Dry January - why am I doing this? - it's starting to bring out the bitch in me.

This is Islam's fourth most holiest site

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosque_of_Uqba

  

The Great Mosque of Kairouan (جامع القيروان الأكبر), also known as the Mosque of Uqba (Arabic: جامع عقبة‎), is one of the most important mosques in Tunisia, situated in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Kairouan.

Built by the Arab general Uqba ibn Nafi from 670 AD (the year 50 according to the Islamic calendar) at the founding of the city of Kairouan, the mosque is spread over a surface area of 9,000 square metres and it is one of the oldest places of worship in the Islamic world, as well as a model for all later mosques in the Maghreb.[1] The Great Mosque of Kairouan is one of the most impressive and largest Islamic monuments in North Africa,[2] its perimeter is almost equal to 405 metres (1,328 feet). This vast space contains a hypostyle prayer hall, a huge marble-paved courtyard and a massive square minaret. In addition to its spiritual prestige,[3] the Mosque of Uqba is one of the masterpieces of both architecture and Islamic art.[4][5][6]

Under the Aghlabids (9th century), huge works gave the mosque its present aspect.[7] The fame of the Mosque of Uqba and of the other holy sites at Kairouan helped the city to develop and repopulate increasingly. The university, consisting of scholars who taught in the mosque, was a centre of education both in Islamic thought and in the secular sciences.[8] Its role can be compared to that of the University of Paris in the Middle Ages.[9] With the decline of the city of Kairouan from the mid 11th century, the centre of intellectual thought moved to the University of Ez-Zitouna in Tunis.

  

Location and general aspect

  

Map of Kairouan (1916) showing the location of the Great Mosque of Kairouan in the northeast corner of the medina

  

The mosque outside is marked by many buttresses. Here is the northwest corner.

  

Wall and buttresses of the southern side of the mosque

  

Late afternoon panorama of the mosque

  

Located in the north-east of the medina of Kairouan, the mosque is in the intramural district of Houmat al-Jami (literally "area of the Great Mosque").[11] This location corresponded originally to the heart of the urban fabric of the city founded by Uqba ibn Nafi.

But because of the specific nature of the land, crossed by several tributaries of the wadis, the urban development of the city stretched southwards. Then there are the upheavals of Kairouan following Hilalian's invasions in 449 AH (or 1057 AD) and which led to the decline of the city. For all these reasons, the mosque (which occupies the same place since its founding in 670) is not any more situated in the center of the medina, and is thereby positioned on the extremity, near the walls.

The building is a vast irregular quadrilateral, longer (with 127.60 meters) from the eastern side than on the opposite side (with 125.20 meters) and less wide (with 72.70 meters) on the north side (in the middle of which stands the minaret) that the opposite side (with 78 meters). It covers a total area of 9000 m2.

From the outside, the Great Mosque of Kairouan is a fortress-like building, which required as much by its massive ocher walls of 1.90 meters thick composed of well-worked stones, courses of rubble stone and courses of baked bricks,[12] as the square angle towers measuring 4.25 meters on each side and the solid and projecting buttresses that support and bind. More than a defensive role, the buttresses and towers full serve more to enhance the stability of the mosque built on a soil subject to compaction.[13] Although a seemingly harsh, the external facades, punctuated with powerful buttresses and towering porches, some of which are surmounted by cupolas, give to the sanctuary a striking aspect characterized by majestic sobriety.

  

History

  

Evolution

  

At the foundation of Kairouan in 670, the Arab general and conqueror Uqba Ibn Nafi (himself the founder of the city) chose the site of his mosque in the center of the city, near the headquarters of the governor. Around 690, shortly after its construction, the mosque was destroyed[15] during the occupation of Kairouan by the Berbers, originally conducted by Kusaila. It was rebuilt by the Ghassanid general Hasan ibn al-Nu'man in 703.[16] With the gradual increase of the population of Kairouan and the consequent increase in the number of faithful, Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, Umayyad Caliph in Damascus, charged his governor Bishr ibn Safwan to carry out development work in the city which include the renovation and expansion of the mosque around the years 724–728.[17] In view of its expansion, he pulled down the mosque and rebuilt it with the exception of the mihrab. It was under his auspices that the construction of the minaret began.[18] In 774, a new reconstruction accompanied by modifications and embellishments[19] took place under the direction of the Abbasid governor Yazid Ibn Hatim.[20]

Plan architect of the building.

