John (1714–1772). From 1766 or 1767, Nash trained with the architect Sir Robert Taylor. The apprenticeship was completed in 1775 or 1776.

 

On 28 April 1775, at the now-demolished church of St Mary Newington, Nash married his first wife Jane Elizabeth Kerr, daughter of a surgeon Initially, he seems to have pursued a career as a surveyor, builder and carpenter. This gave him an income of around £300 a year (~£49,850 in 2020 money). The couple set up home at Royal Row, Lambeth. He established his own architectural practice in 1777 as well as being in partnership with a timber merchant, Richard Heaviside. The couple had two children, both were baptised at St Mary-at-Lambeth, John on 9 June 1776 and Hugh on 28 April 1778. In June 1778, Nash, "by the ill conduct of his wife found it necessary to send her into Wales in order to work a reformation on her." The cause of this appears to have been the claim that Jane Nash, "had imposed two spurious children on him as his and her own, notwithstanding she had then never had any child", and she had contracted several debts unknown to her husband, including one for milliners' bills of £300. The claim that Jane had faked her pregnancies and then passed babies she had acquired off as her own was brought before the Consistory court of the Bishop of London. His wife was sent to Aberavon to lodge with Nash's cousin, Ann Morgan, but she developed a relationship with a local man, Charles Charles. In an attempt at reconciliation, Jane returned to London in June 1779, but she continued to act extravagantly so he sent her to another cousin, Thomas Edwards of Neath. She gave birth just after Christmas and acknowledged Charles Charles as the father. In 1781, Nash instigated action against Jane for separation on grounds of adultery. The case was tried at Hereford in 1782, Charles who was found guilty was unable to pay the damages of £76 (~£13,200 in 2020 money) and subsequently died in prison. The divorce was finally read 26 January 1787.

 

His career was initially unsuccessful and short-lived. After inheriting £1000 (~£162,000 in 2020 money) in 1778 from his uncle Thomas, he invested the money in his first independent works, 15–17 Bloomsbury Square and 66–71 Great Russell Street in Bloomsbury. However, the property failed to let and he was declared bankrupt on 30 September 1783. His debts were £5000 (~£760,000 in 2020 money), including £2000 he had been lent by Robert Adam and his brothers. A blue plaque commemorating Nash was placed on 66 Great Russell Street by English Heritage in 2013.

 

Wales

Nash left London in 1784 to live in Carmarthen,[10] to where his mother had retired, her family being from the area.[17] In 1785 he and a local man, Samuel Simon Saxon, re-roofed the town's church for 600 guineas. Nash and Saxon seem to have worked as building contractors and suppliers of building materials. Nash's London buildings had been standard Georgian terraced houses, and it was in Wales that he matured as an architect. His first major work in the area was the first of three prisons he would design, Carmarthen 1789–92. This was planned by the penal reformer John Howard and Nash developed this into the finished building. He went on to design the prisons at Cardigan (1791–1796) and Hereford (1792–1796). It was at Hereford that Nash met Richard Payne Knight, whose theories on the picturesque as applied to architecture and landscape would influence Nash. The commission for Hereford Gaol came after the death of William Blackburn, who was to have designed the building. Nash's design was accepted after James Wyatt approved of the design.

 

In 1789, St Davids Cathedral was suffering from structural problems, the west front was leaning forward by one foot, Nash was called in to survey the structure and develop a plan to save the building. His solution completed in 1791, was to demolish the upper part of the façade and rebuild it with two large but inelegant flying buttresses. In 1790 Nash met Uvedale Price, of Downtown Castle, whose theories of the Picturesque would influence Nash's town planning. Price commissioned Nash to design Castle House Aberystwyth (1795). Its plan took the form of a right-angled triangle, with an octagonal tower at each corner, sited on the very edge of the sea.

 

One of Nash's most important developments were a series of medium-sized country houses that he designed in Wales, which developed the villa designs of his teacher Sir Robert Taylor. Most of these villas consist of a roughly square plan with a small entrance hall and a staircase offset in the middle to one side, around which are placed the main rooms. There is then a less prominent servants' quarters in a wing attached to one side of the villa. The buildings are usually only two floors in height and the elevations of the main block are usually symmetrical. One of the finest of these villas is Llanerchaeron, but at least a dozen villas were designed throughout south Wales. Others, in Pembrokeshire, include Ffynone, built for the Colby family at Boncath near Manordeifi, and Foley House, built for the lawyer Richard Foley (brother of Admiral Sir Thomas Foley) at Goat Street in Haverfordwest.

 

From 1796, Nash spent most of his time working in London; this was a prelude to his return to the capital in 1797. At this time, Nash designed the delicate Gothic revival gateway to Clytha Park near Abergavenny in Monmouthshire, and also his alterations in Gothic Revival style in 1794 to Hafod Uchtryd for Thomas Johnes at Devil's Bridge, Cardiganshire. Also in c. 1794–95 he advised on the paving, lighting and water supply in Abergavenny and designed an elegant market building. Other work included Whitson Court near Newport. After his return to London, Nash continued to design houses in Wales including Harpton Court in Radnorshire, which was demolished, apart from the service wing, in 1956. In 1807 he drew up plans for the re-building of Hawarden Castle with Gothic battlements and towers, but the plan appears to have been modified by another architect when it was carried out. About 1808 he designed Monachty near Aberaeron and later drew up plans for work at Nanteos.

 

He met Humphry Repton at Stoke Edith in 1792 and formed a successful partnership with the landscape garden designer. One of their early commissions was at Corsham Court in 1795–96. The pair would collaborate to carefully place the Nash-designed building in grounds designed by Repton. The partnership ended in 1800 under recriminations, Repton accusing Nash of exploiting their partnership to his own advantage. As Nash developed his architectural practice it became necessary to employ draughtsmen; the first in the early 1790s was Augustus Charles Pugin, and later in 1795, John Adey Repton son of Humphry.

 

Return to London

In June 1797, Nash moved into 28 Dover Street, a building of his own design. He built a larger house next door at 29, into which he moved the following year. Nash married 25-year-old Mary Anne Bradley on 17 December 1798 at St George's, Hanover Square. In 1798, he purchased a plot of land of 30 acres (12 ha) at East Cowes on which he erected 1798–1802 East Cowes Castle as his residence. It was the first of a series of picturesque Gothic castles that he would design.

 

Nash's final home in London was 14 Regent Street which he designed and built 1819–23. Number 16 was built at the same time for the home of Nash's cousin John Edwards, a lawyer who handled all of Nash's legal affairs. Located in lower Regent Street, near Waterloo Place, both houses formed a single design around an open courtyard. Nash's drawing office was on the ground floor and on the first floor was the finest room in the house, the 70-foot-long picture and sculpture gallery; it linked the drawing-room at the front of the building with the dining room at the rear. The house was sold in 1834 and the gallery interior moved to East Cowes Castle.

 

The finest of the dozen country houses that Nash designed as picturesque castles include the relatively small Luscombe Castle Devon (1800–04); Ravensworth Castle (Tyne and Wear), begun in 1807 but only finally completed in 1846, which was one of the largest houses by Nash; Caerhays Castle in Cornwall (1808–10); and Shanbally Castle, County Tipperary (1818–1819), which was the last of these castles to be built. These buildings all represented Nash's continuing development of an asymmetrical and picturesque architectural style that had begun during his years in Wales, at both Castle House Aberystwyth and his alterations to Hafod Uchtryd.

 

This process would be extended by Nash in planning groups of buildings, the first example being Blaise Hamlet (1810–1811). There a group of nine asymmetrical cottages was laid out around a village green. Nikolaus Pevsner described the hamlet as "the ne plus ultra of the Picturesque movement". The hamlet has also been described as the first fully realized exemplar of the garden suburb. Nash developed the asymmetry of his castles in his Italianate villas. His first such exercise was Cronkhill (1802), and others included Sandridge Park (1805) and Southborough Place, Surbiton(1808).

 

He advised on work to the buildings of Jesus College, Oxford, in 1815, for which he required no fee but asked that the college commission a portrait of him from Sir Thomas Lawrence to hang in the college hall.

 

Architect to the Prince Regent

Nash was a dedicated Whig and was a friend of Charles James Fox through whom Nash probably came to the attention of the Prince Regent (later King George IV). In 1806 Nash was appointed architect to the Surveyor General of Woods, Forests, Parks, and Chases. From 1810 Nash would take very few private commissions and for the rest of his career he would largely work for the Prince. His employment by the Prince Regent enabled Nash to embark upon a number of grand architectural projects.

 

His first major commissions in (1809–1826) from the Prince were Regent Street and the development of an area then known as Marylebone Park. With the Regent's backing, Nash created a master plan for the area, put into effect from 1818 onwards, which stretched from St James's northwards and included Regent Street, Regent's Park (1809–1832) and its neighbouring streets, terraces and crescents of elegant townhouses and villas. Nash did not design all the buildings himself. In some instances, these were left in the hands of other architects such as James Pennethorne and the young Decimus Burton.

 

Nash went on to re-landscape St. James's Park (1814–1827), reshaping the formal canal into the present lake, and giving the park its present form. A characteristic of Nash's plan for Regent Street was that it followed an irregular path linking Portland Place to the north with Carlton House, London (replaced by Nash's Carlton House Terrace (1827–1833) to the south. At the northern end of Portland Place Nash designed Park Crescent, London (1812 and 1819–1821), this opens into Nash's Park Square, London (1823–24), this only has terraces on the east and west, the north opens into Regent's Park.

 

The terraces that Nash designed around Regent's Park though conforming to the earlier form of appearing as a single building, as developed by John Wood, the Elder, are unlike earlier examples set in gardens and are not orthogonal in their placing to each other. This was part of Nash's development of planning, this found it is a most extreme example when he set out Park Village East and Park Village West (1823–34) to the north-east of Regent's Park, here a mixture of detached villas, semi-detached houses, both symmetrical and asymmetrical in their design are set out in private gardens railed off from the street, the roads loop and the buildings are both classical and gothic in style. No two buildings were the same, and or even in line with their neighbours. The park villages can be seen as the prototype for the Victorian suburbs.

 

Nash was employed by the Prince from 1815 to develop his Marine Pavilion in Brighton, originally designed by Henry Holland. By 1822 Nash had finished his work on the Marine Pavilion, which was now transformed into the Royal Pavilion. The exterior was based on Mughal architecture, giving the building its exotic form, the Chinoiserie style interiors are largely the work of Frederick Crace.

 

Nash was also a director of the Regent's Canal Company set up in 1812 to provide a canal link from west London to the River Thames in the east. Nash's master plan provided for the canal to run around the northern edge of Regent's Park; as with other projects, he left its execution to one of his assistants, in this case James Morgan. The first phase of the Regent's Canal was completed in 1816 and finally completed in 1820.

 

Together with Robert Smirke and Sir John Soane, he became an official architect to the Office of Works in 1813 (although the appointment ended in 1832) at a salary of £500 per annum (£57,810 in 2020 money). Following the death in September of that year of James Wyatt, this marked the high point in his professional life. As part of Nash's new position, he was invited to advise the Parliamentary Commissioners on the building of new churches from 1818 onwards. Nash produced ten church designs, each estimated to cost around £10,000 (£1.2 million in 2020 money) with seating for 2000 people; the style of the buildings were both classical and gothic. In the end, Nash only built two churches for the Commission: the classical All Souls Church, Langham Place (1822–24), terminating the northern end of Regent Street, and the gothic St. Mary's Haggerston (1825–27), bombed during The Blitz in 1941.

 

Nash was involved in the design of two of London's theatres, both in Haymarket. The King's Opera House (now rebuilt as Her Majesty's Theatre) (1816–1818) where he and George Repton remodelled the theatre, with arcades and shops around three sides of the building, the fourth being the still surviving Royal Opera Arcade. The other theatre was the Theatre Royal Haymarket (1821), with its fine hexastyle Corinthian order portico, which still survives, facing down Charles II Street to St. James's Square, Nash's interior no longer survives (the interior now dates from 1904). In 1820 a scandal broke, when a cartoon was published showing a half-dressed King George IV embracing Nash's wife with a speech bubble coming from the King's mouth containing the words "I have great pleasure in visiting this part of my dominions". Whether this was based on just a rumour put about by people who resented Nash's success or if there is substance behind is not known. Further London commissions for Nash followed, including the remodelling of Buckingham House to create Buckingham Palace (1825–1830), and for the Royal Mews (1822–24) and Marble Arch (1828). The arch was originally designed as a triumphal arch to stand at the entrance to Buckingham Palace. It was moved when the east wing of the palace designed by Edward Blore was built, at the request of Queen Victoria whose growing family required additional domestic space. Marble Arch became the entrance to Hyde Park and the Great Exhibition.

 

Work with James and Decimus Burton

The parents of John Nash, and Nash himself during his childhood, lived in Southwark, where James Burton worked as an 'Architect and Builder' and developed a positive reputation for prescient speculative building between 1785 and 1792. Burton built the Blackfriars Rotunda in Great Surrey Street (now Blackfriars Road) to house the Leverian Museum, for land agent and museum proprietor James Parkinson. However, whereas Burton was vigorously industrious, and quickly became 'most gratifyingly rich', Nash's early years in private practice, and his first speculative developments, which failed either to sell or let, were unsuccessful, and his consequent financial shortage was exacerbated by the 'crazily extravagant' wife whom he had married before he had completed his training, until he was declared bankrupt in 1783.

 

To repair his finances, Nash cultivated the acquaintance of James Burton, who consented to patronize him. James Burton responsible for the social and financial patronage of the majority of Nash's London designs, in addition to for their construction. Architectural scholar Guy Williams has written, "John Nash relied on James Burton for moral and financial support in his great enterprises. Decimus had showed precocious talent as a draughtsman and as an exponent of the classical style... John Nash needed the son's aid, as well as the father's".

 

Subsequent to the Crown Estate's refusal to finance them, James Burton agreed to personally finance the construction projects of Nash at Regent's Park, which he had already been commissioned to construct. Consequently, in 1816, Burton purchased many of the leases of the proposed terraces around, and proposed villas within, Regent's Park and, in 1817, Burton purchased the leases of five of the largest blocks on Regent Street. The first property to be constructed in or around Regent's Park by Burton was his own mansion: The Holme, which was designed by his son, Decimus Burton, and completed in 1818. Burton's extensive financial involvement 'effectively guaranteed the success of the project'. In return, Nash agreed to promote the career of Decimus Burton.

 

Nash was a vehement advocate of the neoclassical revival endorsed by John Soane, although he had lost interest in the plain stone edifices typical of the Georgian style, and instead advocated the use of stucco. Decimus Burton entered the office of Nash in 1815, where he worked alongside Augustus Charles Pugin, who detested the neoclassical style. Burton established his own architectural practice in 1821. In 1821, Nash invited Decimus Burton to design Cornwall Terrace in Regent's Park, and he was also invited by George Bellas Greenough, a close friend of the Prince Regent, Humphry Davy, and Nash, to design Grove House in Regent's Park.

 

Greenough's invitation to Decimus Burton was 'virtually a family affair', for Greenough had dined frequently with Decimus' parents and brothers, including the physician Henry Burton. Greenough and Decimus finalized their designs during numerous meetings at the opera. The design, when the villa had been completed, was described in The Proceedings of the Royal Society as, "one of the most elegant and successful adaptations of the Grecian style to purposes of modern domestic architecture to be found in this or any country."

 

Subsequently, Nash invited Decimus to design Clarence Terrace, Regent's Park. Such were Decimus Burton's contributions to the Regent's Park project that the Commissioners of Woods described Burton, not Nash, as 'the architect of Regent's Park'. Contrary to popular belief, the dominant architectural influence in many of the Regent's Park projects - including Cornwall Terrace, York Terrace, Chester Terrace, Clarence Terrace, and the villas of the Inner Circle, including The Holme and the London Colosseum attraction (the latter to Thomas Hornor's specifications) all of which were constructed by James Burton's company - was Decimus Burton, not John Nash, who was appointed architectural 'overseer' for Burton Jr.'s projects.

 

Decimus Burton, to Nash's chagrin, developed the Terraces according to his own style to the extent that Nash sought, unsuccessfully, to demolish and completely rebuild Chester Terrace. Decimus subsequently eclipsed his master and emerged as the dominant force in the design of Carlton House Terrace, where he exclusively designed No. 3 and No. 4. He also designed some of the villas of the Inner Circle: his villa for the Marquess of Hertford has been described as, 'decorated simplicity, such as the hand of taste, aided by the purse of wealth can alone execute'.

 

Retirement and death

Nash's career effectively ended with the death of George IV in 1830. The King's notorious extravagance had generated much resentment, and Nash was now without a protector. The Treasury started to look closely at the cost of Buckingham Palace. Nash's original estimate of the building's cost had been £252,690, but this had risen to £496,169 in 1829; the actual cost was £613,269 (~£69.5 million in 2020 money), and the building was still unfinished. This controversy ensured that Nash would not receive any more official commissions, nor would he be awarded the knighthood that other contemporary architects such as Jeffry Wyattville, John Soane and Robert Smirke received. Nash retired to the Isle of Wight to his home, East Cowes Castle.

 

On 28 March 1835 Nash was described as "very poorly and faint". This was the beginning of the end. On 1 May Nash's solicitor John Wittet Lyon was summonsed to East Cowes Castle to finalise his will. By 6 May he was described as 'very ill indeed all day', he died at his home on 13 May 1835. His funeral took place at St. James's Church, East Cowes on 20 May, where he was buried in the churchyard with a monument in the form of a stone sarcophagus. His widow acted to clear Nash's debts (some £15,000; £1.97 million in 2020 money), she held a sale of the Castle's contents, including three paintings by J. M. W. Turner painted on the Isle of Wight, four by Benjamin West and several copies of old master paintings by Richard Evans. These artworks were sold at Christie's on 11 July 1835 for £1,061 (~£139,500 in 2020 money). His books, medals, drawings and engravings were bought by a bookseller named Evans for £1,423 on 15 July (~£187,078 in 2020 money). The Castle itself was sold for a reported figure of £20,000 (~£2.63 million in 2020 money) to Henry Boyle, 3rd Earl of Shannon, within the year. Nash's widow retired to a property Nash had bequeathed to her in Hampstead where she lived until her death in 1851; she was buried with her husband on the Isle of Wight.

 

Assistants and pupils

Nash had many pupils and assistants, including Decimus Burton; Humphry Repton's sons, John Adey Repton and George Stanley Repton; Anthony Salvin; John Foulon (1772–1842); Augustus Charles Pugin; F.H. Greenway; James Morgan; James Pennethorne; and the brothers Henry, James, and George Pain.

Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closed that we see too late the one that is open.

 

we all have our own ways to react to things...at times we are angry when we shouldnt be, we feel insecurity and frustration...all are very much a part of our being... but hw do we tackle with these???

  

"If you are dealing with fears and insecurities from old head programs, have compassion for yourself. Just love your insecurities, fears and resentments. Release and forgive them as they come up. Judging, beating or repressing insecurities just gives them power. Then you have a pattern that never gets resolved. Recognize that your real security is built from your relationship with your own heart. Don't let your sense of clarity and related decisions be only effective just like deep-sleep state effect. Aim, work hard and then let the fire ignite at it's efficient time. Keep Redirection and chant God's name and be engrossed in studies. "

 

love and forgiveness can create a new spark .. this is also what i learn as i study the life incidences of my God and my guru / friend ..they can never fail to inspire for sure..m so happy and lucky to have this inspiration in my life by His grace...

  

In 1989 I left apartheid South Africa and spent much of the next year travelling Europe. In October I found myself in the outback of Turkey, and the word on the street was that the Berlin Wall was about to fall. With it's fascinating history, cold war angst and strong David Bowie connection, Berlin had always been on my "must visit" list and I accelerated my plans to get there. Unfortunately the wall began crumbling on the evening of November 9, 1989 and continued over the following days and weeks. Nevertheless, I skipped through the Greek islands and caught the ferry from the port of Piraeus in Athens to Brindisi in Italy. I decided to bypass Naples and caught a fast train north to Rome. I think it was either on the ferry or on the train that I met fellow traveller, Serge Bowers from Pennsylvania in the USA. He and I made good companions and has a Chianti-fuelled blast through Rome, Florence, Pisa and Venice (but that's another story).

 

On November 25, Serge and I went our own ways - he headed for Amsterdam, while I spent a couple of days in Milan, visiting the magnificent Il Museo Storico dell’Alfa Romeo in Arese. I then skipped through Switzerland (Lausanne, Bern, Luzern and Lurich) beofre finally making it to Stuttgart in Germany, taking in the Mercedes-Benz Museum and the Porsche Museum. By this time (December 4) I was running low on cash and so resorted to hitch-hiking from Stuttgart to Mannheim, heading for Bonn where I was going to be staying with Prof. Dr. Marcella Rietschel (a Research Fellow at the Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn) who I had met in Istanbul in October. It was freezing cold and snowing out on the road, and by the time I reached Mannheim, I had had enough and headed to the Hauptbahnhof. After a cup of steaming coffee, I bought a ticket to Bonn, boarded the milk-train and continued the journey north. As fate would have it, I ended up in Zeppelinheim, close to Frankfurt, and that extraordinary interlude is detailed here.

 

Being on the bones of my financial arse, and with a severe cold snap making hitch-hiking a really bad idea, I now resorted to using the Mitfahrzentrale - an organised hitch-hiking (or "cap pooling") service where a driver can register how many spare seats they have in their car and where they are travelling from, to, and on what date. Potential passengers are provided with contact details and descriptions of the journey including any proposed stops along the way. As all travellers share costs, the savings can be extensive and it also serves as a good way to meet interesting people and to practice your German!

 

Our route to the east The so-called "inner German border" (a.k.a. "Zonengrenze") was the frontier between the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany) from 1949 to 1990. The border was a physical manifestation of Winston Churchill's metaphorical Iron Curtain that separated the Soviet and Western blocs during the Cold War. The border could be crossed legally only through a limited number of routes and foreigners were able to traverse East German territory to or from West Berlin via a limited number of road corridors, the most used of which was at Helmstedt-Marienborn on the Hanover–Berlin A2 autobahn. Codenamed Checkpoint Alpha, this was the first of three Allied checkpoints on the road to Berlin. The others were Checkpoint Bravo, where the autobahn crossed from East Germany into West Berlin, and most famous of all, Checkpoint Charlie, the only place where non-Germans could cross from West to East Berlin. Lengthy inspections caused long delays to traffic at the crossing points, and for some the whole experience was very disturbing: "Travelling from west to east through [the inner German border] was like entering a drab and disturbing dream, peopled by all the ogres of totalitarianism, a half-lit world of shabby resentments, where anything could be done to you, I used to feel, without anybody ever hearing of it, and your every step was dogged by watchful eyes and mechanisms." (Jan Morris) Personally, having spent almost three decades of my life under the oppression of the apartheid regime, it felt all too familiar.

 

So, after an uncomfortable 6-8 hour road trip, I was finally there - Berlin! One of my German friends from South Africa (P.A.) had been a regular visitor to Berlin during our high school and university years, before relocating to the city in the mid-80's. In those days it made a lot of sense - getting out of South Africa after studying meant escaping two years military service with the south African Defence Force and moving to Berlin meant avoiding conscription into the German military as well. That is, in order to encourage young people to move to West Berlin, they were lured in with exemptions from national service and good study benefits. It was December 8, 1989 and P.A. was unfortunately not in town. But a mutual friend was - L.M. had left Africa at about the same time as Pierre and was an aspirant artist in Berlin. He offered me a place to stay and we spent a brilliant week together, partying, clubbing and taking in all the delights that this city in change had to offer! I don't remember too much, but have some photos that I am sharing for the first time, a quarter of a century later, to the day.

 

45654-34-ew - the caption on the back of the photo reads:

"'Tis I!! M.P. on an opservation platform in West Berlin. In the background is the "Berlin Wall". On the other side is the Brandenburg Gate and the Fernsehturm, both in East Germany. Saturday, December 9, 1989...Cold!!"

 

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Location: Floating Market, Pattaya, Thailand

 

Holding on to anger, resentment and hurt only gives you tense muscles, a headache and a sore jaw from clenching your teeth. Forgiveness gives you back the laughter and the lightness in your life (Joan Lunden)

Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres (605.7 sq mi) in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated population of 10.539 million as of 2020, 15.3 percent of the country's population. Over 14 million people (22.2 percent) lived within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region at the 2010 census, making Bangkok an extreme primate city, dwarfing Thailand's other urban centres in both size and importance to the national economy.

 

Bangkok traces its roots to a small trading post during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th century, which eventually grew and became the site of two capital cities, Thonburi in 1768 and Rattanakosin in 1782. Bangkok was at the heart of the modernization of Siam, later renamed Thailand, during the late-19th century, as the country faced pressures from the West. The city was at the centre of Thailand's political struggles throughout the 20th century, as the country abolished absolute monarchy, adopted constitutional rule, and underwent numerous coups and several uprisings. The city, incorporated as a special administrative area under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration in 1972, grew rapidly during the 1960s through the 1980s and now exerts a significant impact on Thailand's politics, economy, education, media and modern society.

 

The Asian investment boom in the 1980s and 1990s led many multinational corporations to locate their regional headquarters in Bangkok. The city is now a regional force in finance and business. It is an international hub for transport and health care, and has emerged as a centre for the arts, fashion, and entertainment. The city is known for its street life and cultural landmarks, as well as its red-light districts. The Grand Palace and Buddhist temples including Wat Arun and Wat Pho stand in contrast with other tourist attractions such as the nightlife scenes of Khaosan Road and Patpong. Bangkok is among the world's top tourist destinations, and has been named the world's most visited city consistently in several international rankings.

 

Bangkok's rapid growth coupled with little urban planning has resulted in a haphazard cityscape and inadequate infrastructure. Despite an extensive expressway network, an inadequate road network and substantial private car usage have led to chronic and crippling traffic congestion, which caused severe air pollution in the 1990s. The city has since turned to public transport in an attempt to solve the problem, operating eight urban rail lines and building other public transit, but congestion still remains a prevalent issue. The city faces long-term environmental threats such as sea level rise due to climate change.

 

The history of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, dates at least to the early 15th century, when it was under the rule of Ayutthaya. Due to its strategic location near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, the town gradually increased in importance, and after the fall of Ayutthaya King Taksin established his new capital of Thonburi there, on the river's west bank. King Phutthayotfa Chulalok, who succeeded Taksin, moved the capital to the eastern bank in 1782, to which the city dates its foundation under its current Thai name, "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon". Bangkok has since undergone tremendous changes, growing rapidly, especially in the second half of the 20th century, to become the primate city of Thailand. It was the centre of Siam's modernization in the late 19th century, subjected to Allied bombing during the Second World War, and has long been the modern nation's central political stage, with numerous uprisings and coups d'état having taken place on its streets throughout the years.

 

It is not known exactly when the area which is now Bangkok was first settled. It probably originated as a small farming and trading community, situated in a meander of the Chao Phraya River within the mandala of Ayutthaya's influence. The town had become an important customs outpost by as early as the 15th century; the title of its customs official is given as Nai Phra Khanon Thonburi (Thai: นายพระขนอนทณบุรี) in a document from the reign of Ayutthayan king Chao Sam Phraya (1424–1448). The name also appears in the 1805 revised code of laws known as the Law of Three Seals.

 

At the time, the Chao Phraya flowed through what are now the Bangkok Noi and Bangkok Yai canals, forming a large loop in which lay the town. In the reign of King Chairacha (either in 1538 or 1542), a waterway was excavated, bypassing the loop and shortening the route for ships sailing up to Ayutthaya. The flow of the river has since changed to follow the new waterway, dividing the town and making the western part an island. This geographical feature may have given the town the name Bang Ko (บางเกาะ), meaning 'island village', which later became Bangkok (บางกอก, pronounced in Thai as [bāːŋ kɔ̀ːk]). Another theory regarding the origin of the name speculates that it is shortened from Bang Makok (บางมะกอก), makok being the name of Spondias pinnata, a plant bearing olive-like fruit. This is supported by the fact that Wat Arun, a historic temple in the area, used to be named Wat Makok. Specific mention of the town was first made in the royal chronicles from the reign of King Maha Chakkraphat (1548–1568), giving its name as Thonburi Si Mahasamut (ธนบุรีศรีมหาสมุทร). Bangkok was probably a colloquial name, albeit one widely adopted by foreign visitors.

 

The importance of Bangkok/Thonburi increased with the amount of Ayutthaya's maritime trade. Dutch records noted that ships passing through Bangkok were required to declare their goods and number of passengers, as well as pay customs duties. Ships' cannons would be confiscated and held there before they were allowed to proceed upriver to Ayutthaya. An early English language account is that of Adam Denton, who arrived aboard the Globe, an East India Company merchantman bearing a letter from King James I, which arrived in "the Road of Syam" (Pak Nam) on 15 August 1612, where the port officer of Bangkok attended to the ship. Denton's account mentions that he and his companions journeyed "up the river some twenty miles to a town called Bancope, where we were well received, and further 100 miles to the city...."

 

Ayutthaya's maritime trade was at its height during the reign of King Narai (1656–1688). Recognition of the city's strategic location guarding the water passage to Ayutthaya lead to expansion of the military presence there. A fort of Western design was constructed on the east side of the river around 1685–1687 under the supervision of French engineer de la Mare, probably replacing an earlier structure, while plans to rebuild the fort on the west bank were also made. De la Mare had arrived with the French embassy of Chevalier de Chaumont, and remained in Siam along with Chevalier de Forbin, who had been appointed governor of Bangkok. The Bangkok garrison under Forbin consisted of Siamese, Portuguese, and French reportedly totalling about one thousand men.

 

French control over the city was further consolidated when the French General Desfarges, who had arrived with the second French embassy in 1687, secured the king's permission to board troops there. This, however, lead to resentment among Siamese nobles, led by Phetracha, ultimately resulting in the Siamese revolution of 1688, in which King Narai was overthrown and 40,000 Siamese troops besieged Bangkok's eastern fort for four months before an agreement was reached and the French were allowed to withdraw. The revolution resulted in Siam's ties with the West being virtually severed, steering its trade towards China and Japan. The eastern fort was subsequently demolished on Phetracha's orders.

 

Ayutthaya was razed by the Burmese in 1767. In the following months, multiple factions competed for control of the kingdom's lands. Of these, Phraya Tak, governor of Tak and a general fighting in Ayutthaya's defence prior to its fall, emerged as the strongest. After succeeding in reclaiming the cities of Ayutthaya and Bangkok, Phraya Tak declared himself king (popularly known as King Taksin) in 1768 and established Thonburi as his capital. Reasons given for this change include the totality of Ayutthaya's destruction and Thonburi's strategic location. Being a fortified town with a sizeable population meant that not much would need to be reconstructed. The existence of an old Chinese trading settlement on the eastern bank allowed Taksin to use his Chinese connections to import rice and revive trade.

 

King Taksin had the city area extended northwards to border the Bangkok Noi Canal. A moat was dug to protect the city's western border, on which new city walls and fortifications were built. Moats and walls were also constructed on the eastern bank, encircling the city together with the canals on the western side. The king's palace (Thonburi Palace) was built within the old city walls, including the temples of Wat Chaeng (Wat Arun) and Wat Thai Talat (Wat Molilokkayaram) within the palace grounds. Outlying orchards were re-landscaped for rice farming.

 

Much of Taksin's reign was spent in military campaigns to consolidate the Thonburi Kingdom's hold over Siamese lands. His kingdom, however, would last only until 1782 when a coup was mounted against him, and the general Chao Phraya Chakri established himself as king, later to be known as Phutthayotfa Chulalok or Rama I.

 

Rama I re-established the capital on the more strategic east bank of the river, relocating the Chinese already settled there to the area between Wat Sam Pluem and Wat Sampheng (which developed into Bangkok's Chinatown). Fortifications were rebuilt, and another series of moats was created, encircling the city in an area known as Rattanakosin Island.

 

The erection of the city pillar on 21 April 1782 is regarded as the formal date of the city's establishment. (The year would later mark the start of the Rattanakosin Era after calendar reforms by King Rama V in 1888.) Rama I named the new city Krung Rattanakosin In Ayothaya (กรุงรัตนโกสินทร์อินท์อโยธยา). This was later modified by King Nangklao to be: Krungthepmahanakhon Bowonrattanakosin Mahintha-ayutthaya. While settlements on both banks were commonly called Bangkok, both the Burney Treaty of 1826 and the Roberts Treaty of 1833 refer to the capital as the City of Sia-Yut'hia. King Mongkut (Rama IV) would later give the city its full ceremonial name:

 

Rama I modelled his city after the former capital of Ayutthaya, with the Grand Palace, Front Palace and royal temples by the river, next to the royal field (now Sanam Luang). Continuing outwards were the royal court of justice, royal stables and military prison. Government offices were located within the Grand Palace, while residences of nobles were concentrated south of the palace walls. Settlements spread outwards from the city centre.

 

The new capital is referred to in Thai sources as Rattanakosin, a name shared by the Siamese kingdom of this historical period. The name Krung Thep and Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, both shortened forms of the full ceremonial name, began to be used near the end of the 19th century. Foreigners, however, continued to refer to the city by the name Bangkok, which has seen continued use until this day.

 

Most of Rama I's reign was also marked by continued military campaigns, though the Burmese threat gradually declined afterwards. His successors consistently saw to the renovation of old temples, palaces, and monuments in the city. New canals were also built, gradually expanding the fledgling city as areas available for agriculture increased and new transport networks were created.

 

At the time of the city's foundation, most of the population lived by the river or the canals, often in floating houses on the water. Waterways served as the main method of transportation, and farming communities depended on them for irrigation. Outside the city walls, settlements sprawled along both river banks. Forced settlers, mostly captives of war, also formed several ethnic communities outside the city walls.

 

Large numbers of Chinese immigrants continued to settle in Bangkok, especially during the early 19th century. Such was their prominence that Europeans visiting in the 1820s estimated that they formed over half of the city population. The Chinese excelled in trade, and led the development of a market economy. The Chinese settlement at Sampheng had become a bustling market by 1835. 

 

By the mid-19th century, the West had become an increasingly powerful presence. Missionaries, envoys and merchants began re-visiting Bangkok and Siam, bringing with them both modern innovations and the threat of colonialism. King Mongkut (Rama IV, reigned 1851–1868) was open to Western ideas and knowledge, but was also forced to acknowledge their powers, with the signing of the Bowring Treaty in 1855. During his reign, industrialization began taking place in Bangkok, which saw the introduction of the steam engine, modern shipbuilding and the printing press. Influenced by the Western community, Charoen Krung Road, the city's first paved street, was constructed in 1862–1864. This was followed by Bamrung Mueang, Fueang Nakhon, Trong (now Rama IV) and Si Lom Roads. Land transport would later surpass the canals in importance, shifting people's homes from floating dwellings toward permanent buildings. The limits of the city proper were also expanded during his reign, extending to the Phadung Krung Kasem Canal, dug in 1851.

 

King Mongkut's son Chulalongkorn (r. 1868–1910) was set upon modernizing the country. He engaged in wide-ranging reforms, abolishing slavery, corvée (unfree labour) and the feudal system, and creating a centralized bureaucracy and a professional army. The Western concept of nationhood was adopted, and national borders demarcated against British and French territories. Disputes with the French resulted in the Paknam Incident in 1893, when the French sent gunboats up the Chao Phraya to blockade Bangkok, resulting in Siam's concession of territory to France.

 

With Chulalongkorn's reforms, governance of the capital and the surrounding areas, established as Monthon Krung Thep Phra Mahanakhon (มณฑลกรุงเทพพระมหานคร), came under the Ministry of Urban Affairs (Nakhonban). During his reign many more canals and roads were built, expanding the urban reaches of the capital. Infrastructure was developed, with the introduction of railway and telegraph services between Bangkok and Samut Prakan and then expanding countrywide. Electricity was introduced, first to palaces and government offices, then to serve electric trams in the capital and later the general public. The King's fascination with the West was reflected in the royal adoption of Western dress and fashions, but most noticeably in architecture. He commissioned the construction of the neoclassical Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall at the new Dusit Palace, which was linked to the historic city centre by the grand Ratchadamnoen Avenue, inspired by the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Examples of Western influence in architecture became visible throughout the city.

 

By 1900, rural market zones in Bangkok began developing into residential districts. Rama VI (1910–1925) continued his predecessor's program of the development of public works by establishing Chulalongkorn University in 1916, and commissioned a system of locks to control waterway levels surrounding the developing city, he also provided the city's first and largest recreational area, Lumphini Park. The Memorial Bridge was constructed in 1932 to connect Thonburi to Bangkok, which was believed to promote economic growth and modernization in a period when infrastructure was developing considerably. Bangkok became the centre stage for power struggles between the military and political elite as the country abolished absolute monarchy in 1932. It was subject to Japanese occupation and Allied bombing during World War II. With the war over in 1945, British and Indian troops landed in September, and during their brief occupation of the city disarmed the Japanese troops. A significant event following the return of the young king, Ananda Mahidol, to Thailand, intended to defuse post-war tensions lingering between Bangkok's ethnic Chinese and Thai people, was his visit to Bangkok's Chinatown Sam Peng Lane (ซอยสำเพ็ง), on 3 June 1946.

 

As a result of pro-Western bloc treaties Bangkok rapidly grew in the post-war period as a result of United States developmental aid and government-sponsored investment. Infrastructure, including the Don Mueang International Airport and highways, was built and expanded.  Bangkok's role as an American military R&R destination launched its tourism industry as well as sex trade.  Disproportionate urban development led to increasing income inequalities and unprecedented migration from rural areas into Bangkok; its population surged from 1.8 to 3 million in the 1960s. Following the United States' withdrawal from Vietnam, Japanese businesses took over as leaders in investment, and the expansion of export-oriented manufacturing led to growth of the financial market in Bangkok.  Rapid growth of the city continued through the 1980s and early 1990s, until it was stalled by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. By then, many public and social issues had emerged, among them the strain on infrastructure reflected in the city's notorious traffic jams. Bangkok's role as the nation's political stage continues to be seen in strings of popular protests, from the student uprisings in 1973 and 1976, anti-military demonstrations in 1992, and successive anti-government protests by the "Yellow Shirt" and "Red Shirt" movements from 2008 on.

 

Administratively, eastern Bangkok and Thonburi had been established as separate provinces in 1915. (The province east of the river was named Phra Nakhon (พระนคร.) A series of decrees in 1971–1972 resulted in the merger of these provinces and its local administrations, forming the current city of Bangkok which is officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) was created in 1975 to govern the city, and its governor has been elected since 1985.

The Tower of Pisa (popularly known as the leaning tower and, in Pisa, the Campanile or the Tower ) is the bell tower of the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta , in the famous Piazza del Duomo ( a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 ) of which it is the most famous monument due to its characteristic slope, symbol of Pisa and among the iconic symbols of Italy. It is a free-standing bell tower 57 meters high (58.36 meters considering the foundation plan) built over two centuries, between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. With a mass of 14,453 tons, the curved line predominates, with turns of blind arches and six floors of loggias. The slope is due to a subsidence of the underlying ground which occurred already in the early stages of construction.

 

The inclination of the building measures 3.97° with respect to the vertical axis. The tower is managed by the Opera della Primaziale Pisana , the body that manages all the monuments in the Piazza del Duomo in Pisa. It has been proposed as one of the seven wonders of the modern world .

 

Work began on 9 August 1173 . The foundations were left fallow for an entire year. Some studies attribute the authorship of the project to the Pisan architect Diotisalvi , who was building the baptistery in the same period . Construction was stopped during the beginning of the third ring.

 

There are in fact many similarities between the two buildings, starting from the type of foundations. Others instead suggest Gherardi , while according to Vasari the work was started by Bonanno Pisano . Vasari's thesis was considered valid especially after the discovery of a tombstone with the name of Bonanno near the bell tower, walled up in the atrium of the building; furthermore, in the 19th century, an epigraphic fragment of pink material was also found nearby, probably a cast on which a metal plate was cast, which is placed on the jamb of the entrance door of the building. On this fragment we read, reversed: "Pisan citizen named Bonanno". This cast was most likely related to the Porta Regia of the Cathedral, destroyed during the fire of 1595 .

 

The first phase of the work was interrupted halfway through the third floor, due to the subsidence of the land on which the base of the bell tower stands. The softness of the soil, consisting of normally consolidated soft clay , is the cause of the slope of the tower and, although to a lesser extent, of all the buildings in the square.

 

Work resumed in 1275 under the guidance of Giovanni di Simone and Giovanni Pisano , adding another three floors to the previous construction. In an attempt to straighten the tower, the three added floors tend to curve in the opposite direction to the slope. The bell tower was completed in the middle of the following century, adding the belfry .

 

Since its construction the overhang has substantially increased, but over the centuries there have also been long periods of stability or even reduction in the slope. During the nineteenth century the bell tower underwent important restorations, which led, for example, to the insulation of the tower's base. The works, carried out under the direction of Alessandro Gherardesca , contributed to definitively debunking the theory, supported by some scholars of the time, according to which the bell tower was thought to have been leaning since its origin.

 

In fact, soil tests carried out during the restoration brought to light the presence of a significant quantity of underground water which made the ground soft. To deal with this problem, large quantities were sucked up from the underground with the aid of pumps, but this favored the phenomenon of subsidence and the consequent increase in the slope of the tower. In the last decades of the 20th century the inclination had undergone a decisive increase, so much so that the danger of collapse had become real. In 1993 the displacement from the top of the axis to the base was estimated to be approximately 4.47 meters, or approximately 4.5 degrees .

 

During the consolidation works, which began in 1990 and ended at the end of 2001 , the slope of the bell tower was reduced by encircling some floors, temporary application of steel tie rods and lead counterweights (up to 900 tons) and under-excavation, bringing it back to the one that, presumably, must have been 200 years old. Furthermore, the foundation has been consolidated to allow the tower to be safely maintained for at least another three centuries, thus allowing access to visitors. Starting in 2004, the restoration of all the external stone surfaces and the restoration and layout of the internal rooms began. Some of these interventions were carried out thanks to funds from the Lotto game , according to what is regulated by law no. 662/1996

 

Since March 2008 the tower has reached the definitive level of consolidation in terms of inclination, settling again at 3.97°, a value that should remain unchanged for at least another 300 years. The success of the operation is linked to the name of Michele Jamiolkowski , professor of the Polytechnic of Turin and president of the International Committee for the Protection of the Tower of Pisa from 1990 to 2003, to that of Carlo Viggiani , professor of the Department of Geotechnical Engineering of the University of the Studies of Naples Federico II and president of the International Committee for the conservation of monuments and historical sites and that of the engineer John Boscawen Burland , professor of the Department of Civil Engineering of the Imperial College of London .

 

After twenty years, the restoration work on the stone surfaces, both on the exterior and interior, was completed on 22 April 2011 .

 

The structure of the bell tower incorporates two rooms: one at the base of the tower, known as the Fish Room, due to a bas-relief depicting a fish; this room has no ceiling, being in fact the cable of the tower. The other one is the belfry, on the seventh ring. Delimited by the walls of the upper walkway, it is also open to the sky and in the centre, through an opening, it is possible to see the ground floor of the tower. There are also three flights of stairs: one uninterrupted from the base to the sixth ring, where you exit outside; one, a smaller spiral that leads from the sixth ring to the seventh; finally an even smaller one, still spiral, which leads from the seventh ring to the top.

 

Bells

Assunta - is the largest bell in the concert and emits the note B2, its weight amounts to 2600 kg. about; it was cast in 1654 by Giovanni Pietro Orlandi;

Crucifix - of note C#3 and weighing 1850 kg. approximately, originally cast in 1572 by Vincenzo Possenti, recast in 1818 by Gualandi da Prato;

San Ranieri - of note D#3 and weight 1150 kg. approximately, cast in 1735 by Pier Francesco Berti of Lucca;

Dal Pozzo - of note Sol3, cast in 1606 and damaged by the bombings of the last world war, displayed in a museum and replaced in 2004 by a copy made by the Marinelli foundry in Agnone weighing 490 kg. about;

Pasquereccia - of note G#3 and weighing approximately 1014 kg., cast in 1262 by Lotteringio di Bartolomeo (Locterineus de Pisis);

Terza - of note is #3 and weighs approximately 330 kg., made by Lorraine or Alsatian foundrymen in 1473;

Vespruccio - the minor, of note E4 and weighing 120 kg. approximately, made in the 14th century and recast in 1501.

The bells ring before masses in the cathedral and at midday via a system of electric clappers.

 

In ancient times each bell was used for a moment of the liturgical day. For example, the Pasquereccia rang for Easter, the Terce at the third hour of the day (nine in the morning), the Vespruccio bell at the time of vespers (six in the afternoon).

 

There is news of a bell stolen from the church of San Michele a Guamo , near Lucca, then recast to form a "new concert" .

The bell of San Ranieri was originally called "Giustizia" and was located in the palace of the same name. He used to play for the deaths of traitors and, it is supposed, he also played for the death of Count Ugolino . It was brought to the bell tower in the 15th century to replace the original Pasquareccia and later recast in 1606.

 

Pisa is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the city contains more than twenty other historic churches, several medieval palaces, and bridges across the Arno. Much of the city's architecture was financed from its history as one of the Italian maritime republics.

 

The city is also home to the University of Pisa, which has a history going back to the 12th century, the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, founded by Napoleon in 1810, and its offshoot, the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies.

 

History

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Pisa.

Ancient times

The most believed hypothesis is that the origin of the name Pisa comes from Etruscan and means 'mouth', as Pisa is at the mouth of the Arno river.

 

Although throughout history there have been several uncertainties about the origin of the city of Pisa, excavations made in the 1980s and 1990s found numerous archaeological remains, including the fifth century BC tomb of an Etruscan prince, proving the Etruscan origin of the city, and its role as a maritime city, showing that it also maintained trade relations with other Mediterranean civilizations.

 

Ancient Roman authors referred to Pisa as an old city. Virgil, in his Aeneid, states that Pisa was already a great center by the times described; and gives the epithet of Alphēae to the city because it was said to have been founded by colonists from Pisa in Elis, near which the Alpheius river flowed. The Virgilian commentator Servius wrote that the Teuti founded the town 13 centuries before the start of the common era.

 

The maritime role of Pisa should have been already prominent if the ancient authorities ascribed to it the invention of the naval ram. Pisa took advantage of being the only port along the western coast between Genoa (then a small village) and Ostia. Pisa served as a base for Roman naval expeditions against Ligurians and Gauls. In 180 BC, it became a Roman colony under Roman law, as Portus Pisanus. In 89 BC, Portus Pisanus became a municipium. Emperor Augustus fortified the colony into an important port and changed the name to Colonia Iulia obsequens.

 

Pisa supposedly was founded on the shore, but due to the alluvial sediments from the Arno and the Serchio, whose mouth lies about 11 km (7 mi) north of the Arno's, the shore moved west. Strabo states that the city was 4.0 km (2.5 mi) away from the coast. Currently, it is located 9.7 km (6 mi) from the coast. However, it was a maritime city, with ships sailing up the Arno. In the 90s AD, a baths complex was built in the city.

 

Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages

During the last years of the Western Roman Empire, Pisa did not decline as much as the other cities of Italy, probably due to the complexity of its river system and its consequent ease of defence. In the seventh century, Pisa helped Pope Gregory I by supplying numerous ships in his military expedition against the Byzantines of Ravenna: Pisa was the sole Byzantine centre of Tuscia to fall peacefully in Lombard hands, through assimilation with the neighbouring region where their trading interests were prevalent. Pisa began in this way its rise to the role of main port of the Upper Tyrrhenian Sea and became the main trading centre between Tuscany and Corsica, Sardinia, and the southern coasts of France and Spain.

 

After Charlemagne had defeated the Lombards under the command of Desiderius in 774, Pisa went through a crisis, but soon recovered. Politically, it became part of the duchy of Lucca. In 860, Pisa was captured by vikings led by Björn Ironside. In 930, Pisa became the county centre (status it maintained until the arrival of Otto I) within the mark of Tuscia. Lucca was the capital but Pisa was the most important city, as in the middle of tenth century Liutprand of Cremona, bishop of Cremona, called Pisa Tusciae provinciae caput ("capital of the province of Tuscia"), and a century later, the marquis of Tuscia was commonly referred to as "marquis of Pisa". In 1003, Pisa was the protagonist of the first communal war in Italy, against Lucca. From the naval point of view, since the ninth century, the emergence of the Saracen pirates urged the city to expand its fleet; in the following years, this fleet gave the town an opportunity for more expansion. In 828, Pisan ships assaulted the coast of North Africa. In 871, they took part in the defence of Salerno from the Saracens. In 970, they gave also strong support to Otto I's expedition, defeating a Byzantine fleet in front of Calabrese coasts.

 

11th century

The power of Pisa as a maritime nation began to grow and reached its apex in the 11th century, when it acquired traditional fame as one of the four main historical maritime republics of Italy (Repubbliche Marinare).

 

At that time, the city was a very important commercial centre and controlled a significant Mediterranean merchant fleet and navy. It expanded its powers in 1005 through the sack of Reggio Calabria in the south of Italy. Pisa was in continuous conflict with some 'Saracens' - a medieval term to refer to Arab Muslims - who had their bases in Corsica, for control of the Mediterranean. In 1017, Sardinian Giudicati were militarily supported by Pisa, in alliance with Genoa, to defeat the Saracen King Mugahid, who had settled a logistic base in the north of Sardinia the year before. This victory gave Pisa supremacy in the Tyrrhenian Sea. When the Pisans subsequently ousted the Genoese from Sardinia, a new conflict and rivalry was born between these major marine republics. Between 1030 and 1035, Pisa went on to defeat several rival towns in Sicily and conquer Carthage in North Africa. In 1051–1052, the admiral Jacopo Ciurini conquered Corsica, provoking more resentment from the Genoese. In 1063, Admiral Giovanni Orlandi, coming to the aid of the Norman Roger I, took Palermo from the Saracen pirates. The gold treasure taken from the Saracens in Palermo allowed the Pisans to start the building of their cathedral and the other monuments which constitute the famous Piazza del Duomo.

 

In 1060, Pisa had to engage in their first battle with Genoa. The Pisan victory helped to consolidate its position in the Mediterranean. Pope Gregory VII recognised in 1077 the new "Laws and customs of the sea" instituted by the Pisans, and emperor Henry IV granted them the right to name their own consuls, advised by a council of elders. This was simply a confirmation of the present situation, because in those years, the marquis had already been excluded from power. In 1092, Pope Urban II awarded Pisa the supremacy over Corsica and Sardinia, and at the same time raising the town to the rank of archbishopric.

 

Pisa sacked the Tunisian city of Mahdia in 1088. Four years later, Pisan and Genoese ships helped Alfonso VI of Castilla to push El Cid out of Valencia. A Pisan fleet of 120 ships also took part in the First Crusade, and the Pisans were instrumental in the taking of Jerusalem in 1099. On their way to the Holy Land, the ships did not miss the occasion to sack some Byzantine islands; the Pisan crusaders were led by their archbishop Daibert, the future patriarch of Jerusalem. Pisa and the other Repubbliche Marinare took advantage of the crusade to establish trading posts and colonies in the Eastern coastal cities of the Levant. In particular, the Pisans founded colonies in Antiochia, Acre, Jaffa, Tripoli, Tyre, Latakia, and Accone. They also had other possessions in Jerusalem and Caesarea, plus smaller colonies (with lesser autonomy) in Cairo, Alexandria, and of course Constantinople, where the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus granted them special mooring and trading rights. In all these cities, the Pisans were granted privileges and immunity from taxation, but had to contribute to the defence in case of attack. In the 12th century, the Pisan quarter in the eastern part of Constantinople had grown to 1,000 people. For some years of that century, Pisa was the most prominent commercial and military ally of the Byzantine Empire, overcoming Venice itself.

 

12th century

In 1113, Pisa and Pope Paschal II set up, together with the count of Barcelona and other contingents from Provence and Italy (Genoese excluded), a war to free the Balearic Islands from the Moors; the queen and the king of Majorca were brought in chains to Tuscany. Though the Almoravides soon reconquered the island, the booty taken helped the Pisans in their magnificent programme of buildings, especially the cathedral, and Pisa gained a role of pre-eminence in the Western Mediterranean.

 

In the following years, the powerful Pisan fleet, led by archbishop Pietro Moriconi, drove away the Saracens after ferocious battles. Though short-lived, this Pisan success in Spain increased the rivalry with Genoa. Pisa's trade with Languedoc, Provence (Noli, Savona, Fréjus, and Montpellier) were an obstacle to Genoese interests in cities such as Hyères, Fos, Antibes, and Marseille.

 

The war began in 1119 when the Genoese attacked several galleys on their way home to the motherland, and lasted until 1133. The two cities fought each other on land and at sea, but hostilities were limited to raids and pirate-like assaults.

 

In June 1135, Bernard of Clairvaux took a leading part in the Council of Pisa, asserting the claims of Pope Innocent II against those of Pope Anacletus II, who had been elected pope in 1130 with Norman support, but was not recognised outside Rome. Innocent II resolved the conflict with Genoa, establishing Pisan and Genoese spheres of influence. Pisa could then, unhindered by Genoa, participate in the conflict of Innocent II against king Roger II of Sicily. Amalfi, one of the maritime republics (though already declining under Norman rule), was conquered on August 6, 1136; the Pisans destroyed the ships in the port, assaulted the castles in the surrounding areas, and drove back an army sent by Roger from Aversa. This victory brought Pisa to the peak of its power and to a standing equal to Venice. Two years later, its soldiers sacked Salerno.

 

New city walls, erected in 1156 by Consul Cocco Griffi

In the following years, Pisa was one of the staunchest supporters of the Ghibelline party. This was much appreciated by Frederick I. He issued in 1162 and 1165 two important documents, with these grants: Apart from the jurisdiction over the Pisan countryside, the Pisans were granted freedom of trade in the whole empire, the coast from Civitavecchia to Portovenere, a half of Palermo, Messina, Salerno and Naples, the whole of Gaeta, Mazara, and Trapani, and a street with houses for its merchants in every city of the Kingdom of Sicily. Some of these grants were later confirmed by Henry VI, Otto IV, and Frederick II. They marked the apex of Pisa's power, but also spurred the resentment of other cities such as Lucca, Massa, Volterra, and Florence, thwarting their aim to expand towards the sea. The clash with Lucca also concerned the possession of the castle of Montignoso and mainly the control of the Via Francigena, the main trade route between Rome and France. Last, but not least, such a sudden and large increase of power by Pisa could only lead to another war with Genoa.

 

Genoa had acquired a dominant position in the markets of southern France. The war began in 1165 on the Rhône, when an attack on a convoy, directed to some Pisan trade centres on the river, by the Genoese and their ally, the count of Toulouse, failed. Pisa, though, was allied to Provence. The war continued until 1175 without significant victories. Another point of attrition was Sicily, where both the cities had privileges granted by Henry VI. In 1192, Pisa managed to conquer Messina. This episode was followed by a series of battles culminating in the Genoese conquest of Syracuse in 1204. Later, the trading posts in Sicily were lost when the new Pope Innocent III, though removing the excommunication cast over Pisa by his predecessor Celestine III, allied himself with the Guelph League of Tuscany, led by Florence. Soon, he stipulated[clarification needed] a pact with Genoa, too, further weakening the Pisan presence in southern Italy.

 

To counter the Genoese predominance in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Pisa strengthened its relationship with its traditional Spanish and French bases (Marseille, Narbonne, Barcelona, etc.) and tried to defy the Venetian rule of the Adriatic Sea. In 1180, the two cities agreed to a nonaggression treaty in the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic, but the death of Emperor Manuel Comnenus in Constantinople changed the situation. Soon, attacks on Venetian convoys were made. Pisa signed trade and political pacts with Ancona, Pula, Zara, Split, and Brindisi; in 1195, a Pisan fleet reached Pola to defend its independence from Venice, but the Serenissima soon reconquered the rebel sea town.

 

One year later, the two cities signed a peace treaty, which resulted in favourable conditions for Pisa, but in 1199, the Pisans violated it by blockading the port of Brindisi in Apulia. In the following naval battle, they were defeated by the Venetians. The war that followed ended in 1206 with a treaty in which Pisa gave up all its hopes to expand in the Adriatic, though it maintained the trading posts it had established in the area. From that point on, the two cities were united against the rising power of Genoa and sometimes collaborated to increase the trading benefits in Constantinople.

 

13th century

In 1209 in Lerici, two councils for a final resolution of the rivalry with Genoa were held. A 20-year peace treaty was signed, but when in 1220, the emperor Frederick II confirmed his supremacy over the Tyrrhenian coast from Civitavecchia to Portovenere, the Genoese and Tuscan resentment against Pisa grew again. In the following years, Pisa clashed with Lucca in Garfagnana and was defeated by the Florentines at Castel del Bosco. The strong Ghibelline position of Pisa brought this town diametrically against the Pope, who was in a dispute with the Holy Roman Empire, and indeed the pope tried to deprive Pisa of its dominions in northern Sardinia.

 

In 1238, Pope Gregory IX formed an alliance between Genoa and Venice against the empire, and consequently against Pisa, too. One year later, he excommunicated Frederick II and called for an anti-Empire council to be held in Rome in 1241. On May 3, 1241, a combined fleet of Pisan and Sicilian ships, led by the emperor's son Enzo, attacked a Genoese convoy carrying prelates from northern Italy and France, next to the isle of Giglio (Battle of Giglio), in front of Tuscany; the Genoese lost 25 ships, while about a thousand sailors, two cardinals, and one bishop were taken prisoner. After this major victory, the council in Rome failed, but Pisa was excommunicated. This extreme measure was only removed in 1257. Anyway, the Tuscan city tried to take advantage of the favourable situation to conquer the Corsican city of Aleria and even lay siege to Genoa itself in 1243.

 

The Ligurian republic of Genoa, however, recovered fast from this blow and won back Lerici, conquered by the Pisans some years earlier, in 1256.

 

The great expansion in the Mediterranean and the prominence of the merchant class urged a modification in the city's institutes. The system with consuls was abandoned, and in 1230, the new city rulers named a capitano del popolo ("people's chieftain") as civil and military leader. Despite these reforms, the conquered lands and the city itself were harassed by the rivalry between the two families of Della Gherardesca and Visconti. In 1237 the archbishop and the Emperor Frederick II intervened to reconcile the two rivals, but the strains continued. In 1254, the people rebelled and imposed 12 Anziani del Popolo ("People's Elders") as their political representatives in the commune. They also supplemented the legislative councils, formed of noblemen, with new People's Councils, composed by the main guilds and by the chiefs of the People's Companies. These had the power to ratify the laws of the Major General Council and the Senate.

 

Decline

The decline is said to have begun on August 6, 1284, when the numerically superior fleet of Pisa, under the command of Albertino Morosini, was defeated by the brilliant tactics of the Genoese fleet, under the command of Benedetto Zaccaria and Oberto Doria, in the dramatic naval Battle of Meloria. This defeat ended the maritime power of Pisa and the town never fully recovered; in 1290, the Genoese destroyed forever the Porto Pisano (Pisa's port), and covered the land with salt. The region around Pisa did not permit the city to recover from the loss of thousands of sailors from the Meloria, while Liguria guaranteed enough sailors to Genoa. Goods, however, continued to be traded, albeit in reduced quantity, but the end came when the Arno started to change course, preventing the galleys from reaching the city's port up the river. The nearby area also likely became infested with malaria. The true end came in 1324, when Sardinia was entirely lost to the Aragonese.

 

Always Ghibelline, Pisa tried to build up its power in the course of the 14th century, and even managed to defeat Florence in the Battle of Montecatini (1315), under the command of Uguccione della Faggiuola. Eventually, however, after a long siege, Pisa was occupied by Florentines in 1405.[9] Florentines corrupted the capitano del popolo ("people's chieftain"), Giovanni Gambacorta, who at night opened the city gate of San Marco. Pisa was never conquered by an army. In 1409, Pisa was the seat of a council trying to set the question of the Great Schism. In the 15th century, access to the sea became more difficult, as the port was silting up and was cut off from the sea. When in 1494, Charles VIII of France invaded the Italian states to claim the Kingdom of Naples, Pisa reclaimed its independence as the Second Pisan Republic.

 

The new freedom did not last long; 15 years of battles and sieges by the Florentine troops led by Antonio da Filicaja, Averardo Salviati and Niccolò Capponi were made, but they failed to conquer the city. Vitellozzo Vitelli with his brother Paolo were the only ones who actually managed to break the strong defences of Pisa and make a breach in the Stampace bastion in the southern west part of the walls, but he did not enter the city. For that, they were suspected of treachery and Paolo was put to death. However, the resources of Pisa were getting low, and at the end, the city was sold to the Visconti family from Milan and eventually to Florence again. Livorno took over the role of the main port of Tuscany. Pisa acquired a mainly cultural role spurred by the presence of the University of Pisa, created in 1343, and later reinforced by the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa (1810) and Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (1987).

 

Pisa was the birthplace of the important early physicist Galileo Galilei. It is still the seat of an archbishopric. Besides its educational institutions, it has become a light industrial centre and a railway hub. It suffered repeated destruction during World War II.

 

Since the early 1950s, the US Army has maintained Camp Darby just outside Pisa, which is used by many US military personnel as a base for vacations in the area.

 

Geography

Climate

Pisa has a borderline humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa) and Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa). The city is characterized by cool to mild winters and hot summers. This transitional climate allows Pisa to have summers with moderate rainfall. Rainfall peaks in autumn. Snow is rare. The highest officially recorded temperature was 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) on 22 August 2011 and the lowest was −13.8 °C (7.2 °F) on 12 January 1985.

 

Culture

Gioco del Ponte

In Pisa there was a festival and game fr:Gioco del Ponte (Game of the Bridge) which was celebrated (in some form) in Pisa from perhaps the 1200s down to 1807. From the end of the 1400s the game took the form of a mock battle fought upon Pisa's central bridge (Ponte di Mezzo). The participants wore quilted armor and the only offensive weapon allowed was the targone, a shield-shaped, stout board with precisely specified dimensions. Hitting below the belt was not allowed. Two opposing teams started at opposite ends of the bridge. The object of the two opposing teams was to penetrate, drive back, and disperse the opponents' ranks and to thereby drive them backwards off the bridge. The struggle was limited to forty-five minutes. Victory or defeat was immensely important to the team players and their partisans, but sometimes the game was fought to a draw and both sides celebrated.

 

In 1677 the battle was witnessed by Dutch travelling artist Cornelis de Bruijn. He wrote:

 

"While I stayed in Livorno, I went to Pisa to witness the bridge fight there. The fighters arrived fully armored, wearing helmets, each carrying their banner, which was planted at both ends of the bridge, which is quite wide and long. The battle is fought with certain wooden implements made for this purpose, which they wear over their arms and are attached to them, with which they pummel each other so intensely that I saw several of them carried away with bloody and crushed heads. Victory consists of capturing the bridge, in the same way as the fistfights in Venice between the it:Castellani and the Nicolotti."

 

In 1927 the tradition was revived by college students as an elaborate costume parade. In 1935 Vittorio Emanuele III with the royal family witnessed the first revival of a modern version of the game, which has been pursued in the 20th and 21st centuries with some interruptions and varying degrees of enthusiasm by Pisans and their civic institutions.

 

Festivals and cultural events

Capodanno pisano (folklore, March 25)

Gioco del Ponte (folklore)

Luminara di San Ranieri (folklore, June 16)

Maritime republics regata (folklore)

Premio Nazionale Letterario Pisa

Pisa Book Festival

Metarock (rock music festival)

Internet Festival San Ranieri regata (folklore)

Turn Off Festival (house music festival)

Nessiáh (Jewish cultural Festival, November)

Main sights

 

The Leaning Tower of Pisa.

While the bell tower of the cathedral, known as "the leaning Tower of Pisa", is the most famous image of the city, it is one of many works of art and architecture in the city's Piazza del Duomo, also known, since the 20th century, as Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles), to the north of the old town center. The Piazza del Duomo also houses the Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptistry and the Campo Santo (the monumental cemetery). The medieval complex includes the above-mentioned four sacred buildings, the hospital and few palaces. All the complex is kept by the Opera (fabrica ecclesiae) della Primaziale Pisana, an old non profit foundation that has operated since the building of the Cathedral in 1063 to maintain the sacred buildings. The area is framed by medieval walls kept by the municipal administration.

 

Other sights include:

Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri, church sited on Piazza dei Cavalieri, and also designed by Vasari. It had originally a single nave; two more were added in the 17th century. It houses a bust by Donatello, and paintings by Vasari, Jacopo Ligozzi, Alessandro Fei, and Pontormo. It also contains spoils from the many naval battles between the Cavalieri (Knights of St. Stephan) and the Turks between the 16th and 18th centuries, including the Turkish battle pennant hoisted from Ali Pacha's flagship at the 1571 Battle of Lepanto.

St. Sixtus. This small church, consecrated in 1133, is also close to the Piazza dei Cavalieri. It was used as a seat of the most important notarial deeds of the town, also hosting the Council of Elders. It is today one of the best preserved early Romanesque buildings in town.

St. Francis. The church of San Francesco may have been designed by Giovanni di Simone, built after 1276. In 1343 new chapels were added and the church was elevated. It has a single nave and a notable belfry, as well as a 15th-century cloister. It houses works by Jacopo da Empoli, Taddeo Gaddi and Santi di Tito. In the Gherardesca Chapel are buried Ugolino della Gherardesca and his sons.

San Frediano. This church, built by 1061, has a basilica interior with three aisles, with a crucifix from the 12th century. Paintings from the 16th century were added during a restoration, including works by Ventura Salimbeni, Domenico Passignano, Aurelio Lomi, and Rutilio Manetti.

San Nicola. This medieval church built by 1097, was enlarged between 1297 and 1313 by the Augustinians, perhaps by the design of Giovanni Pisano. The octagonal belfry is from the second half of the 13th century. The paintings include the Madonna with Child by Francesco Traini (14th century) and St. Nicholas Saving Pisa from the Plague (15th century). Noteworthy are also the wood sculptures by Giovanni and Nino Pisano, and the Annunciation by Francesco di Valdambrino.

Santa Maria della Spina. A small white marble church alongside the Arno, is attributed to Lupo di Francesco (1230), is another excellent Gothic building.

San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno. The church was founded around 952 and enlarged in the mid-12th century along lines similar to those of the cathedral. It is annexed to the Romanesque Chapel of St. Agatha, with an unusual pyramidal cusp or peak.

San Pietro in Vinculis. Known as San Pierino, it is an 11th-century church with a crypt and a cosmatesque mosaic on the floor of the main nave.

 

Borgo Stretto. This medieval borgo or neighborhood contains strolling arcades and the Lungarno, the avenues along the river Arno. It includes the Gothic-Romanesque church of San Michele in Borgo (990). There are at least two other leaning towers in the city, one at the southern end of central Via Santa Maria, the other halfway through the Piagge riverside promenade.

Medici Palace. The palace was once a possession of the Appiano family, who ruled Pisa in 1392–1398. In 1400 the Medici acquired it, and Lorenzo de' Medici sojourned here.

Orto botanico di Pisa. The botanical garden of the University of Pisa is Europe's oldest university botanical garden.

Palazzo Reale. The ("Royal Palace"), once belonged to the Caetani patrician family. Here Galileo Galilei showed to Grand Duke of Tuscany the planets he had discovered with his telescope. The edifice was erected in 1559 by Baccio Bandinelli for Cosimo I de Medici, and was later enlarged including other palaces. The palace is now a museum.

Palazzo Gambacorti. This palace is a 14th-century Gothic building, and now houses the offices of the municipality. The interior shows frescoes boasting Pisa's sea victories.

Palazzo Agostini. The palace is a Gothic building also known as Palazzo dell'Ussero, with its 15th-century façade and remains of the ancient city walls dating back to before 1155. The name of the building comes from the coffee rooms of Caffè dell'Ussero, historic meeting place founded on September 1, 1775.

Mural Tuttomondo. A modern mural, the last public work by Keith Haring, on the rear wall of the convent of the Church of Sant'Antonio, painted in June 1989.

Museums

Museo dell'Opera del Duomo: exhibiting among others the original sculptures of Nicola Pisano and Giovanni Pisano, the Islamic Pisa Griffin, and the treasures of the cathedral.

Museo delle Sinopie: showing the sinopias from the camposanto, the monumental cemetery. These are red ocher underdrawings for frescoes, made with reddish, greenish or brownish earth colour with water.

Museo Nazionale di San Matteo: exhibiting sculptures and paintings from the 12th to 15th centuries, among them the masterworks of Giovanni and Andrea Pisano, the Master of San Martino, Simone Martini, Nino Pisano and Masaccio.

Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Reale: exhibiting the belongings of the families that lived in the palace: paintings, statues, armors, etc.

Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti per il Calcolo: exhibiting a collection of instruments used in science, between a pneumatic machine of Van Musschenbroek and a compass which probably belonged to Galileo Galilei.

Museo di storia naturale dell'Università di Pisa (Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa), located in the Certosa di Calci, outside the city. It houses one of the largest cetacean skeletons collection in Europe.

Palazzo Blu: temporary exhibitions and cultural activities center, located in the Lungarno, in the heart of the old town, the palace is easy recognizable because it is the only blue building.

Cantiere delle Navi di Pisa - The Pisa's Ancient Ships Archaeological Area: A museum of 10,650 square meters – 3,500 archaeological excavation, 1,700 laboratories and one restoration center – that visitors can visit with a guided tour.[19] The Museum opened in June 2019 and has been located inside to the 16th-century Medicean Arsenals in Lungarno Ranieri Simonelli, restored under the supervision of the Tuscany Soprintendenza. It hosts a remarkable collection of ceramics and amphoras dated back from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century BC, and also 32 ships dated back from the second century BCE and the seventh century BC. Four of them are integrally preserved and the best one is the so-called Barca C, also named Alkedo (written in the ancient Greek characters). The first boat was accidentally discovered in 1998 near the Pisa San Rossore railway station and the archeological excavations were completed 20 years later.

 

Churches

St. Francis' Church

San Francesco

San Frediano

San Giorgio ai Tedeschi

San Michele in Borgo

San Nicola

San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno

San Paolo all'Orto

San Piero a Grado

San Pietro in Vinculis

San Sisto

San Tommaso delle Convertite

San Zeno

Santa Caterina

Santa Cristina

Santa Maria della Spina

Santo Sepolcro

 

Palaces, towers and villas

Palazzo della Carovana or dei Cavalieri.

Pisa by Oldypak lp photo

Pisa

Palazzo del Collegio Puteano

Palazzo della Carovana

Palazzo delle Vedove

Torre dei Gualandi

Villa di Corliano

Leaning Tower of Pisa

 

Sports

Football is the main sport in Pisa; the local team, A.C. Pisa, currently plays in the Serie B (the second highest football division in Italy), and has had a top flight history throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, featuring several world-class players such as Diego Simeone, Christian Vieri and Dunga during this time. The club play at the Arena Garibaldi – Stadio Romeo Anconetani, opened in 1919 and with a capacity of 25,000.

 

Notable people

For people born in Pisa, see People from the Province of Pisa; among notable non-natives long resident in the city:

 

Giuliano Amato (born 1938), politician, former Premier and Minister of Interior Affairs

Alessandro d'Ancona (1835–1914), critic and writer.

Silvano Arieti (1914–1981), psychiatrist

Gaetano Bardini (1926–2017), tenor

Andrea Bocelli (born 1958), tenor and multi-instrumentalist.

Giosuè Carducci (1835–1907), poet and 1906 Nobel Prize in Literature winner.

Massimo Carmassi (born 1943), architect

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (1920–2016), politician, former President of the Republic of Italy

Maria Luisa Cicci (1760–1794), poet

Giovanni Carlo Maria Clari (1677–1754), a musical composer and maestro di cappella at Pistoia.

Alessio Corti (born 1965), mathematician

Rustichello da Pisa (born 13th century), writer

Giovanni Battista Donati (1826–1873), an Italian astronomer.

Leonardo Fibonacci (1170–1250), mathematician.

Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), physicist.

Giovanni Gentile (1875–1944), philosopher and politician

Orazio Gentileschi (1563–1639), painter.

Count Ugolino della Gherardesca (1214–1289), noble (see also Dante Alighieri).

Giovanni Gronchi (1887–1978), politician, former President of the Republic of Italy

Giacomo Leopardi [1798–1837), poet and philosopher.

Enrico Letta (born 1966), politician, former Prime Minister of Italy

Marco Malvaldi (born 1974), mystery novelist

Leonardo Ortolani (born 1967), comic writer

Antonio Pacinotti (1841–1912), physicist, inventor of the dynamo

Andrea Pisano (1290–1348), a sculptor and architect.

Afro Poli (1902–1988), an operatic baritone

Bruno Pontecorvo (1913–1993), nuclear physicist

Gillo Pontecorvo (1919–2006), filmmaker

Ippolito Rosellini (1800–1843), an Egyptologist.

Paolo Savi (1798–1871), geologist and ornithologist.

Antonio Tabucchi (1943–2012), writer and academic

Sport

Jason Acuña (born 1973), Stunt performer

Sergio Bertoni (1915–1995), footballer

Giorgio Chiellini (born 1984), footballer

Camila Giorgi (born 1991), tennis player

"We must wash one another's feet in the mutual daily service of love. But we must also wash one another's feet in the sense that we must forgive one another ever anew. The debt for which the Lord has pardoned us is always infinitely greater than all the debts that others can owe us (cf. Mt 18: 21-35). Holy Thursday exhorts us to this: not to allow resentment toward others to become a poison in the depths of the soul. It urges us to purify our memory constantly, forgiving one another whole-heartedly, washing one another's feet, to be able to go to God's banquet together."

 

– Pope Benedict XVI.

 

Detail from a medieval fresco in the basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le mura in Rome, showing St Lawrence the deacon washing the feet of the poor.

What will matter - Michael Josephson

 

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.

There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else.

Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.

Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.

So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.

It won't matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end. It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought but what you built, not what you got but what you gave.

What will matter is not your success but your significance.

What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught.

What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.

What will matter is not your competence but your character.

What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when your gone.

What will matter is not your memories but the memories that live in those who loved you.

What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident.

It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice. Choose to live a life that matters.

*** Chapter 5 - παραμένω ***

  

There is no ferryman. Over the infamous River Styx, four carriers cross with neither toll nor care. It is, in no uncertain terms, a trespass, and Diana of Themyscira is well aware that Charon's disappearance is not a blessing in disguise to the expedition. If there is any grace for her only two friends in this place, Diana knows, it will need to be salvaged.

 

The princess sinks to one knee, and whispers to the magic water babbling beneath them all. An unsettled Baroness von Gunther demands she be restored to her feet. Her men practically march over Barbara——resolving to go around Epimetheus——and aim their weaponry at Diana's skull to motivate her; she stands, in her own time. She nervously wrings one of her bracers, and spots Barbara's discerning gaze: Indicative of the professor's forte having helped her, in part, to work out Diana's action.

 

"… It is the way of my kin, to take oaths on the body of Styx. To consecrate our resolution to the eldest of beings, and some believe, to better one's fortune in their trials."

 

Epimetheus' nods quicken. "That's right. Perhaps, I too might..?"

 

Diana holds up her hands tightly, to allay him. "No. I have tried the baroness' patience enough as it is. And in truth… it is a superstition more than anything."

 

"Really. That's the superstition," Barbara comments, eyeballing their present state of affairs. Her derision dries up in no time, in the face of the inescapably staggering kingdom they have fallen into.

 

"Would you look at this place?" she inhales.

 

Every facet of the domain, from the alarmingly base aspect of its watchtower, to its air, should shun a prudent being, but Hades flouts these worldly principles. It beckons, like the sirens in many a chronicled voyage, and it holds Barbara and the rest in cold arms. For a time. The railing under Barbara's elbows begins to sting, from an updraft coming off of the second river they have chosen to weather. The Pyriphlegethon arches its back, spewing magma in a near miss on the skiff's belly. If only to keep their minds off of the heat——as she may well have excused herself, if pressed——Barbara takes this moment to know her companions' thoughts.

 

"Diana?"

 

Before now, the Amazon has not heard the woman's voice without defenses in place.

 

"If any of us even live through this, who is this apple going to? How can we know ‘the fairest’ must be a woman?"

 

"I cannot believe that Eris could bring herself to devise a challenge suggesting otherwise," Diana grimly advises. "Even for her to delight in our preconceptions."

 

Epimetheus sits down, grabbing his legs. A few grunts later, an inspired look washes over him.

 

"The Golden Maidens. Of Hephaestus' forge? I have heard they are, flawless."

 

"Which one?" Barbara logically follows up with.

 

"Physical beauty led to ruin once already," Diana breaks it to him, tolerantly.

 

Epimetheus shrinks. "I—"

 

"Should've thought of that," Barbara intonates. "You'll get the next one, big man."

 

Crossing her arms, Diana elects to clue Barbara in. "Epimetheus making the choice is mandatory. He is Eris' champion."

 

"… I'm not laughing," Barbara warns.

 

"Everyone must be considered," Diana gives her cousin counsel, "immortal or not. Remember there are many faces of attraction, qualities that make one 'fair.'"

 

"It could be any one of the goddesses of justice," Barbara despairs. "How can there possibly be one answer?"

 

Diana steps aside, for Barbara alone to hear her. "I've long thought the puzzle a paradox. Would the one chosen, worthy to judge, not be ‘the fairest’ themselves?"

 

Barbara glances over the princess' shoulder. "Oh surely not."

 

"Marilyn Monroe," Epimetheus puts forth, to Barbara's pique.

 

"Physical beau—"

 

"She is a philanthropist," he frowns.

 

No sooner has the trio washed their hands of the conundrum, for now, than one mercenary shouts for the party to listen with him. The third river approaches. The thrumming, which is imminently to act as a dirge, is heard by all.

 

Reason has it that the contaminant over the water is too evocative to be fog; instead of being dispersed by the transports, it takes to them magnetically, scaling their hulls and worming over their rails. The ghostly residue sings a dreadful tune, like an ever-present chamber fraught with plague, just low enough and with such discontinuity that Barbara and the rest cannot hope to put it out of mind. Diana exchanges looks with Von Gunther, affirming her earlier directions, and with that, their trajectory slopes ever closer to the Cocytus' slick banks.

 

The hollow moan of the river is not what the adventurers have primarily been tracking, as they come to find. Further inland towards the dwelling of Hades, from across the flattest tract they have yet encountered, the most pervasive chorus of wails drifts to their sore ears. Cyber, whose augmented senses stand to be ravaged by this environment, roughly takes the controls from their pilot and propels the caravan into a maddening flight over the plains. The wild sobs, of course, only worsen. Her head set to burst from input, Cyber doubles over the throttle in a stupor, cranking it almost to its breaking point. When from out of the dark, a tall, bent shape whooshes past the port side and overhead, nearly decapitating the men on the bow, Von Gunther barks for Cyber to be removed. No one volunteers, until Diana bolts to the deranged woman, wrapping hands around her enemy's and throwing back the lever about to doom the transport. The line of skiffs lurches to a halt.

 

Cyber regains her bearings, instinctively fighting Diana's control, but neither one has the fortitude for this dance. They keep one another in a lock, finding their breath while slowly deescalating. Diana looks away, ahead of them; Cyber continues staring at the ship's savior, until the cacophony catches back up with her. It forces her to stoop in full surrender, and without pretense or posture, without thinking much at all, decently, Diana takes her shoulder.

 

Von Gunther and most others have white-knuckle holds any part of the sled convenient to them. Same as her guards, Barbara had dropped to the deck at the close call. She twists her head to see Epimetheus stood straight, looking prepared for incoming danger and, notably, not as if some had recently grazed his hair.

 

"You might've been… oh never mind," Barbara relents, dusting herself off.

 

Epimetheus, bewildered by this concern, pats her arm, doubling the bewilderment aboard. He trots off to where he last saw Diana.

 

The Amazon warrior has lighted on Hades' land officially, leaping the last meters from their lead transport. Aberrantly, at this depth in the planet, the ground here is a rich loam, though this has not helped the scant trees——yews, quite dead——dotting the shallow, bluish hills. The particularly large trunk that would have caused a wreck, now behind them, is something of a marker for this "orchard".

 

It seems the crying cannot feasibly be any nearer, echoing between the decomposed wood, but still, no source betrays itself. Diana preemptively motions for silence from the others, and not a moment before Von Gunther makes her rival's jump, moving to reestablish dominance over their course. The heroine cares not; she looks back to Barbara and Epimetheus, eyes wide at the beacon which the skiffs are making for. The Red Panzer takes a hint.

 

"Mach diese Lichter aus," his order seeps harshly from his lips.

 

With haste, the headlamps down the string of transports clunk off, prompting winces from all except the resident Titan. The crying is unwavering, which could somehow be taken as a relief.

 

Diana's eyes make a cursory sweep of the land, then another. She detects a scattering of the dried-out saplings defined by cloven trunks at their bases, and every one of them, bearing a mere two branches. Furthermore, when one of these putative trees spasms, and clambers deeper into the gnarled grove, Diana's heart skips. A terrible fixation returns to her psyche: An old tale, from days when her mother would put her to bed, and when it was fact that the evening was the only time in which there could exist monsters.

 

"Hera," Diana blasphemes, in shock. "Not… Maenads."

 

"You see them…" Von Gunther flinches, experiencing a sighting for herself. Her spear is tucked in at her hip. Some crew members point out and gasp at another receding, gangling blur.

 

From the bow, Cyber chokes "What are they," with precious little spirit left, ready to collapse all over again.

 

"The muses of Dionysus," Barbara murmurs, with Diana picking up the rest.

 

"Mad, from indulgences in life. In death, in the Fields of Mourning, they will have lost more than their sanity. Here, they are not flesh, or souls. Impressions. Of annihilation."

 

…

 

"We go no further with these carriers. They will see that we are invaders."

 

Von Gunther is taken aback at this conclusion. "You think we will leave behind our best fortifications t—"

 

"Your fortifications are nothing here," Diana's voice roils. "I have told you time and again, we did not come here as we should have. We earned no shield from the shades of death. I assure you, they can harm us. And the maenads… they wish to."

 

The skiffs touch down, allowing to disembark: Cyber, limping to the lead; Barbara, who trips the last step off the telescopic gangway, with Panzer ever her escort; and Epimetheus, who has two dozen soldiers overtly keeping him between themselves and the heart of the dead forest. Their parade approaching, Diana finds it all too easy to picture eyes going grey, skin paling and sinking into bone. All of them, wandering to their ends. Unless.

 

"If I walk, they will think me one more lost soul…"

 

"You're not going alone," Epimetheus and Von Gunther shoot her down, as one. This offends them both.

 

"With each person allowed in its presence, you feed them to the apple's suggestions. We would destroy ourselves before we remembered what we were fighting over. I swear, I will bring you back the apple."

 

Diana knows appealing to her friends will gain her no ground with the baroness. "… Let your men stay."

 

"We will take whomsoever we wish. Panzer!"

 

Her lieutenant calls for half the men to secure their landing, and the other, to form a wide semicircle behind Diana's guidance. Panzer takes this time as they form up to boast at the princess, Barbara in hand.

 

"You will feel better, keeping an eye on her yourself, I think. … Safer, this way, yes? Doctor?" he corroborates with his shield. Barbara's eyes tell Diana everything on the woman's mind: The terror, the anger, and the uncanny readiness binding them.

 

Diana catches Cyber still walking, apart from any of her purported allies. She balks the masked woman with a hand into her shoulder; be it defensively or trustingly, Cyber mirrors the action. They again pause like this. Diana looks at the clenched fist on her, at the infinitesimal smile of courage Epimetheus has, and all the hateful and fearful men around them.

 

“… We must not let them realize we are of the living. … Do not answer them. Do not be afraid.”

 

Onwards into the ambiguous den, the band trickles. Panzer's formation disintegrates in seconds. No step taken is remiss. Every tree is intensely studied, though this care is soon made unnecessary: Diana stalks the maenads' coarser vocalizations in as straight a path possible, and instead of the ambush on everyone's minds, their first proper encounter with Hades' inhabitants is a gradual and horrible exhibition.

 

They are sallow. Their only coverage is mange-riddled hair and tattered pelts, rusty in color, hooked around their gaunt silhouettes. Some, in small rabbles——and others lost all to themselves——simulate a raucous soirée by throwing their bodies to phantom tones, only to come to standstills, perhaps trying to remember. Some tussle and strangle one another in the loose soil. In the spindly branches, still more of them laze and stretch. They all cry, unbearably.

 

Diana and her shaky company play through, and largely, the maenads ignore them in their hectic fashion. In the way of their weapons and attentions, the men selected by Von Gunther represent commendable restraint, but not to perfection: Aimlessly, one maenad scuttles from out the dry brush and into the shin of a soldier just to Diana's right, and the Amazon stays his sidearm before it can be pointed.

 

The maenad blenches and unduly staggers back and forth from the collision, but the amber eyes behind its tangled mane lock onto the soldier, Diana, and Cyber beside her, one at a time. It asks them each,

 

“Have you drink?”

 

It asks, with the glistening white smile of every maenad, tortured into their lips for centuries. Diana moves forward with the other two, like they are children, who would otherwise have kept gawking. Epimetheus and his cousin are the only ones to comprehend the maenad's words, spoken in too archaic a form of Greek for Barbara. Out of habit, the professor might have asked for Epimetheus to translate, but she has in mind Diana's last words; instead of comprehending, Barbara does what she can to not be afraid.

 

Panzer has been rapt ever since the denizens of the orchard appeared. Stably he treads, hardly containing his intoxication by the suspense. The maenads' pleas to the unknowing men come and go as a tide, when the next huddle of ragged semblances catches on to their "sisters'" newest fascination. Darting past and between legs, then skulking, slinking in their dolor, they ask.

 

"Have you drink?"

 

They cry.

 

"Have you drink?"

 

Busied with enforcing abstinence from any upheavals, Diana is caught unaware by the nauseous hike taking them almost to the fourth river, the Lethe, whose waters are as calm as silk being pulled. The trees here open into something of a small, dried-up atoll, maenads sprinkled about its rim… and down the deceiving grade: A nest of detritus, five feet high and across, cradling what they all sought.

 

Diana had not given thought to how the apple might appear; accurate to Eris' forecast, it is deteriorating. Of regular proportions, it bares abnormal dappling from what could——in a less abnormal place——be called oxidation. This tinges its gold with unappealing umber, but set within the suffocating blue tint of the maenads' place of unrest, it emanates a color still so lurid as to effectively sting the eyes. On its skin, the treacherous scrawl survives: "to the most fair"

 

It has dawned on Barbara that like most every abominable attraction in Hades, the Golden Apple has a voice all its own. But this voice is pitiable, in need. Yes, like a lost child. Telling the woman that only she would do for its protector.

 

"We have to… get it back to England. We need it studied, in my… I need it."

 

Diana knows better than to contradict her, now. If Barbara is still making excuses to have it, then she has not succumbed to it. The princess can hear it; Von Gunther and Cyber will have too, by now, as Eris of Discourse so invidiously contrived. A timer is running, more certainly than ever. Even so, Diana impedes Epimetheus from stepping right over the ledge to the fell treasure.

 

From the cusp of the cavity, the women and men evaluate an extraction. The maenads' patrolling is ubiquitous, but without intent. They flail about the articulated corners of the mound on which the apple is perched, which owes its composition to entwined bodies: Hands invading ribcages, jaws around throats, all mashed into a pedestal under their own power, or whatever power they had in their afterlife. These were truly the maenads, their souls. Epimetheus' inquisitive face darkens.

 

"Zeus must have thought the apple would offer them rest, and so vindicate Eris' wiles," Diana relates. She turns for a moment from the graphic jigsaw. "… Even their spirits perished."

 

She feels Cyber tugging away from her. Diana actually unhands the woman, but walks backward with her to negotiate.

 

"There is no need for us all to risk a trap. Take everyone back to the ships. You have my word that I will give to you the apple."

 

Cyber doggedly refuses. "Out of my way."

 

In the blink of an eye that Diana idles to tell Epimetheus not to leave Barbara's side, Panzer has offloaded Barbara onto his nearest man, breezed around the heroine, and rammed his robotic arm into Cyber's hip. There is a strum of energy felt in all their chests, and with it, Cyber pitches forward, to be stabilized by her saboteur. Patches of her sentient armor drip away.

 

Diana's vengeance is alone deferred by the guns that have Barbara covered. Von Gunther notes, with an incredulous eye, the Amazon's hampered response. "Spare us. Cyber would never shame your end with remorse."

 

"She isn't breathing as she should," Epimetheus says, redundantly, but genuinely.

 

"Low-bred," the baroness derogates Cyber with, passing her up. "Presumptuous. As if you were here for any reason but your weapons and your rage."

 

The doomed villainess has no vision. She cannot appreciate her ears' long-awaited freedom from the maenads' crying, for the enduring organic portions of her now being smothered in their cast prison. She can wriggle, like larvae, and that is all. The wispy, green light in Panzer's forearm winks out.

 

"Centralized, conductivity-neutralizing radiation. We call it the 'Anti-Elektrisch'," he triumphs, lowly, at her collar.

 

He eases Diana's lasso off his former accomplice's belt, and once delivering a pithy "Auf wiedersehen," with his enhanced strength he hauls her from the armpit, sending the paralyzed Cyber in a furious arc to the Lethe's passive body: A game, to him, although the splash has the utility of distracting a few maenads from the circle. Their overthrow assured, Von Gunther and her enforcer begin the final stretch to their ultimate desire, with Panzer theoretically awarding the apple.

 

Barbara, whether from the apple carving away her discretion, or from her legitimate revulsion, is having none of it.

 

“Illiterates,” she mocks their backs. “Neither one of you has asked yourself if Troy was always the outcome in mind. If you take that apple back to the world—”

 

For Barbara still to not be entertaining “the fairest”, even for herself, Diana is sure the professor has retained her wits. There is a hope to buy time with them. Her eyes swivel onto Panzer, to the Lethe, to Panzer again.

 

The indent in the earth carries Von Gunther's voice well, as she does not raise it or turn for the Englishwoman's nettling. “It is very simple equation, why the apple led to devastation all that time ago, little girl. It was crafted too early for me to accept it.”

 

"Barmy…" Barbara's diagnosis dies on the vine.

 

Von Gunther is five strides from the apple's altar. “I will have favor with the gods. A seat at the council that can sculpt this planet’s population with a mere thought. The divine adoration of those reprieved, and worthy to behold me. In a fair world.”

 

"Kill me, before I have to see it."

 

"Hmm… 'after.' In higher society," Von Gunther schools Barbara, "there will be demand for laborers. And bloodsport."

 

Panzer's unseating of the Golden Apple is perfunctory, immature. Once possessed, though, he shudders with servile gravity at it. For him, his helmet's likeness is lost in the trinket's dim reflection. It is the baroness he sees, premier, surpassing all else.

 

"Through the will of Odin, meine Herrscherin, I give to you—"

 

"Minerva is wrong," Diana rebuts: First, projecting down to the villains, then carefully taking the incline to the apple herself. The soldiers' resolve to keep Diana and her friends in line survives as little more than show. Weapons are on standby, but none of Von Gunther's men feel they have an enemy in the Amazon, not with the peripheral song and dance of the maenads, and the face of Hades' house leaning in.

 

"There is one who may accept the apple, who will not bring about disaster. I was shown what will follow, should you claim it, Baroness. Yours will be an ephemeral reign."

 

"You were shown," mimics Von Gunther, not at all listening. The apple whimpers. It needs her.

 

"Eris forewarned you would beat us to it," Diana declares, moderating her persistence so as not to be transparent, "and so you have. I tell you now, in your faction's subjugation of the Earth, you do not live to lord over it. The apple trades hands over and over, sowing the desolation of all you love and hate, indiscriminately."

 

Diana leaves them space——only a second or two——to deliberate, before she imposes completely on their ritual.

 

"If you cannot believe my words," she indicates her plundered lasso on Panzer's person, "see my mind. The truth."

 

"I've no use for your gods' omens," Von Gunther shelters herself. With the curl of the baroness' mouth, one pulse in her temple, Diana knows she has struck it. The lurking insecurity.

 

"But," comes the rationalization, "to glimpse our finest hours, and how I might thwart this, untimely end… I accept."

 

The woman sanctions Panzer to move in on Diana, who turns her back to signal concordance, with her arms behind, to be bound. Panzer privately smiles behind his mask of Death, insignificantly swapping the apple to his left hand to utilize the lasso with his stronger, favored right. Diana's thoughts are not of the surface degradation. They are entirely of Barbara and Epimetheus, both of whom watch their ally doubtingly, blind to the princess' ends, to her fear for them should she fail.

 

Timed with Panzer taking her arm, and not before, Diana gives what she suspects to be her penultimate words to her cousin, and to the daring woman she has only begun to know. They are the same words she last gave them: Not comforting, as before, but commanding.

 

"Do not be afraid."

 

The lasso slips around her hands. As it has forever operated, not with magic and not with guile can any one or thing in its bind cheat their nature; their truth is revealed for all to see. Diana's truth is that she has seen no explicit, future catastrophe to share with Von Gunther. The truth is that she is very much afraid herself.

 

The truth is, Diana is alive.

 

The foxes' crying stops.

 

Everyone stops.

 

It all unfolds in a flash. At her back, Diana ripples the lasso with just her wrists; her proficiency manipulates the middle of the rope to funnel as with a mind of its own into a slipknot around the apple in Panzer's left, human hand. As downplayed as her first movement, she flicks a shoulder forward. The apple slingshots from a stupefied Panzer's fingers, by her ear and, without arcing, into Epimetheus' chest. The item bounces disappointingly onto the compost of Hades' playing field, back over the lip of the crater. Epimetheus flops down in a panic, and axes his arm over the apple to pin it before it can again find Panzer.

 

The Titan laughs, once, at his debatable foresight, but remembering himself, he and Barbara as well catch on to what Diana means to happen.

 

One maenad hanging off its claimed tree bristles with new ardor, having arrived at a conclusion about this positively glowing figure sharing its home.

 

"Driiink"

 

The champion of the Amazons performs an athletic spring and backbend over Panzer, unworried that she remains leashed to him as she lands and thunders up the ridge: Not to regroup, but further on still than the rest of their party, off to the Lethe. She wails like a great wind to her friends. "BACK TO THE SHIPS!"

 

Then the eruption.

 

Every maenad catapults ravenously after their departing sustenance, whooping and salivating as they go. Barbara narrowly avoids being bowled over by two of them in the pandemonium of Von Gunther's men likewise hopping about in the stampede. It is only for Diana's distraction, masking the scent of fear that hangs sickly-sweet over them, that they all survive. Von Gunther and Panzer are beet-red, agape, torn between the apple's retrieval, punishment for Diana, and the thirsting horde streaming down the dish they find themselves served in.

 

A maenad, clever enough to head Diana off from its fortuitous starting position, flings from the crest above Diana to behead her with one stroke by its cursed claws. Cutting it so close that she sees the tears dried in dirty striping on the predator's taut face, Diana limbos and pummels it in the gut. It spirals over her, spraying soil when it impacts the downhill. It never stops. Disoriented, livid, it keeps on its careless warpath. To Panzer.

 

Nigh-exceeding his rein on Diana, he grudgingly gives her up to convert the arm into a cannon and opens fire, ranging on the maenad unwisely late. It bucks its head into his hipbone, and pairing with the series of blasts he releases under their feet, they are carried——like a skipping-stone over a lake——back up the pitch he had traversed to be here. With jets of earth in tow they violently carousel by Epimetheus, chipping the ridge which he has not yet vacated. Barbara is pulling on his baldric to encourage his legs to take him someplace else. She strives not to fixate on the gold peeking through the bend of his arm.

 

"Come on!"

 

"TAKE MY APPLE," Von Gunther retches with unbridled malice at her pawns, eyes aflame, "FROM HIS DEAD HANDS!"

 

But none in Hades now answer her. The flame in her eyes is snuffed by the oncoming charge. Erroneously, she takes up her polearm and wartime handgun, and twenty maenads immediately peel off for the easier meal.

 

Summiting the pit, lasso at long last held, Diana catches sight. She swings her wrapped arm up. "No Paula! They see only me! DON'—"

 

Von Gunther is swarmed by the maenads, their throng tightening like a noose. The spear of the valkyries is bitten in half, through her knuckles. They wrangle her neck; hips and shoulders are dislocated by the beggars' cluster. Then, the last maenad to join in forces an entire arm into their warm cask.

 

The baroness is thrown down in a fountain of viscera. Slice after psychotic slice rends muscles into grisly confetti, raining over the centuries-parched serfs of Dionysus. When the meat is picked over, they inhale the soaked earth itself, and clean the spatter off each other, not sated but refreshed; aroused, even. In all of four seconds, the baptismal episode crescendos, and stops with the efficiency of clockwork. There is more drink, and no longer could it ever be concealed from the maenads' ignited perceptions. Their pinprick eyes peruse the options above. Glistening white smiles have turned a runny red. It could be said that the maenads were alive again. Alive, and raving mad.

 

Diana has not lingered, knowing that observance or guilt over the drawback is pointless now. The pack which had never faltered in its pursuit matches her own dead sprint for the Lethe. Barbara and Epimetheus take inspiration, in the opposite direction, ahead of most but not all of the soldiers.

 

Barbara does not censure Diana's detour, though compelled. Every molecule of air in the woman's body and the others' is issued to the run, and only the run. When the maenads' blaring gekkering fires up their spines and rattles in their jaws, this purges any fledgling stratagems that the individuals of the rout have naively shaping in their minds. Their flight turns primitive in nature, brought back to cave dwellers fleeing disembodied teeth in the night.

 

Frantically scanning for their skiffs, Barbara is instead treated to, on either side, a flurry of ashen limbs blending with those of the trees. To no one's surprise, the maenads are gaining. Barbara's heels tear up the ground. The irregular drumming extending all through her body makes each footfall seem inferior to the one before, like the one that won't be enough. Just then, Epimetheus——not lagging in the slightest, arms working like train pistons——obscures the demonic tide for her.

 

"They'll get me first," he decides for the two of them. He does not look at her. He scarcely has a smile contained, and she scarcely understands.

 

To their left, a soldier fissures under the weight of one maenad dropping out of its arboreal hideaway. Barbara somehow makes her legs pump faster, while the creatures' rote carnage occupies Epimetheus to such a degree that his companion has to alert him of an obstacle.

 

"Tree!"

 

Barbara has a shock when the giant of a man counterintuitively rounds it nearer to an inbound maenad. Taking the professor's word a much different way than intended, Epimetheus rocks too far forward on his step past the tree which is only just taller than him, but hooks his free hand upwards on its trunk to equalize. For the Titan, the husk uproots as cleanly as a pen from a well. He brings it overhead, almost in the maenad's arms, and swats the monster into the spongy soil, underneath his jump. The extempore weapon is rendered smithereens; Epimetheus, while keeping pace, brushes away the shavings, the Golden Apple acting as his broom.

 

"… Worked," is all the breath Barbara can spare for his feat.

 

"Yes," he chirps.

  

~~

  

Diana takes her last possible moment to circumvent a tackle. She twists out of the way to let a maenad scream by, and as it swings around, she kicks its chin upside-down. It is downed for three seconds, shaking crazily before taking off into the riot again.

 

Three minutes, Cyber has been under.

 

Another twenty seconds to get her out, if she has not drifted. Four minutes, at a stretch, to have her on a transport.

 

For resuscitation, no math could be done.

 

Diana needs the maenads to catch up a little more.

  

~~

  

Barbara almost misses the next soldier taken in the rush, for how quickly it is over. A maenad boosts him by the seat of his pants, striking him twice mid-air, and he lands in two wrenched halves. Only one other hunter stops to fight for the scraps; the rest rather like their odds of a body all to themselves.

 

Another soldier thinks he can get off a shot, but he snags a strap on his bandolier. His boot doesn't clear the other. His consequent seconds are filled with his squeals for help, with a maenad backing him into a snapped-off trunk. It impales him over it, but slowly, as an infant would be laid in a crib. Barbara zooms by it. What she had sworn to Diana was no empty motto. Not one tear.

  

~~

  

Through Diana's parries, her group of maenads has been evened, and now they race neck-and-neck for the first taste.

 

Eight paces from the Lethe, her blood on fire, Diana brings her arms out from her sides.

  

~~

  

The men who were left minding the airships have reactivated their floodlights, to witness the encroaching nightmare. Their comrades and the maenads are equally blinded, but no one stalls. The men on the ground yell for assistance, with Barbara even joining them, and then the first shot punches the dirt between them and the skiffs. And another. It is unclear if they were poor attempts on the frightful, bloodied shapes further back, or if it mattered at all to those who fired. The men on the ground yell louder. A few unadvisable shots are returned to the skiff's grille, and with them, a new line is drawn.

 

Epimetheus points at the ships. They are rotating left, as one.

 

"Oh no they do not," Barbara snarls.

  

~~

  

Diana hurls herself headfirst at the Lethe's textureless surface, and whets one silver bracer off the other. Reverberating mightily enough for a steeple, a fan of sparks wraps around the focused typhoon the Amazon has produced, and the Lethe, almost voluntarily, parts twenty meters in either direction. Diana falls, and the maenads flow in, a second behind her.

 

Cynthia Cyber's mutilated body——caked in silt, at the very bottom of the temporary passageway——rocks minimally away from the gale of Diana's making, too heavy to be pried up by the awesome force. But not by Diana herself.

 

The riverbed is so soft that, in a squat, Diana is embedded all the way to her shoulders, on which she has counted. This situates her to scoop Cyber up on her neck. With next to nothing solid beneath her to work against, Diana achieves a push-off that could compact diamonds, which is only just enough to send the two in a reversed vault, surfing over and against the downpour of maenads.

 

Vile breath and claws tag the heroine's back, and she, with her dead weight cargo, is slowed. Diana screams, hefting Cyber out of reach. She defies the cuts, the very air obstructing her, to rise. The Lethe is returning to engulf them all.

 

The fifth river is not destined to be crossed this day, yet in the Acheron's darkest trench, the knell of Diana's resilience is heard. Someone there slumbering, dreaming ever-new miseries for the world high above, slumbers no more.

  

~~

  

Dodging under the hail of laser-fire, Barbara cannot believe she and Epimetheus seem to maintain their distance from the retreating convoy, before becoming aware of a separate feud aboard: The command ship that Barbara and the other abductees had come here in is presently bringing up the rear of its autopilot's own heading, as all four transports retrace their exact slide into the Underworld. The deserters had all piled into the command ship, in error, as close to the danger as they could be, and now, all those not unloading their guns' dark energy on the ground are grappling over the console. Half of them try to disengage the predetermined route to foolishly find their own, faster way out of this living hell. The rest are having second thoughts and wanting to delay for their stragglers down below, and for once, Barbara has a reason to wish some of them their lives a while longer.

 

The unlikely pair is practically out of the orchard, running a half-minute behind their only chance for deliverance, when Barbara and Epimetheus' paths are forced to diverge. A tree before them explodes from a blast at their backs, credited to a maenad sideswiping one fatigued soldier's Cyber-cannon. Barbara's heart sinks when one, then two of the creatures fully outdistance her. She nearly stops altogether, to accept what must follow, but none of the feral specters double back. They spring to dig their fingers into the steel of the command ship's underside, and begin to creep up and around, ducking away from the men at the rails, biding their time to let the greatest feast of all commence.

 

It is worse, Barbara realizes, to see them like this——processing, patient——than at their most manic. She and the current survivors on foot are being saved for later. This in mind, and their lead on the maenads lost forever, they decide it will be now, or never, that they push back.

 

The handful of ground troops pepper the maenads' numbers with their firearms, and the mystic weapons prove effective, to a point; the pallid beasts drop off like insects, crisped and smoldering as an occult virus grips their bony forms, though they right themselves in a matter of seconds after hitting dirt. At the back of the chase, and a problem once again, they are but a fraction slower than earlier.

 

Pressured into defense, some maenads still hanging on give up the skiff, and an unexpectedly coordinated maneuver of their own rains down to thresh four soldiers instantly. Barbara is spritzed by the blender of crimson, whipping her head away to see Epimetheus with one of their otherworldly enemies in a chokehold, and two wrists in one hand, to hinder it from taking his face off.

 

With its victorious howl, the first maenad to swing itself onto the deck clears the two parties waring over the master control panel, leaving the ships at a less-than-ideal but workable speed to overtake, and board. There will not be another chance to make it, before their train passes the Cocytus, and transcends Hades for all time. Thus, what once was "full-tilt" for Barbara is brutally redefined, where her bones may as well be blades within her muscles. She hastens all the way ahead of the besieged command ship, and when she can no longer, she launches herself onto one of the gravitational pontoons of the transport third-in-line.

 

The Englishwoman looks up, into the barrel of a gun. Another soldier has had the same idea to abandon the rear skiff, and is not liable to share his sanctuary. He spits some obscenity to her, where she can do nothing except cling like a rat. He goes to take his shot; he takes another, straight through his eye, from one of the last men still up and running. Barbara screams shortly, in perplexed relief. Her savior is young just like the Panzer was, charging with a limp, and for his terror, his actions cannot be read into. Had he killed his brother-in-arms with the conscience to save another, or only for his own prospects, the indeterminate gesture will remain so in Barbara's mind, to her dying day, when a maenad blitzes him to bits. Barbara gets climbing.

 

She gropes up the rungs running around the hull to the transom, so far as to have an arm over the topmost bar at the time that the maenad, slithering around the command ship's bow above her, sniffs her out. The thing shuffles about on the outside of the vehicle, nose down, and tenses its haunches to take Barbara: Mortal woman, facing the undeath of its amber eyes, is petrified as only she can be. Right as it is clutching its way between the skiffs, with claws aloft, a booming voice sounds out:

 

"Dr. Minerva!"

 

Epimetheus lopes desperately for the impending scene. With all his might he casts his maenad into the aft command ship, curling it around the fuselage as if it were a damp towel. Underfoot, he fetches a far-flung spike from a shattered tree, which still burns at one end with Cyber's arcane fire.

 

"Tree!" he recommends.

 

His toss spins up to Barbara. Her only opportunity being to capture it underhand, the professor takes her end of the torch back into herself, and by a hair's width she fends off the embrace of her abhorrent hunter. Like oil, the maenad's chest sizzles against Barbara's deterrent, and before it plummets from the gunwale in a fetal bundle it shreds the sleeve off of her secured arm. First, skeptical of even taking in air, the woman shivers along with her prevailing light, but then between the torch's flickering, she sees. She sees, and her own fire is rejuvenated.

 

She observes in wonderment: Diana of Themyscira, Cynthia Cyber over her back, pounding closer, faster than Barbara could ever dream. Epimetheus gives a cheer——prematurely, he fears——as his cousin accelerates to the maenads both hounding him and walling her off, but the pack has not the time to formulate a takedown of this new quarry presenting itself. Pulling up next to them, Diana contorts over her shoulder at one's lunge to bat it off her and into a backspin; the Amazon whirls back to her feet without missing her stride.

 

Mesmerized, Barbara is not braced for an increase in altitude, almost biting her tongue in the shift. She catches herself on the railing and recalls their journey here: When they had made this descent before. Layered under the gunfire and mayhem of the command ship, the dread melody of the Cocytus again infects her ears.

 

"Diana! Epimetheus, the river!"

 

The third ship is already passing over the crevice, spurring Diana on to swoop under Epimetheus' arm and hurry him along; he untucks the apple in his care, to her elation. Her yell galvanizes them both.

 

"Do not let go of me!"

 

The princess draws the disabled arm of Cyber over her front like a javelin and points around at the final two maenads scraping at their heels. Fingertips latched under the manual triggers for the inventor's wrist-mounted missiles, Diana skips the three of them a foot off the ground, then ejects the full arsenal.

 

They ride a radiant shockwave far over the Cocytus' murky, wanting hands, and without need of her lasso to surmount the distance, Diana and company conserve momentum in such excess that their armored legs bust through a low wall on the stern, face-planting them to general safety. Barbara takes and then comes out of unpunctual cover, amazed but unsure if this is a time to celebrate. As fast as Barbara can scurry to look them over, Diana is upright and whisking Cyber to the skiff's wheelhouse. She lays the comatose woman down, setting to digging a hand through the control console's housing, easily as with paper. Barbara watches while offering Epimetheus an unneeded hand, which he takes anyway; it is for their escape he is stifling a giggle.

 

"What are you doing?" Barbara pants to Diana.

 

"Pardon me," says Epimetheus.

 

Diana's lasso soars from her hand again and cinches, strung onward to the skiff which is second from the lead.

 

"Her organs are machine," she worries over the body. "Siphoning this ship's power into her, I might make her to breathe again. I have seen her heal similarly. … But you must both take the next ship, before I try. She may need this one, all."

 

Barbara's aggravation is not duly expressed in an off-color remark before Epimetheus keeps her moving for their glowing lifeline. When they stop a moment to estimate the dismaying gap they have still to brave, and as Diana prepares the cables, the list of the transport diverts all their eyes to a figure far below, which skims beyond the Cocytus, though she is not slowing at the barrier. Even over the expanse, they can discern her as feminine.

 

Knotted joints end with large hands folded like bats' wings, and a dusty aura of dead skin hangs as a foul halo. The matted hair spun thoroughly around an elongated skull spares them her face. After everything, the heroes nonetheless stare, unbelieving, at a view nothing short of a curse in and of itself. Her hands uncouple from the cocoon and reach. Diana now also sees that she has used the river and penned two maenads in a frenzy, as well as one last soldier, chased so fair afield that he lost his chance at the ships long ago.

 

This exile of Hades, awoken from the Acheron, consumes them without hesitation. Her dress' chthonic train kisses their heads, and from the inside out spreads a mist clouding their eyes, to drag them into dreary acedia. They fold and fall, colorless even by the maenads' measure: Refuse, never to think or to move again.

 

"Relative of yours," Barbara shakily associates for Epimetheus, shimmying the lasso without being told. The Titan takes her lead.

 

"I've never had the displeasure."

 

"We know her only too well," Diana scowls. "She is sorrow, as old as Chaos itself. Perhaps older."

 

Weaving, robes cracking like whips, the devil Achlys takes flight after the ships extricating the souls she so covets. How she does cry. She humbles the maenads on the command vessel, coercing them to cringe and spit at her sight. Their flock endeavors to leave their depleted cornucopia, in exchange for the third skiff, but Diana——once convinced that her friends are at the point of no return to take the second——jams her cables against a discreet terminal in the ribbing of what armor Cyber has left.

 

The body starved for air jolts, and water flushes from the mask's vents, while the ship beneath the women convulses at the vampiric conduit. As all its lights dim, Cyber is swept up again by Diana and launched to their next safe haven. The third transport gives out before the maenads make contact, sending the last of the shadowy facsimiles tumbling with the sapped hull back to their purgatory, to cry, to hunger through a hundred more eras.

 

Barbara spills onto the second vehicle's transom, tracking Diana's landing further ahead: A sight more sure-footed than her last. The professor's exhausted arms then lug her back to the edge to check on Epimetheus' progress. He has more than enough strength but not the coordination for the activity, twirling right and left because he fails to use his legs to the fullest. Not helping the predicament is the apple, taking up one hand. Epimetheus spies his companion, and thrusts up the artifact, still eight feet short.

 

"Take it, for if I fall!"

 

Barbara is stunned, as though shot. At his words the world for her contracts around the Golden Apple, highlighted in splendorous warmth on its own plane of existence. That devout whisper, again insisting that it belong to the woman. And why should it not?

 

"You're… you give it, to me?"

 

Epimetheus ceases his struggle up the rope, retracting the apple an inch. The future does, this once, vividly paint a warning in his mind, for mingled in Barbara's aspect is another's. Fair. Innocent as she was dangerous, not knowing what she seeks, and seeking all the same. Even Epimetheus can think twice, to look upon Pandora, reincarnate.

 

"I—"

 

Barbara's hypnosis is intruded upon, when her leg nudges something that crunches.

 

~~

  

Diana yearns to break away to her cousin, to secure both him and the apple. The rescued body at her feet detains her from that wiser course.

  

~~

  

The something is a maenad's carcass, scorched and deformed. Much of its body appears caved in with scads of dints the right size and shape for knuckles. Now Barbara wakes.

  

~~

  

Diana waits, palm gingerly placed over the copper chin of Cyber; after endless seconds lapse, she feels life. The princess snaps back to the scene on the stern and is on her way, before Barbara's holler.

 

"DIANA! HE'S NOT—"

 

"Nicht so schnell!"

 

The Red Panzer trucks into Diana's lower back, with her shield in his bionic grasp. His blindside crams her into the cabinets under the seating at the ship's rails, and at once, he turns from her bruised heap, zeroing in on Barbara. Claw and shield flip aside on his prosthetic to make way for the cannon within. Barbara dives. The shot reshapes the stern down to the rudder; immense heat bends the rail tethering Epimetheus out and up, dangling the large man like bait on a fishing rod. He slips one arm's length back, to the pursuing Achlys.

 

Barbara turns over at Panzer's weighty footsteps, and is startled to make out that in the ferocious clash with his maenad, the soldier's only human arm must have been ripped from his body: Its dearth poorly cauterized, presumably by his own weapon. She finds him just about laughable, to picture him limbless, terrified, retreating all the way back to this ship for the ill-gotten hoard he had there. For a shield, of all things.

 

"You coward," the woman coughs.

 

Wordless as the Reaper, and gentle, Panzer holds the shield down on Barbara's chest. One boot powers into her wrist. The other kicks her in the ear, hard. Epimetheus, looking on as he must, tosses and yells, close to the end of his gold thread.

 

Diana is back in action to shunt Panzer with a bracer, saving her cousin from the offhanded attempt the villain makes to blast the moving target. Ducking out of a headlock, Panzer repels the Amazon volleying punches for his stomach. They dance and pirouette, Diana leading, skirting the melty edge of the transom. Her attacks, all glancing off the broad shield in a fireworks display, knock the mortal man to a knee, and Diana seizes the opening. She forks a hand under her poached shield and constricts the nerveless appendage's carapace. It stays impressively intact. Panzer keeps pushing and kicks at her leg, with no leverage, and to no effect.

 

Epimetheus takes one hand over the other, and clings. Barbara is up on an arm, then down again, leaking black from her ear. Trying to veil her worry, Diana threatens the aspiring assassin in a voice deeper than Hades. "You may still bleed out. Yield."

 

Panzer slumps enough to satisfy her, to then fire the grappling cord behind his hand. The shield hammers her nose and resets their match. Panzer waits for no retaliation; he takes her hip into his shoulder——and his shield, a tray——full-force, pivoting on his inside foot to shot-put Diana through the wheelhouse and bridge. She belts him once in the top of the helmet before she goes, her body trashing circuitry and subsequently frying for a nanosecond on the bed of newly-shaped blades, which bite into her preexisting lacerations. Dazed and with no counterweight for his move, her opponent sprawls too, a wreck.

 

Their right, rear gravitational generator dies. At the ship being jostled by the electrical upset, Barbara chases away the dark from her vision yet again. Panzer somehow stands, the picture of a weather-beaten shack, watching Diana sway semi-conscious in the toothy floorboards: Her run, and slashes suffered, having taken their toll. Head swimming, Barbara's only functioning ear transmits Panzer's haggard phrase.

 

"Those… were my oldest friends you killed," it grinds like metal. He lets go the shield.

 

Epimetheus is still two meters from the rail.

 

The hatch from whence Diana's shield had been acquired, concave on its hinge, takes some more turbulence and frees the remainder of Panzer's stowed trophies. Out skitters the Amazon sword, some jewelry whose owner cannot miss it, a partial raptor's wing riding atop… and one profound oddity, staring at Barbara without eyes: The head of Dr. Andonis Bal.

 

Realizing what it is expends the same time it does for Barbara to realize she is not stone. Her faculties sharpen on her anger, and to a crouch she rises with the temperature; beneath, the volcanic Pyriphlegethon roars at their departure. Panzer is too consumed to feel anything outside of himself.

 

Through the warped visor of his helmet, one, wild eye is visible. It does not soften, but rather slides, into a supremely unfeeling laser, affixed to the fallen sword. The Red Panzer recoups his regimental posture; he gathers his bleeding pride, contemplating Diana's transgressions, and a suitable reprisal, like it is arithmetic. He nods.

 

"I am going to flay you," he apprises the impaired princess, and as an automaton would, he trudges for her weapon, in range of the other, quite-forgotten woman.

 

Barbara fumbles for the head, nabbing just one of its snakes behind its mandibles right before the monstrosity rolls off into the firestorm leaping up at the hurtling sled. She presses a thumb on the scaly brow of her acquisition, and pounces——as best she can, on the askew bed of the transport——at Panzer.

 

She crashes a foot short of his boots, scrambling for a breathless moment, then crudely drives the fangs she has exposed from the dead serpent’s maw down his thigh and calf. Panzer shrieks.

 

Though its Gorgonian gaze is bygone, the venom of the head's many mouths has been lying in wait, no less potent than when produced. The vicious man's blood curdles in the leg, stopping him in his tracks. In this unthinkable heartbeat, Barbara bear hugs his waist and runs them both over the starboard railing.

 

His top half pops and sags back unnaturally on the bar, and he gasps, not at the severing of bone but in feeling himself fall. His claw lunges, for anything. It finds Barbara's left wrist. The Englishwoman's shoulder and ribs are towed tightly over the wall, to share his fate. As she screams, Diana and Epimetheus together, on their knees from last-ditch exertions, clasp her legs and belly from behind. More bones are splintered, now in Barbara's hand. The pincer strips her skin, but her friends guarantee: It cannot have her.

 

Stealing his final pound of flesh, Panzer's ruined, fragmental body spins away to the fiery seam perfectly, hauntingly aligned to take him. Sheathed in his ankle, his very own victims and their pledge shall act the part of his eternal ball and chain. Diana holds Barbara away, both of them pale, both examining the price paid. The professor's shuddering, wet hand features a nasty groove running up the palm's base between the middle and ring fingers. Her pains, manifold, do not outweigh her gratitude to be drinking even the dense, bitter air here. She lives.

 

Still, no reprieve can be enjoyed. A hideous screech reminds them of the unremitting scourge of Achlys, just now sharking onto their command ship, encumbering it with her splaying hands. The heroes can hear her smelling, caressing its surface, for color to blot, voices to hush. Making sure Barbara will manage keeping pressure on her arm, Diana rises to the challenge, to see that Epimetheus has outdone her by retrieving her armaments. He is studying the dark deity, fitting and refitting the sword in an agitated fist.

 

"I think she has enough of a hold on the world already, from down here, don't you?" he poses his cousin.

 

When Achlys' prowling yields nothing to corrupt, a tantrum builds in her perpetual bones, and unleashes. She takes apart the previously-overrun ship like cotton, clawing higher for the last two like it. A truly baleful noise blasts through the hair webbing her face, aimed at the Titan centered on his vessel, yet he behaves no differently than if a summer breeze had passed. His eyebrows lift.

 

"Let us see she does not come any closer."

 

He props one sandal on the slag that is left of the skiff's rear guardrail. To jump. Diana is on his arm in a wink to stop the foolhardy deed. Epimetheus acknowledges her, but only to convey:

 

"What I wanted to tell you, before, when we arrived… I would not recognize forgiveness if ever I found it. But with your hope, I feel I could disappoint the world a thousand times and still have it in me to fight."

 

"We can outrun her, before she is led back. Epimetheus, look at me. We can outrun her."

 

Epimetheus breathes in another of Achlys' bellows, but they are no drug to him. He does not act on impulse now. His mind is clear. "We can't."

 

Barbara is sensing the mood from across the deck. She sits higher, only slightly, on a leg. "No. No, we… we can collapse the entrance!"

 

"Yes, that will do very well too!" the big man sings his endorsement. First making use of his scabbard, he takes Diana's arm the way she has his, and allows her his vast eyes. "… But she will not be stopped with rocks. Someone to keep her busy. For a long time. Someone who can take hits…"

 

Epimetheus turns the shield. The Golden Apple is there in its saucer, to change hands. His Amazon kin plays the game formerly his, refusing to look.

 

"No one else may bestow the apple! You cannot stay behind!" Diana contends. "If someone is to do this—"

 

Epimetheus does not try to shrug her away, reverting to keeping an eye on Achlys' movements. "Eris was too good to put this to me. Wrong to. Don't you see? The grandest disaster will come with my consent. No. It never should have been me, choosing 'the fairest'. I choose this."

 

Gusts have blown his hair a rascally shape, and so oblige Epimetheus to take on a grin to go with. He tries to cheer Diana up: For once, feeling like the older of the two. "And at that: A simple demigoddess, doing a Titan's task?"

 

Scooting another foot before giving in, Barbara needs far more persuading. "The manuscript. What it says might be coming, if…"

 

The professor's qualms are in harmony with Diana's. "How can we take this chance, that Eris lies?" she restricts Epimetheus' undertaking.

 

His neck wavers, more than understanding her plea, to which he argues with no delight: "How can we let that go free, up there?"

 

Neither warrior feels they have won. The only indication of such comes with Diana's half-step back.

 

In confusion, Barbara mumbles "Stop him," though she intends it to be a yell.

 

Epimetheus hears. "Dr. Minerva, I would appreciate, before I go, a definition of that word 'barmy.'"

 

Off her guard, Barbara is too choked to answer.

 

"Some other day," he resolves, foisting levity.

 

Achlys has made back half the distance to them, after her setback, and the Styx, already vanishing from the three's sights, gets them keen to their speed. Destruction of their bridge sent Cyber's technological wayfinder into overdrive, now causing them to rear-end the last, individually-operable ship ahead, on the same invisible track. The wedge will capsize both, if nothing is done.

 

Epimetheus sets himself up for the plunge again. Not for lack of trying, Diana is not finding her words.

 

“This time, Lady Diana… this time I am not overlooking anything. This is plain enough for even me. I have outlived so much of my family," his chin quakes.

 

"… Please, give me the privilege of not seeing the end of your days also… and trust me with this. I think, what I need, is to be trusted. Surely I can’t forget or betray this duty, if it’s all I will ever know.”

 

The companions feel their weights, at the most dramatic escalation of the ships so far, on to the deciding segment jetting them back to Greece. Epimetheus reattempts his donation. Diana does put her hand over the apple immediately, but holds it there between them a spell.

 

"I will find the one fairest."

 

"You needn't convince me."

 

A new keeper is appointed to the costly creation, and the liberated Titan hunches on the precipice, only, one last order of business halts him. Epimetheus remembers something. The sword and shield are also offered, with a sorry expression: The last of its kind, from him.

 

"Keep them," Diana acquits, without regret.

 

Steps can be seen, like——what felt——so long ago, whizzing underneath in a glinting pattern to catch Epimetheus.

 

"Bury us," he suggests, soft as a feather.

 

"Stop… him."

 

From the transom, Epimetheus alights. Professionally, without looking down to memorialize the exploit for herself, Diana retakes her lasso from the overhanging rail, and leaves the rest behind.

 

"Why. Didn't," Barbara recoils at her approach.

 

Diana hops her up while also collecting Cyber, then sails them all over the drawbridge being made by the two skiffs, before it becomes too trying a peak. Laid down with care, Barbara unappreciatively thrashes over, doing her hand no good, to watch a rapidly-shrinking Epimetheus impact the steps. A stolid cypress of a man, his legs take and cancel his velocity, and right away he has to swing up and stab at the living shroud rippling toward him.

 

Achlys is on and around him like a parasite, for one crushing second. Heavenly shafts blaze through her great, desirous hands, unwrapping her to reveal her antithesis. Epimetheus has her solidly nailed in her missing heart. His blade is miraculously the light source, pouring the warmth of a star into his screaming sorrow. Here, the deadlock for many lifetimes begins. If on the steps herself, Barbara could have seen there is a sign of strain in his back, a pull to the skin around his eyes; ultimately, however, that Epimetheus is, to the credit of Diana's gifts alone, far indeed from being outmatched.

 

The cave's mouth dead ahead, Diana bumps their throttle with an elbow, simultaneously and with impeccable control roping the rear ship, in a graceful curve through the port railing. One yank on this fulcrum displaces the obsolete craft, sending it groaning off to the side. There is a brief, stupendous period of it serenely verging on stone somewhere in the tunnel's void. Contact is made with tectonic force, splitting walls and threatening the same to the escapees' heads. The splashed fuel of Cyber's sorcerous design climbs through strata fast as wildfire, destabilizing sediment from time immemorial, and Barbara Minerva catches a farewell flare from the last, and unfailing life in the Underworld. Then the curtain of earth draws.

 

The skiff breaks free into a nighttime, natural and brisk, that is to be rejoiced by the women. They are swerved around, given seats to the spectacular sight of a swath of the hillside deflating, exhaling from the opening. It all fills itself in with brush and boulders, to be both an astounding and unassuming landscape again. The land of Dirou falls back asleep.

 

No rejoicing comes. Tonight, the beauty and silence breeds only melancholy in one soul, and resentment in another. Barbara turns her head to her: The champion. What had Cyber said?

 

"Righteous colors."

 

The attack comes to Diana more pitiless than any other that day. Barbara looks at her like one looks at disease.

 

"It's that easy, is it?" is the next knife through her. It is unbelievable to Barbara the way she remains standing there, appearing to do nothing besides fiddle with the lasso.

 

"Are you going to say. ANYthing?!"

 

Barbara rushes her to flip her around by the left shoulder. Its arm is bandaged in the lasso as when the baroness was tricked. The other hand closes the resistant professor's on a loose end of the bind, to commune. It is not Diana's voice, precisely. Barbara does not hear sentences. She feels everything Diana feels in each second, and knows what the princess knows to be true.

 

~Barbara, I pled for the mistress of the river Styx to accord us victory. Exchanged for her blessings and mastery over her land, I swore these gifts would be enough for me to deliver you, and my cousin, from that place. I have not made good.~

 

Barbara shakes herself, and blinks.

 

~For this, Styx decrees that I shall walk for a time without the capacity to go back on my word. I am mute.~

 

"You're going to tell me what you lost?" the whole of Barbara trembles.

 

~I saw no other way. Had she obtained the apple, Von Gunther might have killed you in the next breath. I never meant for the maenads—~

 

"You think this is about you going back for THAT?" Barbara flails at the body of Cynthia littering the deck and breathing huskily. "Or my hand? I want to know how you cou—"

 

~He made the choice himself.~

 

"He would have done anything for you! He would have stayed for you! You LET him do that!" Barbara accuses, tearing away in a cold sweat. She knows Diana knows this. "He doesn't deserve to be left there!"

 

She knows Diana knows.

 

"It's not…"

 

The word to complete the thought enrages her more. She circles nothing in particular, batting away moisture. "We could've led that thing back in, if it came to that! W-we would've worked something out. The apple…"

 

…

 

"He was going to give it to me," she says dejectedly. "It could have been me. You weren't fast enough. You stopped him. You didn't stop him."

 

Diana is watching a woman being torn apart. The delusion is partially the apple's, whispering away behind her own back. The other components, Diana finds hard to pass off on a tangible evil.

 

Barbara digs and begs and pretends a smile. "Let me have it. I can, study it. It, it doesn't have to be mine! We'll get it right. And besides I've earned it."

 

She gulps. Her statuesque counterpart is unstirred, sadly winding the lariat up higher on her arm. Diana will not make her enter the rapport again, for she had soon realized in their first that she had minimal sovereignty over her utmost sentiments, and did not know exactly what the woman heard from her mind. The terror, of transparency, is now hers like no other's, and years hence it will be.

 

"… I have nothing."

 

Nothing, no one, and no sway, and the reason for it, Barbara supposes, is that the Amazon's mind was made prior to her outpouring of sensibilities, her sound logic. Diana knows whose apple it is.

 

Barbara relaxes. Her mouth creases. Diana takes no actions to recover her, as she spends a minute fishing one-handed through their ship's compartments, at last coming up with a kit of gauze and ointment, which was the only left thing to keep her from setting off. Wrapping her hand on her way, her boots plunk into sand, headed north. She can tell the heroine watches, with concern. It makes her see red.

 

"Go, take it. I know where I am."

 

Diana questions if she does. A new grasp on empathy, spoiled by blame and losses unmerited: It was developing into a scar which Diana knows nothing of how to mend, with or without her words. She is less than proud to wish——more than she would ever want to erase all of Barbara's experiences this day——that the scar stays, and that she never find out all of who the woman becomes.

A French Bulldog vs an English Bulldog

The winner was . . . .

They both won, neither would let go until they both had just a small bit left of the frisbee!

A group of women sit cross-legged in a circle, chatting and laughing, sometimes even breaking into song, all the while delicately weaving with their needles.

 

It may look like a traditional image of women from a bygone age, but it’s not. These Syrian refugees and Lebanese women aren’t knitting scarves or children’s clothes; they are learning how to make fishing nets, a skill which will help them find work along Lebanon’s northern coast, in an area reliant on its fishery but which suffers the highest unemployment rates in the entire country.

 

Learning how to knit fishing nets might not seem the most urgent priority for refugees who fled Syria’s civil war, yet the International Rescue Committee believes that providing people with the essential tools to help them find work is a vital way to help them support themselves.

 

The project is supported by UK aid funding, as part of Britain's response to the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon and the region caused by the ongoing conflict in Syria.

 

Francesca Battistin oversees the IRC’s economic support programming in Lebanon. “This particular type of work is very popular among women in this area of the country because it can be done at home,” she says.

 

“It allows flexibility in terms of hours. Many refugee women are heads of households; it is up to them to provide an income now, so they need to be able to work on their own schedule. This provides that freedom.”

 

And while many women look forward to being able to work from their homes, being together for the training is extremely popular. “Before the training we just stayed at home. We can’t afford to go outside. We can’t afford anything,” explains Rasha*, who arrived from Damascus with her seven children two months ago.

 

For Zeinah, a former physiotherapist from Homs, the training not only offers the chance of having an income, but also provides her something to look forward to. “We are all frustrated at not being active. It makes us depressed,” she says. “This type of training helps me a lot emotionally. I love to learn new skills and I really enjoy the opportunity to try something new. I find it very fulfilling.”

 

All the trainees cite the high cost of living as the most difficult challenge they face as refugees. It’s an issue that faces local Lebanese families as well. That’s one reason why the IRC is also reaching out to Lebanese women. More than a third of this first group of 27 trainees is comprised of local women.

 

Many Lebanese are also competing for the same jobs and services as the refugees, which leads to increased tensions between the two communities, so through helping both populations, communal understanding increases, while potential resentments are undercut.

 

Many of the Syrian women explain that despite having a far more comfortable life in Syria before the crisis they expect this new skill will be of use when they do finally go home. And returning home remains their main ambition.

 

“I want to go back to Syria, it is a wonderful country,” says Rasha. “Even if my home village is destroyed I would go back and live in a tent there.” And now, Rasha and others, will have a trade when they do.

 

Picture: Russell Watkins/DFID. Words: Paul Donohoe/IRC

 

Il castello Orsini-Odescalchi, noto anche come castello di Bracciano, è un castello nel comune italiano di Bracciano risalente al XV secolo. Costituito da tre cinta di mura esterne, presenta cinque torri, una per ogni vertice della fortificazione esterna. Fu costruito dopo il 1470 da Napoleone Orsini probabilmente con la collaborazione di maestranze Sistine. Il castello apparteneva a Braccio da Montone (Casata Bracci) dietro richiesta del papa (per motivi politici) fu donato al suo sottoposto capitano Orsini. Ne è prova lo stemma del comune un braccio che tiene una rosa (uno dei simboli degli Orsini). Il fratello di Napoleone (il Cardinale Latino Orsini) era il camerlengo di papa Sisto IV proprio negli anni in cui venivano costruiti quasi simultaneamente la Cappella Sistina e il Castello di Bracciano. Oggi è di proprietà degli Odescalchi, famiglia che proprio dagli Orsini rilevò il Ducato di Bracciano alla fine del XVII secolo. Il castello, aperto al pubblico nel 1952 da Livio IV Odescalchi, è visitabile e viene spesso usato per ricevimenti, celebrare matrimoni e per altri eventi privati e culturali. Il castello sorge nel 1470 intorno alla vecchia rocca medioevale dei Prefetti di Vico, risalente al tredicesimo secolo, su ordine di Napoleone Orsini che poi viene portata a termine dal figlio Gentil Virginio Orsini nel 1485. Nel 1485 fu ospite della famiglia Orsini il vescovo di Mantova Ludovico Gonzaga, figlio del marchese di Mantova Ludovico III Gonzaga, che fuggì da Roma a causa della peste. Nella sua storia il castello subisce molti cambiamenti inclusi i progetti di Francesco di Giorgio Martini che fu ospite nella corte di Genti Virginio nel 1490 per restaurare varie fortezze. Papa Alessandro VI nel 1496 arriva a confiscare il castello, animato da un profondo risentimento verso gli Orsini. In questi anni risalgono le prime decorazioni, tra i più famosi il ciclo della donna medievale che illustra la vita di corte del tardo Medioevo e l'affresco di Antoniazzo Romano che riproduce il trionfo di Gentil Virginio Orsini, pagina importante di questo pittore del Quattrocento. Terminato il diverbio con il papa gli Orsini riprendono il possesso del castello continuando così l'abbellimento e ampliamento del castello. Alla fine del Cinquecento Giacomo Del Duca, allievo di Michelangelo, realizza una serie di interventi in occasione del sontuoso matrimonio tra Isabella de' Medici e Paolo Giordano Orsini. In quella circostanza i fratelli Taddeo e Federico Zuccari furono chiamati a decorare alcune sale, tra le quali quella che nel 1481 ospitò papa Sisto IV della Rovere in fuga dalla peste che infuriava a Roma. Gli Zuccari, due tra i più importanti artisti della fine del Cinquecento, realizzarono gli affreschi con l'oroscopo dei due sposi e gli emblemi delle due insigni casate. Nel 1696 agli Orsini subentrarono gli Odescalchi antica famiglia di origine comasca, il cui prestigio si incrementò notevolmente quando uno dei suoi membri ascese al soglio pontificio con il nome di Innocenzo XI.

 

The Orsini-Odescalchi castle, also known as the Bracciano castle, is a castle in the Italian town of Bracciano dating back to the 15th century. Consisting of three outer walls, it has five towers, one for each vertex of the external fortification. It was built after 1470 by Napoleone Orsini, probably with the collaboration of Sistine workers. The castle belonged to Braccio da Montone (Casata Bracci) at the request of the pope (for political reasons) and was donated to his subordinate captain Orsini. Proof of this is the coat of arms of the municipality an arm holding a rose (one of the symbols of the Orsini). Napoleon's brother (Cardinal Latino Orsini) was the chamberlain of Pope Sixtus IV precisely in the years in which the Sistine Chapel and the Castle of Bracciano were built almost simultaneously. Today it is owned by the Odescalchi, a family who took over the Duchy of Bracciano from the Orsini at the end of the 17th century. The castle, opened to the public in 1952 by Livio IV Odescalchi, can be visited and is often used for receptions, weddings and other private and cultural events. The castle was built in 1470 around the old medieval fortress of the Prefects of Vico, dating back to the thirteenth century, by order of Napoleone Orsini which was then completed by his son Gentil Virginio Orsini in 1485. In 1485 the bishop of Mantua was a guest of the Orsini family Ludovico Gonzaga, son of the Marquis of Mantua Ludovico III Gonzaga, who fled from Rome due to the plague. In its history the castle undergoes many changes including the projects of Francesco di Giorgio Martini who was a guest in the court of Genti Virginio in 1490 to restore various fortresses. Pope Alexander VI in 1496 confiscated the castle, animated by a deep resentment towards the Orsini. The first decorations date back to these years, among the most famous the cycle of the medieval woman illustrating the court life of the late Middle Ages and the fresco by Antoniazzo Romano which reproduces the triumph of Gentil Virginio Orsini, an important page of this fifteenth-century painter. After the quarrel with the pope, the Orsini regain possession of the castle, thus continuing the embellishment and expansion of the castle. At the end of the sixteenth century Giacomo Del Duca, a pupil of Michelangelo, carried out a series of interventions on the occasion of the sumptuous marriage between Isabella de 'Medici and Paolo Giordano Orsini. On that occasion the brothers Taddeo and Federico Zuccari were called to decorate some rooms, including the one that hosted Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere in 1481 fleeing the plague that was raging in Rome. The Zuccari, two of the most important artists of the late sixteenth century, created the frescoes with the horoscope of the couple and the emblems of the two famous families. In 1696 the Odescalchi, an ancient family of Como origin, took over from the Orsini, whose prestige increased considerably when one of its members ascended to the papal throne with the name of Innocent XI.

 

Le château Orsini-Odescalchi, également connu sous le nom de château de Bracciano, est un château de la ville italienne de Bracciano datant du XVe siècle. Composé de trois murs extérieurs, il possède cinq tours, une pour chaque sommet de la fortification extérieure. Il a été construit après 1470 par Napoleone Orsini, probablement avec la collaboration des ouvriers de Sixtine. Le château a appartenu à Braccio da Montone (Casata Bracci) à la demande du pape (pour des raisons politiques) et a été donné à son capitaine subordonné Orsini. Preuve en est le blason de la commune un bras tenant une rose (l'un des symboles des Orsini). Le frère de Napoléon (Cardinal Latino Orsini) était le chambellan du Pape Sixte IV précisément dans les années où la Chapelle Sixtine et le Château de Bracciano ont été construits presque simultanément. Aujourd'hui, il appartient aux Odescalchi, une famille qui a repris le duché de Bracciano aux Orsini à la fin du XVIIe siècle. Le château, ouvert au public en 1952 par Livio IV Odescalchi, peut être visité et est souvent utilisé pour des réceptions, des mariages et d'autres événements privés et culturels. Le château a été construit en 1470 autour de l'ancienne forteresse médiévale des préfets de Vico, datant du XIIIe siècle, sur ordre de Napoleone Orsini qui a ensuite été achevée par son fils Gentil Virginio Orsini en 1485. En 1485, l'évêque de Mantoue était un invité de la famille Orsini Ludovico Gonzaga, fils du marquis de Mantoue Ludovico III Gonzaga, qui a fui Rome à cause de la peste. Au cours de son histoire, le château subit de nombreux changements, notamment les projets de Francesco di Giorgio Martini qui fut invité à la cour de Genti Virginio en 1490 pour restaurer diverses forteresses. Le pape Alexandre VI en 1496 confisqua le château, animé d'un profond ressentiment envers les Orsini. Les premières décorations datent de ces années, parmi les plus célèbres le cycle de la femme médiévale illustrant la vie de cour de la fin du Moyen Âge et la fresque d'Antoniazzo Romano qui reproduit le triomphe de Gentil Virginio Orsini, page importante de ce XVe- peintre du siècle. Après la querelle avec le pape, les Orsini reprennent possession du château, poursuivant ainsi l'embellissement et l'agrandissement du château. À la fin du XVIe siècle, Giacomo Del Duca, élève de Michel-Ange, réalisa une série d'interventions à l'occasion du somptueux mariage entre Isabelle de Médicis et Paolo Giordano Orsini. A cette occasion, les frères Taddeo et Federico Zuccari ont été appelés à décorer certaines chambres, dont celle qui a accueilli le pape Sixte IV della Rovere en 1481 fuyant la peste qui sévissait à Rome. Les Zuccari, deux des artistes les plus importants de la fin du XVIe siècle, ont créé les fresques avec l'horoscope du couple et les emblèmes des deux familles célèbres. En 1696, les Odescalchi, ancienne famille originaire de Côme, succèdent aux Orsini, dont le prestige s'accroît considérablement lorsqu'un de ses membres monte sur le trône pontifical sous le nom d'Innocent XI.

The Basilica of Sacré Coeur de Montmartre (Sacred Heart of Montmartre), commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and often simply Sacré-Cœur is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in Paris, France, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

 

Sacré-Cœur Basilica is located at the summit of the butte of Montmartre. From the dome, two hundred meters above the Seine, it is possible to see all of Paris, and the countryside for fifty kilometres around, It is the second-most visited monument in Paris, after the Eiffel Tower. Sacré-Cœur Basilica has maintained a perpetual adoration of the Holy Eucharist since 1885.

 

The Basilica was first proposed by Felix Fournier, the Bishop of Nantes, on 4 September, 1870, following the defeat of France and the capture of Napoleon III at the Battle of Sedan, in the Franco-Prussian War, and six months before the Paris Commune. He blamed the defeat of France upon the "moral decline" of France since the Revolution, and proposed a new Paris church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Christ.The site chosen was the butte of Montmartre, overlooking the whole city, and the traditional location of the martrydom of Saint Denis, the patron saint of Paris.

 

The basilica was designed by Paul Abadie, whose Neo-Byzantine-Romanesque plan was selected from among seventy-seven proposals. Construction began in 1875, and continued for forty years, under five successive architects. It was completed in 1914, but, because of World War I, it was not formally consecrated until 1919.

 

The site of the church was politically controversial, since Montmartre was also the site of beginning of the Paris Commune where, on March 18, 1871, Communard soldiers killed two French army generals and seized a park full of artillery. On the last day of the Commune, one of its leaders, the socialist and anarchist Eugène Varlin, was executed there. There was (and remains) a feeling of resentment on the French left against the church.

 

The plan to build a new Parisian church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was first proposed on September 4, 1870, by Felix Fournier, the Bishop of Nantes, following the defeat of France and the capture of Emperor Napoleon III by the Prussians at the Battle of Sedan in the Franco-Prussian War. Until his death in 1877, Fournier was an active builder who completed the long-delayed restoration of Nantes Cathedral. He wrote that the defeat of France in 1870 was a divine punishment for the moral decline of the country since the French Revolution.

 

In January 1871, Bishop Fournier was joined by the philanthropist Alexandre Legentil, who was a follower of Frederic Ozanam, the founder of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. Legentil declared that France had been justly punished for its sins by the defeat of the French Army at Sedan and the imprisonment of the Pope in Italy by Italian nationalists. He wrote, "We recognize that we were guilty and justly punished. To make honourable amends for our sins, and to obtain the infinite mercy of the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ and the pardon of our sins, as well as extraordinary aid which alone can delivery our sovereign Pontiff from captivity and reverse the misfortune of France, we promise to contribute to the erection in Paris of a sanctuary dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus." The influence of Legentil led to a successful fundraising campaign based entirely on private contributions.

 

Montmarte was selected as the site of the new Basilica due to its prominent height and visibility from many parts of the city. Since the location included land belonging to the local government as well as private owners, the French parliament assisted in securing the site by declaring that the construction of the Basilica was in the national interest. In July 1873, the proposal was finally brought forward and approved in the National Assembly with the official statement that "it was necessary to efface by this work of expiation the crimes which have crowned our sorrows." The groundbreaking for the new church finally took place in 1875.

 

Apart from its physical attributes, Montmartre or the "Hill of the Martyrs" was also chosen for its association with the early Christian church. According to tradition, it was the place where the patron saint of Paris, Saint Denis of Paris, was beheaded by the Romans. His tomb became the site of the Basilica of Saint Denis, the traditional resting place for the Kings of France until the French Revolution.

 

In addition, Montmartre was the birthplace of the Society of Jesus, one of the largest and most influential religious orders in the history of the Catholic Church. In 1534, Ignatius of Loyola and a few of his followers made their vows in Saint-Pierre de Montmartre, one of the oldest churches in Paris. The church survived the Revolution although the Montmartre Abbey to which it belonged was destroyed.

 

A competition was held for the design of the Basilica and attracted seventy-seven proposals. Architect Paul Abadie was selected, and the cornerstone finally laid on June 16, 1875.

 

The early construction was delayed and complicated by unstable foundations. Eighty-three wells, each thirty meters deep, had to be dug under the site and filled with rock and concrete to serve as subterranean pillars supporting the Basilica.[8] Construction costs, estimated at 7 million francs drawn entirely from private donors, were expended before any above-ground structure became visible. A provisional chapel was consecrated on March 3, 1876, and pilgrimage quickly brought in additional funding.

 

Not long after the foundation was completed in 1884, Abadie died and was succeeded by five other architects who made extensive modifications: Honoré Daumet (1884–1886), Jean-Charles Laisné (1886–1891), Henri-Pierre-Marie Rauline (1891–1904), Lucien Magne (1904–1916), and Jean-Louis Hulot (1916–1924).

 

During construction, opponents of the Basilica were relentless in their effort to hinder its progress. In 1882, the walls of the church were barely above its foundations when the left-wing coalition led by Georges Clemenceau won the parliamentary election. Clemenceau immediately proposed halting the work, and the parliament blocked all further funding for the project. However, faced with enormous liabilities of twelve million francs from project cancellation, the government had to allow the construction to proceed.

 

In 1891, the interior of the Basilica was completed, dedicated and opened for public worship. Still, in 1897, Clemenceau made another attempt to block its completion in the parliament, but his motion was overwhelmingly defeated since the cancellation of the project would require repaying thirty million francs to eight million people who had contributed to its construction.

 

The dome of the church was completed in 1899, and the bell tower finished in 1912. The Basilica was completed in 1914 and formally dedicated in 1919 after World War 1.

 

Criticism of the church by leftist journalists and politicians for its alleged connection with the destruction of the Paris Commune continued from the late 19th century into the 20th and 21st centuries, even though the church had been proposed before the Paris Commune took place. In 1898, Emile Zola wrote sarcastically, "France is guilty. It must do penitence. Penitence for what? For the Revolution, for a century of free speech and science, and emancipated reason... for that they built this gigantic landmark that Paris can see from all of its streets, and cannot be seen without feeling misunderstood and injured."

 

Shortly after the completed Statue of Liberty was transported from France to the United States, opponents of Sacre-Coeur came up with a new strategy. They proposed installing a full-size copy of the Statue of Liberty on top of Montmartre, directly in front of the Basilica, which would entirely block the view of the church. This idea was eventually dropped as expensive and impractical.

 

A bomb was exploded inside the church in 1976. To make the government opposition to the church clear, the socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin in 2004 renamed the square in front of and below the church for Louise Michel, the prominent anarchist and participant in the Paris Commune. He expressed his wish that the basilica be demolished as a symbol of "obscurantism, bad taste and reactionism."

 

In 2021, to avoid celebrating the church's history in the same year as the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune, leftist members of the French parliament blocked a measure to declare the church a national historic monument and postponed it until 2022.

 

The church is 85 meters long and thirty-five meters wide. It is composed of a large central rotunda, around which are placed a small nave, two transepts, and an advance-choir, which form a cross. The porch of the church has three bays, and is modelled after the porch of Périgueux Cathedral. The dominant feature is the immense elongated ovoid cupola, 83.33 meters high, surrounded by four smaller cupolas. At the north end is the campanile, or bell tower, 84 meters high, containing the "Savoyarde", the largest bell in France.

 

The overall style of the structure is a free interpretation of Romano-Byzantine architecture. This was an unusual architectural style at the time, and was in part a reaction against the neo-Baroque of the Palais Garnier opera house by Charles Garnier, and other buildings of the Napoleon III style. The construction was eventually handed on to a series of new architects, including Garnier himself, who was a counsellor to the architect Henri-Pierre Rauline between 1891 and 1904,

 

Some elements of the design, particularly the elongated domes and the structural forms of the windows on the south facade, are Neo-classical, and were added by the later architects Henri-Pierre Rauline and Lucien Magne.

 

The campanile, or bell tower, on the north front, houses the nineteen-ton Savoyarde bell (one of the world's heaviest), cast in 1895 in Annecy. It alludes to the attachment of Savoy to France in 1860.

 

The porch of the south façade, the main entrance, is loaded with sculpture combining religious and French national themes. It is topped with a statue representing the Sacred Heart of Christ. The arches of the façade are decorated with two equestrian statues of French national saints Joan of Arc (1927) and King Saint Louis IX, both executed in bronze by Hippolyte Lefèbvre.

 

The white stone of Sacré-Cœur is travertine limestone of a type called Chateau-Landon, quarried in Souppes-sur-Loing, in Seine-et-Marne, France. The particular quality of this stone is that it is extremely hard with a fine grain, and exudes calcite on contact with rainwater, making it exceptionally white.

 

The nave is dominated by the very high dome, which symbolises the celestial world, resting upon a rectangular space,symbolising the terrestrial world. The two are joined by massive columns, which represent the passage between the two worlds.

 

The plan of the interior is a Greek cross, with the altar in the center, modelled after Byzantine churches. More traditional Latin features, the choir and the disambulatory, were added around the altar. The light in interior of the church is unusually dim, due to the height of the windows above the altar, and this contributes to the mystical effect. Other Byzantine features in the interior include the designs of the tile floor and the glasswork.

 

The mosaic over the choir, entitled The Triumph of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is the largest and most important work of art in the church. It was created by Luc-Olivier Merson, H. M. Magne and R. Martin, and was dedicated in 1923. The mosaic is composed of 25,000 enamelled and gilded pieces of ceramic, and covers 475 square meters, making it one of the largest mosaics in the world.

 

The central figure is Jesus Christ, dressed in white, with open arms offering his heart, decorated with gold. He is joined by his mother, the Virgin Mary, and by the Archangel Michael, the protector of the church and of France. At his feet, kneeling, is Saint Joan of Arc offering him a crown. A figure of Pope Leo XIII offers a globe to Christ, symbolising the world.

 

To the right of Christ is a scene titled "The Homage of France to the Sacred Heart;" a group of popes and cardinals present a model of the basilica to Christ. On his left is "The Homage of the Catholic Church to the Sacred Heart": where people in the costumes of the five continents pay their homage to the Sacred Heart. At the base of the mosaic is a Latin inscription, stating that the basilica is a gift from France. "To the Sacred Heart of Jesus, France fervent, penitent and grateful." The word "grateful" was added after World War I.

 

At the top of the mosaic is another procession, called "the Saints of France and Saints of the Universal Church". In all of the mosaic, the artists adapted elements of Byzantine art in the organization of the figures, the altered perspective, and the use of polychrome colors enhanced with silver and gold.

 

The basilica complex also includes a garden for meditation, with a fountain. The top of the dome is open to tourists and affords a spectacular panoramic view of the city of Paris, which spreads out to the south of the basilica.

 

The use of cameras and video recorders is forbidden inside the basilica.

 

The interior of the basilica is surrounded by a series of chapels, mostly offered by professional groups or religious orders. The chapels are decreed with sculpture, relief sculpture, and tapestries, often relating to the professions of the donors. For example, the Chapel of the Order of Notre Dame of the Sea is decorated with tapestries illustrating Christ walking on the water and the Miraculous Catch of fish.

 

Beginning to the right of the main entrance, they are:

 

The Chapel of the Archangel Michael, or Chapel of the Armies

The Chapel of Saint Louis (Louis IX) or the Attorneys

The Tribune of Commerce and Industry (end of the East transept)

The Chapel of Marguerite-Marie Alacoque

the Chapel of Notre Dame of the Sea

 

The apse itself is ringed by an additional seven chapels.

 

The Chapel of Saint Francis of Assisi

The Chapel of Saint John the Baptist, offered by Canada and the Knights of Malta

The Chapel of Saint Joseph

The Chapel of the Virgin Mary

The Chapel of Saint Luke the Evangelist, Comé and Damien, or the Doctors

The Chapel of Ignace de Loyola

Th Chapel of Saint Ursula of Cologne

The Chapel of Saint Vincent de Paul

The Tribune of Agriculture (at the end of the west transept)

The chapel of the Queens of France

 

The crypt below Sacré-Cœur is different from traditional crypts, which are usually underground. At Sacré-Cœur, the crypt has stained glass windows, thanks to a "saut-de-loup", a trench about four meters wide around it, which allows light to enter through windows and oculi of the crypt wall. In the centre of the crypt is the chapel of the Pieta, whose central element is a monument statue of the Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross, at the altar. The statue was made by Jules Coutain in 1895. A series of seven chapels is placed on the east side and seven on the west side of crypt, corresponding to the chapels on the level above. The crypt contains the tombs of important figures in the creation of the basilica, including Cardinals Guibert and Richard.

 

Art and decoration

Decoration covers the walls, the floor, and the architecture. Much of the decoration is in a distinctly neo-Byzantine style, with intricate patterns, and abundant color.

 

The basilica contains a large and very fine pipe organ built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, the most celebrated organ builder in Paris in the 19th century. His other organs included those of Saint-Denis Basilica (1841), Sainte-Clotilde Basilica (1859), Saint-Sulpice church and Notre Dame de Paris (1868). The organ is composed of 109 ranks and 78 speaking stops spread across four 61-note manuals and the 32-note pedalboard (unusual before the start of the 20th century; the standard of the day was 56 and 30), and has three expressive divisions (also unusual for the time, even in large organs).

 

The organ was originally built in 1898 for the Biarritz chateau of the Baron Albert de L'Espée. It was the last instrument built by Cavaillé-Coll. The organ was ahead of its time, containing multiple expressive divisions and giving the performer considerable advantages over other even larger instruments of the day. It was almost identical (tonal characteristics, layout, and casework) to the instrument in Sheffield's Albert Hall, which was destroyed by fire in 1937. However, when installed in Paris in 1905 by Cavaillé-Coll's successor and son-in-law, Charles Mutin, a much plainer case was substituted for the original ornate case.

 

The organ was recognised as a national landmark in 1981. It has undergone several restorations. The most recent, begun in 1985, replaced only the most severely damaged pneumatic parts, but others have deteriorated and some are no longer usable. The pipes are now covered with a thick layer of dust which impacts the pitch and timbre. Both the organ and the church itself have been recognized as national landmarks.

 

Bells

The belfry of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre houses five bells. The four small bells named from largest to smallest are Félicité, Louise, Nicole and Elisabeth, which were the original bells of the church of Saint-Roch and moved to the basilica in 1969.

 

Below the four bells is a huge bourdon called "The Savoyarde", the biggest bell in France. The full name of the bourdon is “Françoise Marguerite of the Sacred Heart of Jesus". It was cast on May 13, 1891, by the Paccard foundry (Dynasty of Georges, Hippolyte-Francisque and Victor or "G & F") in Annecy-le-Vieux.

 

The Savoyarde itself only rings for major religious holidays, especially on the occasion of Easter, Pentecost, Ascension, Christmas, Assumption and All Saints. One exception was on the night of August 24, 1944 when La Nueve – 9th Company, Régiment de marche du Tchad of the French 2nd Armored Division – broke into Paris and arrived at the Hôtel de Ville during the Liberation of Paris from Nazi German occupation, becoming the first French Army troops to return to the city since 1940. The bell then rang when Pierre Schaeffer broadcast the news on a Radiodiffusion Nationale broadcast and then, after a playing of "La Marsellaise", asked any priests who were listening to ring their churches' bells. The Savoyarde can be heard from 10 km away.

 

This bell is the fifth largest in Europe, ranking behind the Petersglocke of Cologne (Germany), the Olympic Bell of London, Maria Dolens of Rovereto (Italy), and the Pummerin of Vienna (Austria). It weighs 18,835 kg, measures 3,03 m of diameter for 9.60 m of outer circumference, with a base thickness of 22 cm and a leaf of 850 kg. With its accessories, its official weight reaches 19,685 kg. It was offered by the four dioceses of Savoy. It was transported to the basilica on October 16, 1895, pulled by a team of 28 horses. In the late 1990s, a crack was noticed in the bell.

 

Role in Catholicism

The church is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was an increasingly popular devotion after the visions of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647–1690) in Paray-le-Monial. In response to requests from French bishops, Pope Pius IX promulgated the feast of the Sacred Heart in 1856. The basilica itself was consecrated on 16 October 1919.

 

Since 1885 (before construction had been completed) the Blessed Sacrament (Christ's body, consecrated during the Mass) has been continually on display in a monstrance above the high altar. Perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has continued uninterrupted in the basilica since 1885.

 

Christian de Chergé, one of the killed monks of Tibherine, was chaplain at the basilica in the years 1964-1969.

 

Tourists and others are asked to dress appropriately when visiting the basilica and to observe silence as much as possible, so as not to disturb persons who have come from around the world to pray in this place of pilgrimage, especially since the Blessed Sacrament is displayed. Photos are not allowed to be taken in the basilica.

 

Access

The basilica is accessible by bus or metro line 2 at Anvers station. Sacré-Cœur is open from 06:00 to 22:30 every day. The dome is accessible from 09:00 to 19:00 in the summer and to 18:00 in the winter.

 

Copy in Martinique

A much smaller version of the basilica, Sacré-Cœur de la Balata, is located north of Fort-de-France, Martinique, on N3, the main inland road. Built for the refugees driven from their homes by the eruption of Mount Pelée, it was dedicated in 1915.

Samphran Elephant Ground & Zoo is a famous tourist places suitable for all ages and located in Tha Kham, Sam Phran, Nakhon Pathom Province, central Thailand.

 

Samphran Elephant Ground & Zoo was established by Mr. Pichai Chaimongkoltrakul. The zoo officially opened to the public on March 24, 1985 as a tourist destination, orchid propagation facility and animal breeding especially crocodiles and elephants.

 

Samphran Elephant Ground & Zoo is located at 117 Moo 6, Petkasem Rd, Sam Phran, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, west of Bangkok and about 40 kilometers from the city.

 

The elephant theme show and the crocodile wrestling show are the highlight events in this zoo.

 

In the elephant show, the elephants dance, race, paint and play “Yutha Hathi”, a royal battle in Thai history which is performed with actors riding on the elephants.

 

For the crocodile wrestling, performers show the visitors how to catch crocodiles with their bare hands and also put their arms or heads inside the crocodile’s jaws.

 

The zoo is open daily from 08.30 A.M. – 05.30 P.M.

 

Elephant Theme Show01.45 P.M. – 02.10 P.M.03.30 P.M. – 04.00 P.M.

 

Crocodile Wrestling Show00.45 P.M. – 01.05 P.M.02.20 P.M. – 02.40 P.M.

 

Magic Show01.15 P.M. – 01.45 P.M.03.00 P.M. – 03.30 P.M.

 

Visitors can ride the elephants and visit tropical gardens and waterfalls around the zoo. They can visit orchid nursery and the crocodile’s nursery. Located at the zoo is the ‘Erawan Restaurant’ which provides international cuisine and offers food for visitors if they are hungry throughout the day.

 

Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres (605.7 sq mi) in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated population of 10.539 million as of 2020, 15.3 percent of the country's population. Over 14 million people (22.2 percent) lived within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region at the 2010 census, making Bangkok an extreme primate city, dwarfing Thailand's other urban centres in both size and importance to the national economy.

 

Bangkok traces its roots to a small trading post during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th century, which eventually grew and became the site of two capital cities, Thonburi in 1768 and Rattanakosin in 1782. Bangkok was at the heart of the modernization of Siam, later renamed Thailand, during the late-19th century, as the country faced pressures from the West. The city was at the centre of Thailand's political struggles throughout the 20th century, as the country abolished absolute monarchy, adopted constitutional rule, and underwent numerous coups and several uprisings. The city, incorporated as a special administrative area under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration in 1972, grew rapidly during the 1960s through the 1980s and now exerts a significant impact on Thailand's politics, economy, education, media and modern society.

 

The Asian investment boom in the 1980s and 1990s led many multinational corporations to locate their regional headquarters in Bangkok. The city is now a regional force in finance and business. It is an international hub for transport and health care, and has emerged as a centre for the arts, fashion, and entertainment. The city is known for its street life and cultural landmarks, as well as its red-light districts. The Grand Palace and Buddhist temples including Wat Arun and Wat Pho stand in contrast with other tourist attractions such as the nightlife scenes of Khaosan Road and Patpong. Bangkok is among the world's top tourist destinations, and has been named the world's most visited city consistently in several international rankings.

 

Bangkok's rapid growth coupled with little urban planning has resulted in a haphazard cityscape and inadequate infrastructure. Despite an extensive expressway network, an inadequate road network and substantial private car usage have led to chronic and crippling traffic congestion, which caused severe air pollution in the 1990s. The city has since turned to public transport in an attempt to solve the problem, operating eight urban rail lines and building other public transit, but congestion still remains a prevalent issue. The city faces long-term environmental threats such as sea level rise due to climate change.

 

The history of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, dates at least to the early 15th century, when it was under the rule of Ayutthaya. Due to its strategic location near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, the town gradually increased in importance, and after the fall of Ayutthaya King Taksin established his new capital of Thonburi there, on the river's west bank. King Phutthayotfa Chulalok, who succeeded Taksin, moved the capital to the eastern bank in 1782, to which the city dates its foundation under its current Thai name, "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon". Bangkok has since undergone tremendous changes, growing rapidly, especially in the second half of the 20th century, to become the primate city of Thailand. It was the centre of Siam's modernization in the late 19th century, subjected to Allied bombing during the Second World War, and has long been the modern nation's central political stage, with numerous uprisings and coups d'état having taken place on its streets throughout the years.

 

It is not known exactly when the area which is now Bangkok was first settled. It probably originated as a small farming and trading community, situated in a meander of the Chao Phraya River within the mandala of Ayutthaya's influence. The town had become an important customs outpost by as early as the 15th century; the title of its customs official is given as Nai Phra Khanon Thonburi (Thai: นายพระขนอนทณบุรี) in a document from the reign of Ayutthayan king Chao Sam Phraya (1424–1448). The name also appears in the 1805 revised code of laws known as the Law of Three Seals.

 

At the time, the Chao Phraya flowed through what are now the Bangkok Noi and Bangkok Yai canals, forming a large loop in which lay the town. In the reign of King Chairacha (either in 1538 or 1542), a waterway was excavated, bypassing the loop and shortening the route for ships sailing up to Ayutthaya. The flow of the river has since changed to follow the new waterway, dividing the town and making the western part an island. This geographical feature may have given the town the name Bang Ko (บางเกาะ), meaning 'island village', which later became Bangkok (บางกอก, pronounced in Thai as [bāːŋ kɔ̀ːk]). Another theory regarding the origin of the name speculates that it is shortened from Bang Makok (บางมะกอก), makok being the name of Spondias pinnata, a plant bearing olive-like fruit. This is supported by the fact that Wat Arun, a historic temple in the area, used to be named Wat Makok. Specific mention of the town was first made in the royal chronicles from the reign of King Maha Chakkraphat (1548–1568), giving its name as Thonburi Si Mahasamut (ธนบุรีศรีมหาสมุทร). Bangkok was probably a colloquial name, albeit one widely adopted by foreign visitors.

 

The importance of Bangkok/Thonburi increased with the amount of Ayutthaya's maritime trade. Dutch records noted that ships passing through Bangkok were required to declare their goods and number of passengers, as well as pay customs duties. Ships' cannons would be confiscated and held there before they were allowed to proceed upriver to Ayutthaya. An early English language account is that of Adam Denton, who arrived aboard the Globe, an East India Company merchantman bearing a letter from King James I, which arrived in "the Road of Syam" (Pak Nam) on 15 August 1612, where the port officer of Bangkok attended to the ship. Denton's account mentions that he and his companions journeyed "up the river some twenty miles to a town called Bancope, where we were well received, and further 100 miles to the city...."

 

Ayutthaya's maritime trade was at its height during the reign of King Narai (1656–1688). Recognition of the city's strategic location guarding the water passage to Ayutthaya lead to expansion of the military presence there. A fort of Western design was constructed on the east side of the river around 1685–1687 under the supervision of French engineer de la Mare, probably replacing an earlier structure, while plans to rebuild the fort on the west bank were also made. De la Mare had arrived with the French embassy of Chevalier de Chaumont, and remained in Siam along with Chevalier de Forbin, who had been appointed governor of Bangkok. The Bangkok garrison under Forbin consisted of Siamese, Portuguese, and French reportedly totalling about one thousand men.

 

French control over the city was further consolidated when the French General Desfarges, who had arrived with the second French embassy in 1687, secured the king's permission to board troops there. This, however, lead to resentment among Siamese nobles, led by Phetracha, ultimately resulting in the Siamese revolution of 1688, in which King Narai was overthrown and 40,000 Siamese troops besieged Bangkok's eastern fort for four months before an agreement was reached and the French were allowed to withdraw. The revolution resulted in Siam's ties with the West being virtually severed, steering its trade towards China and Japan. The eastern fort was subsequently demolished on Phetracha's orders.

 

Ayutthaya was razed by the Burmese in 1767. In the following months, multiple factions competed for control of the kingdom's lands. Of these, Phraya Tak, governor of Tak and a general fighting in Ayutthaya's defence prior to its fall, emerged as the strongest. After succeeding in reclaiming the cities of Ayutthaya and Bangkok, Phraya Tak declared himself king (popularly known as King Taksin) in 1768 and established Thonburi as his capital. Reasons given for this change include the totality of Ayutthaya's destruction and Thonburi's strategic location. Being a fortified town with a sizeable population meant that not much would need to be reconstructed. The existence of an old Chinese trading settlement on the eastern bank allowed Taksin to use his Chinese connections to import rice and revive trade.

 

King Taksin had the city area extended northwards to border the Bangkok Noi Canal. A moat was dug to protect the city's western border, on which new city walls and fortifications were built. Moats and walls were also constructed on the eastern bank, encircling the city together with the canals on the western side. The king's palace (Thonburi Palace) was built within the old city walls, including the temples of Wat Chaeng (Wat Arun) and Wat Thai Talat (Wat Molilokkayaram) within the palace grounds. Outlying orchards were re-landscaped for rice farming.

 

Much of Taksin's reign was spent in military campaigns to consolidate the Thonburi Kingdom's hold over Siamese lands. His kingdom, however, would last only until 1782 when a coup was mounted against him, and the general Chao Phraya Chakri established himself as king, later to be known as Phutthayotfa Chulalok or Rama I.

 

Rama I re-established the capital on the more strategic east bank of the river, relocating the Chinese already settled there to the area between Wat Sam Pluem and Wat Sampheng (which developed into Bangkok's Chinatown). Fortifications were rebuilt, and another series of moats was created, encircling the city in an area known as Rattanakosin Island.

 

The erection of the city pillar on 21 April 1782 is regarded as the formal date of the city's establishment. (The year would later mark the start of the Rattanakosin Era after calendar reforms by King Rama V in 1888.) Rama I named the new city Krung Rattanakosin In Ayothaya (กรุงรัตนโกสินทร์อินท์อโยธยา). This was later modified by King Nangklao to be: Krungthepmahanakhon Bowonrattanakosin Mahintha-ayutthaya. While settlements on both banks were commonly called Bangkok, both the Burney Treaty of 1826 and the Roberts Treaty of 1833 refer to the capital as the City of Sia-Yut'hia. King Mongkut (Rama IV) would later give the city its full ceremonial name:

 

Rama I modelled his city after the former capital of Ayutthaya, with the Grand Palace, Front Palace and royal temples by the river, next to the royal field (now Sanam Luang). Continuing outwards were the royal court of justice, royal stables and military prison. Government offices were located within the Grand Palace, while residences of nobles were concentrated south of the palace walls. Settlements spread outwards from the city centre.

 

The new capital is referred to in Thai sources as Rattanakosin, a name shared by the Siamese kingdom of this historical period. The name Krung Thep and Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, both shortened forms of the full ceremonial name, began to be used near the end of the 19th century. Foreigners, however, continued to refer to the city by the name Bangkok, which has seen continued use until this day.

 

Most of Rama I's reign was also marked by continued military campaigns, though the Burmese threat gradually declined afterwards. His successors consistently saw to the renovation of old temples, palaces, and monuments in the city. New canals were also built, gradually expanding the fledgling city as areas available for agriculture increased and new transport networks were created.

 

At the time of the city's foundation, most of the population lived by the river or the canals, often in floating houses on the water. Waterways served as the main method of transportation, and farming communities depended on them for irrigation. Outside the city walls, settlements sprawled along both river banks. Forced settlers, mostly captives of war, also formed several ethnic communities outside the city walls.

 

Large numbers of Chinese immigrants continued to settle in Bangkok, especially during the early 19th century. Such was their prominence that Europeans visiting in the 1820s estimated that they formed over half of the city population. The Chinese excelled in trade, and led the development of a market economy. The Chinese settlement at Sampheng had become a bustling market by 1835. 

 

By the mid-19th century, the West had become an increasingly powerful presence. Missionaries, envoys and merchants began re-visiting Bangkok and Siam, bringing with them both modern innovations and the threat of colonialism. King Mongkut (Rama IV, reigned 1851–1868) was open to Western ideas and knowledge, but was also forced to acknowledge their powers, with the signing of the Bowring Treaty in 1855. During his reign, industrialization began taking place in Bangkok, which saw the introduction of the steam engine, modern shipbuilding and the printing press. Influenced by the Western community, Charoen Krung Road, the city's first paved street, was constructed in 1862–1864. This was followed by Bamrung Mueang, Fueang Nakhon, Trong (now Rama IV) and Si Lom Roads. Land transport would later surpass the canals in importance, shifting people's homes from floating dwellings toward permanent buildings. The limits of the city proper were also expanded during his reign, extending to the Phadung Krung Kasem Canal, dug in 1851.

 

King Mongkut's son Chulalongkorn (r. 1868–1910) was set upon modernizing the country. He engaged in wide-ranging reforms, abolishing slavery, corvée (unfree labour) and the feudal system, and creating a centralized bureaucracy and a professional army. The Western concept of nationhood was adopted, and national borders demarcated against British and French territories. Disputes with the French resulted in the Paknam Incident in 1893, when the French sent gunboats up the Chao Phraya to blockade Bangkok, resulting in Siam's concession of territory to France.

 

With Chulalongkorn's reforms, governance of the capital and the surrounding areas, established as Monthon Krung Thep Phra Mahanakhon (มณฑลกรุงเทพพระมหานคร), came under the Ministry of Urban Affairs (Nakhonban). During his reign many more canals and roads were built, expanding the urban reaches of the capital. Infrastructure was developed, with the introduction of railway and telegraph services between Bangkok and Samut Prakan and then expanding countrywide. Electricity was introduced, first to palaces and government offices, then to serve electric trams in the capital and later the general public. The King's fascination with the West was reflected in the royal adoption of Western dress and fashions, but most noticeably in architecture. He commissioned the construction of the neoclassical Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall at the new Dusit Palace, which was linked to the historic city centre by the grand Ratchadamnoen Avenue, inspired by the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Examples of Western influence in architecture became visible throughout the city.

 

By 1900, rural market zones in Bangkok began developing into residential districts. Rama VI (1910–1925) continued his predecessor's program of the development of public works by establishing Chulalongkorn University in 1916, and commissioned a system of locks to control waterway levels surrounding the developing city, he also provided the city's first and largest recreational area, Lumphini Park. The Memorial Bridge was constructed in 1932 to connect Thonburi to Bangkok, which was believed to promote economic growth and modernization in a period when infrastructure was developing considerably. Bangkok became the centre stage for power struggles between the military and political elite as the country abolished absolute monarchy in 1932. It was subject to Japanese occupation and Allied bombing during World War II. With the war over in 1945, British and Indian troops landed in September, and during their brief occupation of the city disarmed the Japanese troops. A significant event following the return of the young king, Ananda Mahidol, to Thailand, intended to defuse post-war tensions lingering between Bangkok's ethnic Chinese and Thai people, was his visit to Bangkok's Chinatown Sam Peng Lane (ซอยสำเพ็ง), on 3 June 1946.

 

As a result of pro-Western bloc treaties Bangkok rapidly grew in the post-war period as a result of United States developmental aid and government-sponsored investment. Infrastructure, including the Don Mueang International Airport and highways, was built and expanded.  Bangkok's role as an American military R&R destination launched its tourism industry as well as sex trade.  Disproportionate urban development led to increasing income inequalities and unprecedented migration from rural areas into Bangkok; its population surged from 1.8 to 3 million in the 1960s. Following the United States' withdrawal from Vietnam, Japanese businesses took over as leaders in investment, and the expansion of export-oriented manufacturing led to growth of the financial market in Bangkok.  Rapid growth of the city continued through the 1980s and early 1990s, until it was stalled by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. By then, many public and social issues had emerged, among them the strain on infrastructure reflected in the city's notorious traffic jams. Bangkok's role as the nation's political stage continues to be seen in strings of popular protests, from the student uprisings in 1973 and 1976, anti-military demonstrations in 1992, and successive anti-government protests by the "Yellow Shirt" and "Red Shirt" movements from 2008 on.

 

Administratively, eastern Bangkok and Thonburi had been established as separate provinces in 1915. (The province east of the river was named Phra Nakhon (พระนคร.) A series of decrees in 1971–1972 resulted in the merger of these provinces and its local administrations, forming the current city of Bangkok which is officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) was created in 1975 to govern the city, and its governor has been elected since 1985.

This capture made my top 10 list for 2019.

One of several tracking-blur shots I took of fellow photographers, while killing time at the " Imaging USA" at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta Georgia, on January 21, 2019. I took over 1,200 rapid-fire shots and, as expected, only came up with a handful of keepers. But I had to take advantage of the situation. Usually, strangers captured in this sort of setting would show more resentment of having their pictures taken. But these were all fellow photographers and could appreciate my efforts to capture something unique.

Wanganui/Whanganui. (Since 2009 the government uses Whanganui.)

 

In May of 1840 the NZ Company purchased 40,000 acres of land from 27 different Maori Chiefs. Wanganui was the second NZ Company settlement and after surveying land was sold to white settlers from February 1841. It was the third settlement in New Zealand after the Bay of Islands and Wellington. But the land at Wanganui was bought two months after the Treaty of Waitangi had been signed so it should have been purchased through the Crown. A Land Commission in 1844 ordered the NZ Company to pay more compensation for the land but left the amount up to the Company. Some chiefs accepted the original miserly compensation of 1840 and others did not. Conflict and resentment simmered. By 1847 Whanganui was a stockaded town, constructed by the British troops not the NZ Company and trouble was expected from the Maori. Trouble did erupt but not a major war as in some other districts. A Maori was accidentally killed by a British sailor in 1847 and reprisals led to the death of a white mother and her three children. Some Maori captured four Maori villains responsible for the white murders and handed them over to the British troops. Peace returned to the settlement after the four Maori were hung. Then in 1864 inter-tribal warfare broke out in the Wanganui River valley and the British siding with one group. As usual once peace was restored the British confiscated land from the warring Maoris. This created more Maori resentment. The stockade of Wanganui was only removed when all British troops left NZ (and Australian colonies) in 1870. By this time Wanganui was a well-established white settlement area with around 2,000 pakeha inhabitants as well as the Maori.

 

Whanganui grew in the 1870s after the river bridges were built and again in the 1880s after it had two railway connections – one to Wellington and the other to New Plymouth. These days Whanganui’s industrial base is centred on boat building (such as Fuller Ferries in Auckland), bicycle helmets and agriculture service and engineering industries. Whanganui is one of the major ports of New Zealand. The city has around 40,000 people and the wider district 42,000. A focus of the city is the Whanganui River which rises on the volcanic Mt Tongariro. The Whanganui River is 290 kms long and the second longest river in NZ. The river brings many tourists to the district for cruises and higher up the valley kayaking and rafting. Traditionally the Maori used their canoes for transport up and down the river. The city has many schools and cultural institutions. Its historic buildings include

•St Hill Street. The Victorian era Opera House built in 1899 at 69 St Hill Street; Wanganui Commercial Club at 72 St Hill St built in 1926; the Ward (a NZ astronomer) Observatory 1903 at 121 St Hill St;

•Cameron Terrace. Wanganui Regional Museum built 1928 in Cameron Tce; Sarjeant Gallery in Cameron Tce;

•Victoria Avenue. National Bank of New Zealand built in 1929 at 98 Victoria Avenue; Bank of New South Wales built in 1910 at 39 Victoria Avenue; Bank of New Zealand built in 1906 at 26 Victoria Avenue.

 

Waimarie Steamboat Cruise.

Our 11 am cruise on the Waimarie is a great way to enjoy the Wanganui River. The paddle boat was built in London and shipped in pieces for reassembly in Wanganui. The Wanganui Settlers’ Riverboat Company ran the ship along the river as transport for just 3 years to 1902 when she was taken over by Hatrick and Co who had 12 river boats. They named the boat the Waimarie meaning “good fortune.” The Waimarie carried mail, some passengers and freight up the river to its rapids. She sunk and was left in the river in 1952. A group of locals started rising funds, and volunteers to raise the boat in 1992 succeeding in this endeavour in 1993. Some 67,000 volunteer hours were needed to restore the Waimarie. She was recommissioned on 1st January 2000. She now carries well over 25,000 people a year on cruises along the Wanganui River. Coal for her steam boiler is supplied from a mine near Hamilton. Food and drinks from the bar are available during the two hour cruise.

 

youtu.be/KcPcJ9ycEu4?t=2m22s Full Feature

Curse of the Demon / Night of the Demon

Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment

1957/58 / B&W / 1:78 anamorphic 16:9 / 82, 95 min. / Street Date August 13, 2002 / $24.95

Starring Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis, Maurice Denham, Athene Seyler

Cinematography Ted Scaife

Production Designer Ken Adam

Special Effects George Blackwell, S.D. Onions, Wally Veevers

Film Editor Michael Gordon

Original Music Clifton Parker

Written by Charles Bennett and Hal E. Chester from the story Casting the Runes by Montague R. James

Produced by Frank Bevis, Hal E. Chester

Directed by Jacques Tourneur

  

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

 

Savant champions a lot of genre movies but only infrequently does one appear like Jacques Tourneur's superlative Curse of the Demon. It's simply better than the rest -- an intelligent horror film with some very good scares. It occupies a stylistic space that sums up what's best in ghost stories and can hold its own with most any supernatural film ever made. Oh, it's also a great entertainment that never fails to put audiences at the edge of their seats.

What's more, Columbia TriStar has shown uncommon respect for their genre output by including both versions of Curse of the Demon on one disc. Savant has full coverage on the versions and their restoration below, following his thorough and analytical (read: long-winded and anal) coverage of the film itself.

 

Synopsis:

  

Dr. John Holden (Dana Andrews), a scientist and professional debunker of superstitious charlatans, arrives in England to help Professor Henry Harrington (Maurice Denham) assault the phony cult surrounding Dr. Julian Karswell (Niall McGinnis). But Harrington has mysteriously died and Holden becomes involved with his niece Joanna (Peggy Cummins), who thinks Karswell had something to do with it. Karswell's 'tricks' confuse the skeptical Holden, but he stubbornly holds on to his conviction that he's " ... not a sucker, like 90% of the human race." That is, until the evidence mounts that Harrington was indeed killed by a demon summoned from Hell, and that Holden is the next intended victim!

  

The majority of horror films are fantasies in which we accept supernatural ghosts, demons and monsters as part of a deal we've made with the authors: they dress the fantasy in an attractive guise and arrange the variables into an interesting pattern, and we agree to play along for the sake of enjoyment. When it works the movies can resonate with personal meaning. Even though Dracula and Frankenstein are unreal, they are relevant because they're aligned with ideas and themes in our subconscious.

Horror films that seriously confront the no-man's land between rational reality and supernatural belief have a tough time of it. Everyone who believes in God knows that the tug o' war between rationality and faith in our culture has become so clogged with insane belief systems it's considered impolite to dismiss people who believe in flying saucers or the powers of crystals or little glass pyramids. One of Dana Andrews' key lines in Curse of the Demon, defending his dogged skepticism against those urging him to have an open mind, is his retort, "If the world is a dark place ruled by Devils and Demons, we all might as well give up right now." Curse of the Demon balances itself between skepticism and belief with polite English manners, letting us have our fun as it lays its trap. We watch Andrews roll his eyes and scoff at the feeble séance hucksters and the dire warnings of a foolish-looking necromancer. Meanwhile, a whole dark world of horror sneaks up on him. The film's intelligent is such that we're not offended by its advocacy of dark forces or even its literal, in-your-face demon.

The remarkable Curse of the Demon was made in England for Columbia but is gloriously unaffected by that company's zero-zero track record with horror films. Producer Hal E. Chester would seem an odd choice to make a horror classic after producing Joe Palooka films and acting as a criminal punk in dozens of teen crime movies. The obvious strong cards are writer Charles Bennett, the brains behind several classic English Hitchcock pictures (who 'retired' into meaningless bliss writing for schlockmeister Irwin Allen) and Jacques Tourneur, a master stylist who put Val Lewton on the map with Cat People and I Walked With a Zombie. Tourneur made interesting Westerns (Canyon Passage, Great Day in the Morning) and perhaps the most romantic film noir, Out of the Past. By the late '50s he was on what Andrew Sarris in his American Film called 'a commercial downgrade'. The critic lumped Curse of the Demon with low budget American turkeys like The Fearmakers. 1

Put Tourneur with an intelligent script, a decent cameraman and more than a minimal budget and great things could happen. We're used to watching Corman Poe films, English Hammer films and Italian Bavas and Fredas, all the while making excuses for the shortcomings that keep them in the genre ghetto (where they all do quite well, thank you). There's even a veiled resentment against upscale shockers like The Innocents that have resources (money, time, great actors) denied our favorite toilers in the genre realm. Curse of the Demon is above all those considerations. It has name actors past their prime and reasonable production values. Its own studio (at least in America) released it like a genre quickie, double-billed with dreck like The Night the World Exploded and The Giant Claw. They cut it by 13 minutes, changed its title (to ape The Curse of Frankenstein?) and released a poster featuring a huge, slavering demon monster that some believe was originally meant to be barely glimpsed in the film itself. 2

 

Horror movies can work on more than one level but Curse of the Demon handles several levels and then some. The narrative sets up John Holden as a professional skeptic who raises a smirking eyebrow to the open minds of his colleagues. Unlike most second-banana scientists in horror films, they express divergent points of view. Holden just sees himself as having common sense but his peers are impressed by the consistency of demonological beliefs through history. Maybe they all saw Christensen's Witchcraft through the Ages, which might have served as a primer for author Charles Bennett. Smart dialogue allows Holden to score points by scoffing at the then-current "regression to past lives" scam popularized by the Bridey Murphy craze. 3 While Holden stays firmly rooted to his position, coining smart phrases and sarcastic put-downs of believers, the other scientists are at least willing to consider alternate possibilities. Indian colleague K.T. Kumar (Peter Elliott) keeps his opinion to himself. But when asked, he politely states that he believes entirely in the world of demons! 4

Holden may think he has the truth by the tail but it takes Kindergarten teacher Joanna Harrington (Peggy Cummins of Gun Crazy fame) to show him that being a skeptic doesn't mean ignoring facts in front of one's face. Always ready for a drink (a detail added to tailor the part to Andrews?), Holden spends the first couple of reels as interested in pursuing Miss Harrington, as he is the devil-worshippers. The details and coincidences pile up with alarming speed -- the disappearing ink untraceable by the lab, the visual distortions that might be induced by hypnosis, the pages torn from his date book and the parchment of runic symbols. Holden believes them to be props in a conspiracy to draw him into a vortex of doubt and fear. Is he being set up the way a Voodoo master cons his victim, by being told he will die, with fabricated clues to make it all appear real? Holden even gets a bar of sinister music stuck in his head. It's the title theme -- is this a wicked joke on movie soundtracks?

 

Speak of the Devil...

 

This brings us to the wonderful character of Julian Karswell, the kiddie-clown turned multi-millionaire cult leader. The man who launched Alfred Hitchcock as a maker of sophisticated thrillers here creates one of the most interesting villains ever written, one surely as good as any of Hitchcock's. In the short American cut Karswell is a shrewd games-player who shows Holden too many of his cards and finally outsmarts himself. The longer UK cut retains the full depth of his character.

Karswell has tapped into the secrets of demonology to gain riches and power, yet he tragically recognizes that he is as vulnerable to the forces of Hell as are the cowering minions he controls through fear. Karswell's coven means business. It's an entirely different conception from the aesthetic salon coffee klatch of The Seventh Victim, where nothing really supernatural happens and the only menace comes from a secret society committing new crimes to hide old ones.

Karswell keeps his vast following living in fear, and supporting his extravagant lifestyle under the idea that Evil is Good, and Good Evil. At first the Hobart Farm seems to harbor religious Christian fundamentalists who have turned their backs on their son. Then we find out that they're Karswell followers, living blighted lives on cursed acreage and bled dry by their cultist "leader." Karswell's mum (Athene Seyler) is an inversion of the usual insane Hitchcock mother. She lovingly resists her son's philosophy and actively tries to help the heroes. That's in the Night version, of course. In the shorter American cut she only makes silly attempts to interest Joanna in her available son and arranges for a séance. Concerned by his "negativity", Mother confronts Julian on the stairs. He has no friends, no wife, no family. He may be a mass extortionist but he's still her baby. Karswell explains that by exploiting his occult knowledge, he's immersed himself forever in Evil. "You get nothing for nothing"

 

Karswell is like the Devil on Earth, a force with very limited powers that he can't always control. By definition he cannot trust any of his own minions. They're unreliable, weak and prone to double-cross each other, and they attract publicity that makes a secret society difficult to conceal. He can't just kill Holden, as he hasn't a single henchman on the payroll. He instead summons the demon, a magic trick he's only recently mastered. When Karswell turns Harrington away in the first scene we can sense his loneliness. The only person who can possibly understand is right before him, finally willing to admit his power and perhaps even tolerate him. Karswell has no choice but to surrender Harrington over to the un-recallable Demon. In his dealings with the cult-debunker Holden, Karswell defends his turf but is also attempting to justify himself to a peer, another man who might be a potential equal. It's more than a duel of egos between a James Bond and a Goldfinger, with arrogance and aggression masking a mutual respect; Karswell knows he's taken Lewton's "wrong turning in life," and will have to pay for it eventually.

Karswell eventually earns Holden's respect, especially after the fearful testimony of Rand Hobart. It's taken an extreme demonstration to do it, but Holden budges from his smug position. He may not buy all of the demonology hocus-pocus but it's plain enough that Karswell or his "demon" is going to somehow rub him out. Seeking to sneak the parchment back into Karswell's possession, Holden becomes a worthy hero because he's found the maturity to question his own preconceptions. Armed with his rational, cool head, he's a force that makes Karswell -- without his demon, of course -- a relative weakling. Curse of the Demon ends in a classic ghost story twist, with just desserts dished out and balance recovered. The good characters are less sure of their world than when they started, but they're still able to cope. Evil has been defeated not by love or faith, but by intellect.

 

Curse of the Demon has the Val Lewton sensibility as has often been cited in Tourneur's frequent (and very effective) use of the device called the Lewton "Bus" -- a wholly artificial jolt of fast motion and noise interrupting a tense scene. There's an ultimate "bus" at the end when a train blasts in and sets us up for the end title. It "erases" the embracing actors behind it and I've always thought it had to be an inspiration for the last shot of North by NorthWest. The ever-playful Hitchcock was reportedly a big viewer of fantastic films, from which he seems to have gotten many ideas. He's said to have dined with Lewton on more than one occasion (makes sense, they were at one time both Selznick contractees) and carried on a covert competition with William Castle, of all people.

Visually, Tourneur's film is marvelous, effortlessly conjuring menacing forests lit in the fantastic Mario Bava mode by Ted Scaife, who was not known as a genre stylist. There are more than a few perfunctory sets, with some unflattering mattes used for airport interiors, etc.. Elsewhere we see beautiful designs by Ken Adam in one of his earliest outings. Karswell's ornate floor and central staircase evoke an Escher print, especially when visible/invisible hands appear on the banister. A hypnotic, maze-like set for a hotel corridor is also tainted by Escher and evokes a sense of the uncanny even better than the horrid sounds Holden hears. The build-up of terror is so effective that one rather unconvincing episode (a fight with a Cat People - like transforming cat) does no harm. Other effects, such as the demon footprints appearing in the forest, work beautifully.

In his Encyclopedia of Horror Movies Phil Hardy very rightly relates Curse of the Demon's emphasis on the visual to the then just-beginning Euro-horror subgenre. The works of Bava, Margheriti and Freda would make the photographic texture of the screen the prime element of their films, sometimes above acting and story logic.

 

Columbia TriStar's DVD of Curse of the Demon / Night of the Demon presents both versions of this classic in one package. American viewers saw an effective but abbreviated cut-down. If you've seen Curse of the Demon on cable TV or rented a VHS or a laser anytime after 1987, you're not going to see anything different in the film. In 1987 Columbia happened to pull out the English cut when it went to re-master. When the title came up as Night of the Demon, they just slugged in the Curse main title card and let it go.

From such a happy accident (believe me, nobody in charge at Columbia at the time would have purposely given a film like this a second glance) came a restoration at least as wonderful as the earlier reversion of The Fearless Vampire Killers to its original form. Genre fans were taken by surprise and the Laserdisc became a hot item that often traded for hundreds of dollars. 6

 

Back in film school Savant had been convinced that ever seeing the long, original Night cut was a lost cause. An excellent article in the old Photon magazine in the early '70s 5, before such analytical work was common, accurately laid out the differences between the two versions, something Savant needs to do sometime with The Damned and These Are the Damned. The Photon article very accurately describes the cut scenes and what the film lost without them, and certainly inspired many of the ideas here.

Being able to see the two versions back-to-back shows exactly how they differ. Curse omits some scenes and rearranges others. Gone is some narration from the title sequence, most of the airplane ride, some dialogue on the ground with the newsmen and several scenes with Karswell talking to his mother. Most crucially missing are Karswell's mother showing Joanna the cabalistic book everyone talks so much about and Holden's entire visit to the Hobart farm to secure a release for his examination of Rand Hobart. Of course the cut film still works (we loved the cut Curse at UCLA screenings and there are people who actually think it's better) but it's nowhere near as involving as the complete UK version. Curse also reshuffles some events, moving Holden's phantom encounter in the hallway nearer the beginning, which may have been to get a spooky scene in the middle section or to better disguise the loss of whole scenes later. The chop-job should have been obvious. The newly imposed fades and dissolves look awkward. One cut very sloppily happens right in the middle of a previous dissolve.

Night places both Andrews and Cummins' credits above the title and gives McGinnis an "also starring" credit immediately afterwards. Oddly, Curse sticks Cummins afterwards and relegates McGinnis to the top of the "also with" cast list. Maybe with his role chopped down, some Columbia executive thought he didn't deserve the billing?

Technically, both versions look just fine, very sharp and free of digital funk that would spoil the film's spooky visual texture. Night of the Demon is the version to watch for both content and quality. It's not perfect but has better contrast and less dirt than the American version. Curse has more emulsion scratches and flecking white dandruff in its dark scenes, yet looks fine until one sees the improvement of Night. Both shows are widescreen enhanced (hosanna), framing the action at its original tighter aspect ratio.

It's terrific that Columbia TriStar has brought out this film so thoughtfully, even though some viewers are going to be confused when their "double feature" disc appears to be two copies of the same movie. Let 'em stew. This is Savant's favorite release so far this year.

 

On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, Curse of the Demon / Night of the Demon rates:

Movie: Excellent

  

Footnotes:

Made very close to Curse of the Demon and starring Dana Andrews, The Fearmakers (great title) was a Savant must-see until he caught up with it in the UA collection at MGM. It's a pitiful no-budgeter that claims Madison Avenue was providing public relations for foreign subversives, and is negligible even in the lists of '50s anti-Commie films.

Return

 

Curse of the Demon's Demon has been the subject of debate ever since the heyday of Famous Monsters of Filmland. From what's on record it's clear that producer Chester added or maximized the shots of the creature, a literal visualization of a fiery, brimstone-smoking classical woodcut demon that some viewers think looks ridiculous. Bennett and Tourneur's original idea was to never show a demon but the producer changed that. Tourneur probably directed most of the shots, only to have Chester over-use them. To Savant's thinking, the demon looks great. It is first perceived as an ominous sound, a less strident version of the disturbing noise made by Them! Then it manifests itself visually as a strange disturbance in the sky (bubbles? sparks? early slit-scan?) followed by a billowing cloud of sulphurous smoke (a dandy effect not exploited again until Close Encounters of the Third Kind). The long-shot demon is sometimes called the bicycle demon because he's a rod puppet with legs that move on a wheel-rig. Smoke belches from all over his scaly body. Close-ups are provided by a wonderfully sculpted head 'n' shoulders demon with articulated eyes and lips, a full decade or so before Carlo Rambaldi started engineering such devices.

Most of the debate centers on how much Demon should have been shown with the general consensus that less would have been better. People who dote on Lewton-esque ambivalence say that the film's slow buildup of rationality-versus demonology is destroyed by the very real Demon's appearance in the first scene, and that's where they'd like it removed or radically reduced. The Demon is so nicely integrated into the cutting (the giant foot in the first scene is a real jolt) that it's likely that Tourneur himself filmed it all, perhaps expecting the shots to be shorter or more obscured. It is also possible that the giant head was a post-Tourneur addition - it doesn't tie in with the other shots as well (especially when it rolls forward rather stiffly) and is rather blunt. Detractors lump it in with the gawd-awful head of The Black Scorpion, which is filmed the same way and almost certainly was an afterthought - and also became a key poster image. This demon head matches the surrounding action a lot better than did the drooling Scorpion.

Savant wouldn't change Curse of the Demon but if you put a gun to my head I'd shorten most of the shots in its first appearance, perhaps eliminating all close-ups except for the final, superb shot of the the giant claw reaching for Harrington / us.

  

Kumar, played (I assume) by an Anglo actor, immediately evokes all those Indian and other Third World characters in Hammer films whose indigenous cultures invariably hold all manner of black magic and insidious horror. When Hammer films are repetitious it's because they take eighty minutes or so to convince the imagination-challenged English heroes to even consider the premise of the film as being real. In Curse of the Demon, Holden's smart-tongued dismissal of outside viewpoints seems much more pigheaded now than it did in 1957, when heroes confidently defended conformist values without being challenged. Kumar is a scientist but also probably a Hindu or a Sikh. He has no difficulty reconciling his faith with his scientific detachment. Holden is far too tactful to call Kumar a crazy third-world guru but that's probably what he's thinking. He instead politely ignores him. Good old Kumar then saves Holden's hide with some timely information. I hope Holden remembered to thank him.

There's an unstated conclusion in Curse of the Demon: Holden's rigid disbelief of the supernatural means he also does not believe in a Christian God with its fundamentally spiritual faith system of Good and Evil, saints and devils, angels and demons. Horror movies that deal directly with religious symbolism and "real faith" can be hypocritical in their exploitation and brutal in their cheap toying with what are for many people sacred personal concepts. I'm thinking of course of The Exorcist here. That movie has all the grace of a reporter who shows a serial killer's atrocity photos to a mother whose child has just been kidnapped. Curse of the Demon hasn't The Exorcist's ruthless commercial instincts but instead has the modesty not to pretend to be profound, or even "real." Yet it expresses our basic human conflict between rationality and faith very nicely.

 

Savant called Jim Wyrnoski, who was associated with Photon, in an effort to find out more about the article, namely who wrote it. It was very well done and I've never forgotten it; I unfortunately loaned my copy out to good old Jim Ursini and it disappeared. Obviously, a lot of the ideas here, I first read there. Perhaps a reader who knows better how to take care of their belongings can help me with the info? Ursini and Alain Silvers' More Things than are Dreamt Of Limelight, 1994, analyzes Curse of the Demon (and many other horror movies) in the context of its source story.

 

This is a true story: Cut to 2000. Columbia goes to re-master Curse of the Demon and finds that the fine-grain original of the English version is missing. The original long version of the movie may be lost forever. A few months later a collector appears who says he bought it from another unnamed collector and offers to trade it for a print copy of the American version, which he prefers. Luckily, an intermediary helps the collector follow up on his offer and the authorities are not contacted about what some would certainly call stolen property. The long version is now once again safe. Studios clearly need to defend their property but many collectors have "items" they personally have acquired legally. More often than you might think, such finds come about because studios throw away important elements. If the studios threaten prosecution, they will find that collectors will never approach them. They'd probably prefer to destroy irreplaceable film to avoid being criminalized.

  

There are three churches near to home that I feel I needed to revisit, St Margaret's itself I should be able to get the key from the village shop at any time, but St Mary in Dover hasn't been open the last few times I have been in town, and Barfrestone was closed most of the year due to vandalism.

 

But Saturday morning there is usually a coffee morning in St Mary, so I went down armed with camera and lenses to take more shots of the details, especially of the windows.

 

This is one dedicated to the search and rescue pilots and the MTBs that rescued ditched pilots during the Battle of Britain. Very colourful.

 

Many more shots to come, I took some 150 shots here.

 

But that was nothing compared to how many I took at Barfrestone.....

 

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In the heart of the town with a prominent twelfth-century tower. From the outside it is obvious that much work was carried out in the nineteenth century. The church has major connections with the Lord Wardens of the Cinque Ports and is much used for ceremonial services. The western bays of the nave with their low semi-circular arches are contemporary with the tower, while the pointed arches to the east are entirely nineteenth century. The scale and choice of stone is entirely wrong, although the carving is very well done. However the east end, with its tall narrow lancet windows, is not so successful. The Royal Arms, of the reign of William and Mary, are of carved and painted wood, with a French motto - Jay Maintendray - instead of the more usual Dieu et Mon Droit. The church was badly damaged in the Second World War, but one of the survivors was the typical Norman font of square Purbeck marble construction. One of the more recent additions to the church is the Herald of Free Enterprise memorial window of 1989 designed by Frederick Cole.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Dover+1

 

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THE TOWN AND PORT OF DOVER.

DOVER lies at the eastern extremity of Kent, adjoining to the sea, the great high London road towards France ending at it. It lies adjoining to the parish of Charlton last-described, eastward, in the lath of St. Augustine and eastern division of the county. It is within the liberty of the cinque ports, and the juristion of the corporation of the town and port of Dover.

 

DOVER, written in the Latin Itinerary of Antonine, Dubris. By the Saxons, Dorsa, and Dofris. By later historians, Doveria; and in the book of Domesday, Dovere; took its name most probably from the British words, Dufir, signifying water, or Dusirrha, high and steep, alluding to the cliffs adjoining to it. (fn. 1)

 

It is situated at the extremity of a wide and spacious valley, inclosed on each side by high and steep hills or cliffs, and making allowance for the sea's withdrawing itself from between them, answers well to the description given of it by Julius Cæfar in his Commentaries.

 

In the middle space, between this chain of high cliffs, in a break or opening, lies the town of Dover and its harbour, which latter, before the sea was shut out, so late as the Norman conquest, was situated much more within the land than it is at present, as will be further noticed hereafter.

 

ON THE SUMMIT of one of these cliffs, of sudden and stupendous height, close on the north side of the town and harbour, stands DOVER CASTLE, so famous and renowned in all the histories of former times. It is situated so exceeding high, that it is at most times plainly to be seen from the lowest lands on the coast of France, and as far beyond as the eye can discern. Its size, for it contains within it thirty five acres of ground, six of which are taken up by the antient buildings, gives it the appearance of a small city, having its citadel conspicuous in the midst of it, with extensive fortifications, around its walls. The hill, or rather rock, on which it stands, is ragged and steep towards the town and harbour; but towards the sea, it is a perpendicular precipice of a wonderful height, being more than three hundred and twenty feet high, from its basis on the shore.

 

Common tradition supposes, that Julius Cæfar was the builder of this castle, as well as others in this part of Britain, but surely without a probability of truth; for our brave countrymen found Cæfar sufficient employment of a far different sort, during his short stay in Britain, to give him any opportunity of erecting even this one fortress. Kilburne says, there was a tower here, called Cæsar's tower, afterwards the king's lodgings; but these, now called the king's keep, were built by king Henry II. as will be further mentioned hereafter; and he further says, there were to be seen here great pipes and casks bound with iron hoops, in which was liquor supposed to be wine, which by long lying had become as thick as treacle, and would cleave like birdlime; salt congealed together as hard as stone; cross and long bows and arrows, to which brass was fastened instead of feathers, and they were of such size, as not to be fit for the use of men of that or any late ages. These, Lambarde says, the inhabitants shewed as having belonged to Cæfar, and the wine and salt as part of the provision he had brought with him hither; and Camden relates, that he was shewn these arrows, which he thinks were such as the Romans used to shoot out of their engines, which were like to large crossbows. These last might, no doubt, though not Cæsar's, belong to the Romans of a later time; and the former might, perhaps, be part of the provisions and stores which king Henry VIII. laid in here, at a time when he passed from hence over sea to France. But for many years past it has not been known what is become of any of these things.

 

Others, averse to Cæsar's having built this castle, and yet willing to give the building of it to the empire of the Romans of a later time, suppose, and that perhaps with some probability, it was first erected by Arviragus, (or Arivog, as he is called on his coin) king of Britain, in the time of Claudius, the Roman emperor. (fn. 2)

 

That there was one built here, during the continuance of the Roman empire in Britain, must be supposed from the necessity of it, and the circumstances of those times; and the existence of one plainly appears, from the remains of the tower and other parts of the antient church within it, and the octagon tower at the west end, in which are quantities of Roman brick and tile. These towers are evidently the remains of Roman work, the former of much less antiquity than the latter, which may be well supposed to have been built as early as the emperor Claudius, whose expedition hither was about or immediately subsequent to the year of Christ 44. Of these towers, probably the latter was built for a speculum, or watch-tower, and was used, not only to watch the approach of enemies, but with another on the opposite hill, to point out the safe entrance into this port between them, by night as well as by day.

 

In this fortress, the Romans seem afterwards to have kept a garrison of veterans, as we learn from Pancirollus, who tells us that a company of soldiers under their chief, called Præpositus Militum Tungricanorum, was stationed within this fortess.

 

Out of the remains of part of the above-mentioned Roman buildings here, a Christian church was erected, as most historians write, by Lucius, king of Britain, about the year 161; but it is much to be doubted whether there ever was such a king in Britain; if there was, he was only a tributary chief to the Roman emperor, under whose peculiar government Britain was then accounted. This church was built, no doubt, for the use of that part of the garrison in particular, who were at that time believers of the gospel, and afterwards during the different changes of the Christian and Pagan religions in these parts, was made use of accordingly, till St. Augustine, soon after the year 597, at the request of king Ethelbert, reconsecrated it, and dedicated it anew, in honour of the blessed Virgin Mary.

 

¶His son and successor Eadbald, king of Kent, founded a college of secular canons and a provost in this church, whose habitations, undoubtedly near it, there are not the least traces of. These continued here till after the year 691; when Widred, king of Kent, having increated the fortifications, and finding the residence of the religious within them an incumbrance, removed them from hence into the town of Dover, to the antient church of St. Martin; in the description of which hereafter, a further account of them will be given.

  

DOVER does not seem to have been in much repute as a harbour, till some time after Cæsar's expedition hither; for the unfitness, as well as insecurity of the place, especially for a large fleet of shipping, added to the character which he had given of it, deterred the Romans from making a frequent use of it, so that from Boleyne, or Gessoriacum, their usual port in Gaul, they in general failed with their fleets to Richborough, or Portus Rutupinus, situated at the mouth of the Thames, in Britain, and thence back again; the latter being a most safe and commodious haven, with a large and extensive bay.

 

Notwithstanding which, Dover certainly was then made use of as a port for smaller vessels, and a nearer intercourse for passengers from the continent; and to render the entrance to it more safe, the Romans built two Specula, or watch-towers, here, on the two hills opposite to each other, to point out the approach to it, and one likewise on the opposite hill at Bologne, for the like purpose there; and it is mentioned as a port by Antoninus, in his Itinerary, in which, ITER III. is A Londinio ad Portum Dubris, i. e. from London to the port of Dover.

 

After the departure of the Romans from Britain, when the port of Bologne, as well as Richborough, fell into decay and disuse, and instead of the former a nearer port came into use, first at Whitsan, and when that was stopped up, a little higher at Calais, Dover quickly became the more usual and established port of passage between France and Britain, and it has continued so to the present time.

 

When the antient harbour of Dover was changed from its antient situation is not known; most probably by various occurrences of nature, the sea left it by degrees, till at last the farmer scite of it became entirely swallowed up by the beach. That the harbour was much further within land, even at the time of the conquest than it is at present, seems to be confirmed by Domesday, in which it is said, that at the entrance of it, there was a mill which damaged almost every ship that passed by it, on account of the great swell of the sea there. Where the scite of this mill was, is now totally unknown, though it is probable it was much within the land, and that by the still further accumulation of the beach, and other natural causes, this haven was in process of time so far filled up towards the inland part of it, as to change its situation still more to the south-west, towards the sea.

 

From the time of the Norman conquest this port continued the usual passage to the continent, and to confine the intercourse to this port only, there was a statute passed anno 4 Edward IV. that none should take shipping for Calais, but at Dover. (fn. 20) But in king Henry VII.'s time, which was almost the next reign, the harbour was become so swerved up, as to render it necessary for the king's immediate attention, to prevent its total ruin, and he expended great sums of money for its preservation. But it was found, that all that was done, would not answer the end proposed, without the building of a pier to seaward, which was determined on about the middle of Henry VIII.'s reign, and one was constructed, which was compiled of two rows of main posts, and great piles, which were let into holes hewn in the rock underneath, and some were shod with iron, and driven down into the main chalk, and fastened together with iron bands and bolts. The bottom being first filled up with great rocks of stone, and the remainder above with great chalk stones, beach, &c. During the whole of this work, the king greatly encouraged the undertaking, and came several times to view it; and in the whole is said to have expended near 63,000l. on it. But his absence afterwards abroad, his ill health, and at last his death, joined to the minority of his successor, king Edward VI. though some feeble efforts were made in his reign, towards the support of this pier, put a stop to, and in the end exposed this noble work to decay and ruin.

 

Queen Mary, indeed, attempted to carry it on again, but neither officers nor workmen being well paid, it came to nothing, so that in process of time the sea having brought up great quantities of beach again upon it, the harbour was choaked up, and the loss of Calais happening about the same time, threatened the entire destruction of it. Providentially the shelf of beach was of itself became a natural defence against the rage of the sea, insomuch, that if a passage could be made for ships to get safely within it, they might ride there securely.

 

To effect this, several projects were formed, and queen Elizabeth, to encourage it, gave to the town the free transportation of several thousand quarters of corn and tuns of beer; and in the 23d of her reign, an act passed for giving towards the repair of the harbour, a certain tonnage from every vessel above twenty tons burthen, passing by it, which amounted to 1000l. yearly income; and the lord Cobham, then lordwarden, and others, were appointed commissioners for this purpose; and in the end, after many different trials to effect it, a safe harbour was formed, with a pier, and different walls and sluices, at a great expence; during the time of which a universal diligence and public spirit appeared in every one concerned in this great and useful work. During the whole of the queen's reign, the improvement of this harbour continued without intermission, and several more acts passed for that purpose; but the future preservation of it was owing to the charter of incorporation of the governors of it, in the first year of king James I. by an act passed that year, by the name of the warden and assistants of the harbour of Dover, the warden being always the lord-warden of the cinque ports for the time being, and his assistants, his lieutenant, and the mayor of Dover, for the time being, and eight others, the warden and assistants only making a quorum; six to be present to make a session; at any of which, on a vacancy, the assistants to be elected; and the king granted to them his land or waste ground, or beach, commonly called the Pier, or Harbour ground, as it lay without Southgate, or Snargate, the rents of which are now of the yearly value of about three hundred pounds.

 

Under the direction of this corporation, the works and improvements of this harbour have been carried on, and acts of parliament have been passed in almost every reign since, to give the greater force to their proceedings.

 

From what has been said before, the reader will observe, that this harbour has always been a great national object, and that in the course of many ages, prodigious sums of money have been from time to time expended on it, and every endeavour used to keep it open, and render it commodious; but after all these repeated endeavours and expences, it still labours under such circumstances, as in a very great degree renders unsuccessful all that has ever been done for that purpose.

 

DOVER, as has been already mentioned, was of some estimation in the time of the Roman empire in Britain, on account of its haven, and afterwards for the castle, in which they kept a strong garrison of sol. diers, not only to guard the approach to it, but to keep the natives in subjection; and in proof of their residence here, the Rev. Mr. Lyon some years since discovered the remains of a Roman structure, which he apprehended to have been a bath, at the west end of the parish-church of St. Mary, in this town, which remains have since repeatedly been laid open when interments have taken place there.

 

This station of the Romans is mentioned by Antonine, in his Itinerary of the Roman roads in Britain, by the name of Dubris, as being situated from the station named Durovernum, or Canterbury, fourteen miles; which distance, compared with the miles as they are now numbered from Canterbury, shews the town, as well as the haven, for they were no doubt contiguous to each other, to have both been nearer within land than either of them are at present, the present distance from Canterbury being near sixteen miles as the road now goes, The sea, indeed, seems antiently to have occupied in great part the space where the present town of Dover, or at least the northwest part of it, now stands; but being shut out by the quantity of beach thrown up, and the harbour changed by that means to its present situation, left that place a dry ground, on which the town of Dover, the inhabitants following the traffic of the harbour, was afterwards built.

 

This town, called by the Saxons, Dofra, and Dofris; by later historians, Doveria; and in Domesday, Dovere; is agreed by all writers to have been privileged before the conquest; and by the survey of Domesday, appears to have been of ability in the time of king Edward the Confessor, to arm yearly twenty vessels for sea service. In consideration of which, that king granted to the inhabitants, not only to be free from the payment of thol and other privileges throughout the realm, but pardoned them all manner of suit and service to any of his courts whatsoever; and in those days, the town seems to have been under the protection and government of Godwin, earl of Kent, and governor of this castle.

 

Soon after the conquest, this town was so wasted by fire, that almost all the houses were reduced to ashes, as appears by the survey of Domesday, at the beginning of which is the following entry of it:

 

DOVERE, in the time of king Edward, paid eighteen pounds, of which money, king E had two parts, and earl Goduin the third. On the other hand, the canons of St. Martin had another moiety. The burgesses gave twenty ships to the king once in the year, for fifteen days; and in each ship were twenty and one men. This they did on the account that he had pardoned them sac and soc. When the messengers of the king came there, they gave for the passage of a horse three pence in winter, and two in summer. But the burgesses found a steerman, and one other assistant, and if there should be more necessary, they were provided at his cost. From the festival of St. Michael to the feast of St. Andrew, the king's peace was in the town. Sigerius had broke it, on which the king's bailiff had received the usual fine. Whoever resided constantly in the town paid custom to the king; he was free from thol throughout England. All these customs were there when king William came into England. On his first arrival in England, the town itself was burnt, and therefore its value could not be computed how much it was worth, when the bishop of Baieux received it. Now it is rated at forty pounds, and yet the bailiff pays from thence fifty-four pounds to the king; of which twenty-four pounds in money, which were twenty in an one, but thirty pounds to the earl by tale.

 

In Dovere there are twenty-nine plats of ground, of which the king had lost the custom. Of these Robert de Romenel has two. Ralph de Curbespine three. William, son of Tedald, one. William, son of Oger, one. William, son of Tedold, and Robert niger, six. William, son of Goisfrid, three, in which the guildhall of the burgesses was. Hugo de Montfort one house. Durand one. Rannulf de Colubels one. Wadard six. The son of Modbert one. And all these vouch the bishop of Baieux as the protector and giver of these houses. Of that plat of ground, which Rannulf de Colubels holds, which was a certain outlaw, they agree that the half of the land was the king's, and Rannulf himself has both parts. Humphry the lame man holds one plat of ground, of which half the forfeiture is the king's. Roger de Ostrabam made a certain house over the king's water, and held to this time the custom of the king; nor was a house there in the time of king Edward. In the entrance of the port of Dovere, there is one mill, which damages almost every ship, by the great swell of the sea, and does great damage to the king and his tenants; and it was not there in the time of king Edward. Concerning this, the grandson of Herbert says, that the bishop of Baieux granted it to his uncle Herbert, the son of Ivo.

 

And a little further, in the same record, under the bishop's possessions likewise:

 

In Estrei hundred, Wibertus holds half a yoke, which lies in the gild of Dover, and now is taxed with the land of Osbert, the son of Letard, and is worth per annum four shillings.

 

From the Norman conquest, the cities and towns of this realm appear to have been vested either in the crown, or else in the clergy or great men of the laity, and they were each, as such, immediately lords of the same. Thus, when the bishop of Baieux, to whom the king had, as may be seen by the above survey, granted this town, was disgraced. It returned into the king's hands by forfeiture, and king Richard I. afterwards granted it in ferme to Robt. Fitz-bernard. (fn. 21)

 

After the time of the taking of the survey of Domesday, the harbour of Dover still changing its situation more to the south-westward, the town seems to have altered its situation too, and to have been chiefly rebuilt along the sides of the new harbour, and as an encouragement to it, at the instance, and through favour especially to the prior of Dover, king Edward I. in corporated this town, the first that was so of any of the cinque ports, by the name of the mayor and commonalty. The mayor to be chosen out of the latter, from which body he was afterwards to chuse the assistants for his year, who were to be sworn for that purpose. At which time, the king had a mint for the coinage of money here; and by patent, anno 27 of that reign, the table of the exchequer of money was appointed to be held here, and at Yarmouth. (fn. 22) But the good effects of these marks of the royal favour were soon afterwards much lessened, by a dreadful disaster; for the French landed here in the night, in the 23d year of that reign, and burnt the greatest part of the town, and several of the religious houses, in it, and this was esteemed the more treacherousk, as it was done whilst the two cardinals were here, treating for a peace between England and France; which misfortune, however, does not seem to have totally impoverished it, for in the 17th year of the next reign of king Edward II it appears in some measure to have recovered its former state, and to have been rebuilt, as appears by the patent rolls of that year, in which the town of Dover is said to have then had in it twenty-one wards, each of which was charged with one ship for the king's use; in consideration of which, each ward had the privilege of a licensed packetboat, called a passenger, from Dover across the sea to Whitsan, in France, the usual port at that time of embarking from thence.

 

The state of this place in the reign of Henry VIII. is given by Leland, in his Itinerary, as follows:

 

"Dovar ys xii myles fro Canterbury and viii fro Sandwich. Ther hath bene a haven yn tyme past and yn taken ther of the ground that lyith up betwyxt the hilles is yet in digging found wosye. Ther hath bene found also peeces of cabelles and anchores and Itinerarium Antonini cawlyth hyt by the name of a haven. The towne on the front toward the se hath bene right strongly walled and embateled and almost al the residew; but now yt is parly fawlen downe and broken downe. The residew of the towne as far as I can perceyve was never waulled. The towne is devided into vi paroches. Wherof iii be under one rose at S. Martines yn the hart of the town. The other iii stand that yt hath be walled abowt but not dyked. The other iii stand abrode, of the which one is cawled S. James of Rudby or more likely Rodeby a statione navium. But this word ys not sufficient to prove that Dovar showld be that place, the which the Romaynes cawlled Portus Rutupi or Rutupinum. For I cannot yet se the contrary but Retesboro otherwise cawlled Richeboro by Sandwich, both ways corruptly, must neades be Rutupinum. The mayne strong and famose castel of Dovar stondeth on the loppe of a hille almost a quarter of a myle of fro the towne on the lyst side and withyn the castel ys a chapel, yn the sides wherof appere sum greate Briton brykes. In the town was a great priory of blacke monkes late suppressed. There is also an hospitalle cawlled the Meason dew. On the toppe of the hye clive betwene the towne and the peere remayneth yet abowt a slyte shot up ynto the land fro the very brymme of the se clysse as ruine of a towr, the which has bene as a pharos or a mark to shyppes on the se and therby was a place of templarys. As concerning the river of Dovar it hath no long cowrse from no spring or hedde notable that descendith to that botom. The principal hed, as they say is at a place cawled Ewelle and that is not past a iii or iiii myles fro Dovar. Ther be springes of frech waters also at a place cawled Rivers. Ther is also a great spring at a place cawled …… and that once in a vi or vii yeres brasted owt so abundantly that a great part of the water cummeth into Dovar streme, but als yt renneth yn to the se betwyxt Dovar and Folchestan, but nerer to Folchestan that is to say withyn a ii myles of yt. Surely the hedde standeth so that it might with no no great cost be brought to run alway into Dovar streame." (fn. 23)

Cougate Crosse-gate Bocheruy-gate stoode with toures toward the se. There is beside Beting-gate and Westegate.

Howbeyt MTuine tol me a late that yt hath be walled abowt but not dyked.

 

This was the state of Dover just before the time of the dissolution of religious houses, in Henry VIII.'s reign, when the abolition of private masses, obits, and such like services in churches, occasioned by the reformation, annillilated the greatest part of the income of the priests belonging to them, in this as well as in other towns, in consequence of which most of them were deserted, and falling to ruin, the parishes belonging to them were united to one or two of the principal ones of them. Thus, in this town, of the several churches in it, two only remained in use for divine service, viz. St. Mary's and St. James's, to which the parishes of the others were united.

 

After this, the haven continuting to decay more than ever, notwithstanding the national assistance afforded to it, the town itself seemed hastening to impoverishment. What the state of it was in the 8th year of queen Elizabeth, may be seen, by the certificate returned by the queen's order of the maritime places, in her 8th year, by which it appears that there were then in Dover, houses inhabited three hundred and fifty-eight; void, or lack of inhabiters, nineteen; a mayor, customer, comptroller of authorities, not joint but several; ships and crayers twenty, from four tons to one hundred and twenty.

 

¶This probable ruin of the town, however, most likely induced the queen, in her 20th year, to grant it a new charter of incorporation, in which the manner of chusing mayor, jurats, and commoners, and of making freemen, was new-modelled, and several surther liberties and privileges granted, and those of the charter of king Edward I. confirmed likewise by inspeximus. After which, king Charles II. in his 36th year, anno 1684, granted to it a new charter, which, however, was never inrolled in chancery, and in consequence of a writ of quo warranto was that same year surrendered, and another again granted next year; but this last, as well as another charter granted by king James II. and forced on the corporation, being made wholly subservient to the king's own purposes, were annulled by proclamation, made anno 1688, being the fourth and last year of his reign: but none of the above charters being at this time extant, (the charters of this corporation, as well as those of the other cinque ports, being in 1685, by the king's command, surrendered up to Col. Strode, then governor of Dover castle, and never returned again, nor is it known what became of them,) Dover is now held to be a corporation by prescription, by the stile of the mayor, jurats, and commonalty of the town and port of Dover. It consists at present of a mayor, twelve jurats, and thirty-six commoners, or freemen, together with a chamberlain, recorder, and town-clerk. The mayor, who is coroner by virtue of his office, is chosen on Sept. 8, yearly, in St. Mary's church, and together with the jurats, who are justices within this liberty, exclusive of all others, hold a court of general sessions of the peace and gaol delivery, together with a court of record, and it has other privileges, mostly the same as the other corporations, within the liberties of the cinque ports. It has the privilege of a mace. The election of mayor was antiently in the church of St. Peter, whence in 1581 it was removed to that of St. Mary, where it has been, as well as the elections of barons to serve in parliament, held ever since. These elections here, as well as elsewhere in churches, set apart for the worship of God, are certainly a scandal to decency and religion, and are the more inexcusable here, as there is a spacious court-hall, much more fit for the purposes. After this, there was another byelaw made, in June, 1706, for removing these elections into the court-hall; but why it was not put in execution does not appear, unless custom prevented it—for if a decree was of force to move them from one church to another, another decree was of equal force to remove them from the church to the courthall. Within these few years indeed, a motion was made in the house of commons, by the late alderman Sawbridge, a gentlemand not much addicted to speak in favour of the established church, to remove all such elections, through decency, from churches to other places not consecrated to divine worship; but though allowed to be highly proper, yet party resentment against the mover of it prevailed, and the motion was negatived by a great majority.

 

The mayor is chosen by the resident freemen. The jurats are nominated from the common-councilmen by the jurats, and appointed by the mayor, jurats, and common-councilmen, by ballot.

  

THE CHURCH OF ST. Mary stands at some distance from the entrance into this town from Canterbury, near the market-place. It is said to have been built by the prior and convent of St. Martin, (fn. 47) in the year 1216; but from what authority, I know not.—Certain it is, that it was in king John's reign, in the gift of the king, and was afterwards given by him to John de Burgh; but in the 8th year of Richard II.'s reign, anno 1384, it was become appropriated to the abbot of Pontiniac. After which, by what means, I cannot discover, this appropriation, as well as the advowson of the church, came into the possession of the master and brethren of the hospital of the Maison Dieu, who took care that the church should be daily served by a priest, who should officiate in it for the benefit of the parish. In which state it continued till the suppression of the hospital, in the 36th year of king Henry VIII.'s reign, when it came into the hands of the crown, at which time the parsonage was returned by John Thompson, master of the hospital, to be worth six pounds per annum.

 

Two years after which, the king being at Dover, at the humble entreaty of the inhabitants of this parish, gave to them, as it is said, this church, with the cemetery adjoining to it, to be used by them as a parochial church; at the same time he gave the pews of St. Martin's church for the use of it; and on the king's departure, in token of possession, they sealed up the church doors; since which, the patronage of it, which is now esteemed as a perpetual curacy, the minister of it being licensed by the archbishop, has been vested in the inhabitants of this parish. Every parishioner, paying scot and lot, having a vote in the chusing of the minister, whose maintenance had been from time to time, at their voluntary option, more or less. It is now fixed at eighty pounds per annum. Besides which he has the possession of a good house, where he resides, which was purchased by the inhabitants in 1754, for the perpetual use of the minister of it. It is exempt from the jurisdiction of the archdeacon. (fn. 48)

 

There is a piece of ground belonging, as it is said, to the glebe of this church, rented annually at ten pounds, which is done by vestry, without the minister being at all concerned in it. In 1588 here were eight hundred and twenty-one communicants. This parish contains more than five parts out of six of the whole town, and a greater proportion of the inhabitants.

 

The church of St. Mary is a large handsome building of three isles, having a high and south chancel, all covered with lead, and built of flints, with ashler windows and door cases, which are arched and ornamented. At the west end is the steeple, which is a spire covered with lead, in which are eight bells, a clock, and chimes. The pillars in the church are large and clumsy; the arches low and semicircular in the body, but eliptical in the chancel; but there is no separation between the body and chancel, and the pews are continued on to the east end of the church. In the high chancel, at the eastern extremity of it, beyond the altar, are the seats for the mayor and jurats; and here the mayor is now chosen, and the barons in parliament for this town and port constantly elected.

 

In 1683, there was a faculty granted to the churchwardens, to remove the magistrates seats from the east end of the church to the north side, or any other more convenient part of it, and for the more decent and commodious placing the communion table: in consequence of which, these seats were removed, and so placed, but they continued there no longer than 1689, when, by several orders of vestry, they were removed back again to where they remain at present.

 

The mayor was antiently chosen in St. Peter's church; but by a bye-law of the corporation, it was removed to this church in 1583, where it has ever since been held. In 1706, another bye law was made, to remove, for the sake of decency, all elections from this church to the court-hall, but it never took place. More of which has been mentioned before.

 

From the largeness, as well as the populousness of this parish, the church is far from being sufficient to contain the inhabitants who resort to it for public worship, notwithstanding there are four galleries in it, and it is otherwise well pewed. This church was paved in 1642, but it was not ceiled till 1706. In 1742, there was an organ erected in it. The two branches in it were given, one by subscription in 1738, and the other by the pilots in 1742.

 

Thomas Toke, of Dover, buried in the chapel of St. Katharine, in this church, by his will in 1484, gave seven acres of land at Dugate, under Windlass-down, to the wardens of this church, towards the repairs of it for ever.

 

¶The monuments and memorials in this church and church yard, are by far too numerous to mention here. Among them are the following: A small monument in the church for the celebrated Charles Churchill, who was buried in the old church-yard of St. Martin in this town, as has been noticed before; and a small stone, with a memorial for Samuel Foote, esq. the celebrated comedian, who died at the Ship inn, and had a grave dug for him in this church, but was afterwards carried to London, and buried there. A monument and several memorials for the family of Eaton; arms, Or, a sret, azure. A small tablet for John Ker, laird of Frogden, in Twit dale, in Scotland, who died suddenly at Dover, in his way to France, in 1730. Two monuments for Farbrace, arms, Azure, a bend, or, between two roses, argent, seeded, or, bearded vert. A monument in the middle isle, to the memory of the Minet family. In the north isle are several memorials for the Gunmans, of Dover; arms,. … a spread eagle, argent, gorged with a ducal coronet, or. There are others, to the memory of Broadley, Rouse, and others, of good account in this town.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol9/pp475-548

The Grade II Listed Bristol Bridge which crosses the River Avon in Bristol, Avon.

 

Bristol's name is derived from the Saxon Brycgstow or 'Brigstowe', meaning the 'place of the bridge'. However, it is unclear when the first bridge over the Avon was built. The Avon has a high tidal range, so the river could have been forded twice a day. The name may therefore refer to the many smaller bridges over the lesser known River Frome, in the marshy surrounding area, which is now largely built over. The first stone bridge was built in the 13th century, and houses with shopfronts were built on it to pay for its maintenance. A chapel with gate crossed the roadway in the centre.

 

A seventeenth century illustration shows that these bridge houses were five stories high, including the attic rooms, and that they overhung the river much as Tudor houses would overhang the street. At the time of the Civil War the bridge was noted for its community of goldsmiths. Houses on the bridge were attractive and charged high rents as they had so much passing traffic, and had plenty of fresh air and waste could be dropped into the river. Its population was also perceived to be strongly parliamentarian.

 

In the 1760 a bill to replace the bridge was carried through parliament by the Bristol MP Sir Jarrit Smyth. By the early 18th century, increase in traffic and the encroachment of shops on the roadway made the bridge fatally dangerous for many pedestrians, but despite a campaign by Felix Farley in his Journal, no action was taken until a shopkeeper on the bridge employed James Bridges to provide designs. The commission accepted the design of James Bridges after many long drawn out disputes which are still unclear. Bridges fled to the West Indies in 1763 leaving Thomas Paty to complete it between 1763 and 1768. Resentment at the tolls exacted to cross the new bridge occasioned the Bristol Bridge Riot of 1793. The toll houses were turned into shops before they were removed. In the 19th century, the roadway was again congested, so walkways were added on either side, the supporting columns disguising the classical Georgian design. The current metal railings date from the 1960s.

 

Before the Second World War, Bristol Bridge was an important transport hub. It was the terminus of tram routes to Knowle, Bedminster and Ashton Gate, and other trams also stopped here. It lost importance when Temple Way was built further upstream in the 1930s, and when the tram system closed in 1941.

 

Photographer: Dmytro Konstantynov