  

Under the rule of Aghlabid sovereigns, Kairouan was at its apogee, and the mosque profited from this period of stability and prosperity. In 836, Ziadet-Allah I reconstructed the mosque once more:[21] this is when the building acquired, at least in its entirety, the appearance we see today.[22][23] At the same time, the mihrab's ribbed dome on squinches was raised.[24] Around 862-863, Abul Ibrahim enlarged the oratory, with three bays to the north, and added the cupola over the arched portico which precedes the prayer hall.[25] In 875 Ibrahim II built another three bays, thereby reducing the size of the courtyard which was further limited on the three other sides by the addition of double galleries.[26]

The current state of the mosque can be traced back to the reign of Aghlabids—no element is earlier than the ninth century besides the mihrab—except for some partial restorations and a few later additions made in 1025 during the reign of Zirids,[27] 1248 and 1293-1294 under the reign of Hafsids,[28] 1618 at the time of mouradites beys,[29] in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. In 1967, major restoration works, executed during five years and conducted under the direction of the National Institute of Archeology and Art, were achieved throughout the monument, and were ended with an official reopening of the mosque during the celebration of Mawlid of 1972.[30]

  

Host stories

  

Several centuries after its founding, the Great Mosque of Kairouan is the subject of numerous descriptions by Arab historians and geographers in the Middle Ages. The stories concern mainly the different phases of construction and expansion of the sanctuary, and the successive contributions of many princes to the interior decoration (mihrab, minbar, ceilings, etc.). Among the authors who have written on the subject and whose stories have survived[31] are Al-Bakri (Andalusian geographer and historian who died in 1094 and who devoted a sufficiently detailed account of the history of the mosque in his book Description of Septentrional Africa), Al-Nuwayri (historian who died in Egypt, 1332) and Ibn Nagi (scholar and historian of Kairouan who died around 1435).

On additions and embellishments made to the building by the Aghlabid sovereign Abul Ibrahim, Ibn Nagi gives the following account :

« He built in the mosque of Kairouan the cupola that rises over the entrance to the central nave, together with the two colonnades which flank it from both sides, and the galleries were paved by him. He then made the mihrab. »[22]

  

Among the Western travelers, poets and writers who visited Kairouan, some of them leave impressions and testimonies sometimes tinged with emotion or admiration on the mosque. From the eighteenth century, the French doctor and naturalist John Andrew Peyssonnel, conducting a study trip to 1724, during the reign of sovereign Al-Husayn Bey I, underlines the reputation of the mosque as a deemed center of religious and secular studies :

« The Great Mosque is dedicated to Uqba, where there is a famous college where we will study the remotest corners of this kingdom : are taught reading and writing of Arabic grammar, laws and religion. There are large rents for the maintenance of teachers. »[32]

At the same time,the doctor and Anglican priest Thomas Shaw (1692–1751),[33] touring the Tunis Regency and passes through Kairouan in 1727, described the mosque as that : " which is considered the most beautiful and the most sacred of Berberian territories ", evoking for example : " an almost unbelievable number of granite columns ".[34]

At the end of the nineteenth century, the French writer Guy de Maupassant expresses in his book La vie errante (The Wandering Life), his fascination with the majestic architecture of the Great Mosque of Kairouan as well as the effect created by countless columns : " The unique harmony of this temple consists in the proportion and the number of these slender shafts upholding the building, filling, peopling, and making it what it is, create its grace and greatness. Their colorful multitude gives the eye the impression of unlimited ".[35] Early in the twentieth century, the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke describes his admiration for the impressive minaret :

« Is there a more beautiful than this still preserved old tower, the minaret, in Islamic architecture ? In the history of Art, its three-storey minaret is considered such a masterpiece and a model among the most prestigious monuments of Muslim architecture. »

  

Architecture and decoration

  

Exterior

  

Enclosure

  

Today, the enclosure of the Great Mosque of Kairouan is pierced by nine gates (six opening on the courtyard, two opening on the prayer hall and a ninth allows access to the maqsura) some of them, such as Bab Al-Ma (Gate of water) located on the western facade, are preceded by salient porches flanked by buttresses and surmounted by ribbed domes based on square tholobate which are porting squinches with three vaults.[12][37] However, Arab geographers and historians of the Middle Ages Al-Muqaddasi and Al-Bakri reported the existence, around the tenth and eleventh centuries, of about ten gates named differently from today. This reflects the fact that, unlike the rest of the mosque, the enclosure has undergone significant changes to ensure the stability of the building (adding many buttresses). Thus, some entries have been sealed, while others were kept.[12]

During the thirteenth century, new gates were opened, the most remarkable, Bab Lalla Rihana dated from 1293, is located on the eastern wall of the enclosure.[12] The monumental entrance, work of the Hafsid sovereign Abu Hafs `Umar ibn Yahya (reign from 1284 to 1295),[38] is entered in a salient square, flanked by ancient columns supporting Horseshoe arches and covered by a dome on squinches.[12] The front facade of the porch has a large horseshoe arch relied on two marble columns and surmounted by a frieze adorned with a blind arcade, all crowned by serrated merlons (in a sawtooth arrangement).[39] Despite its construction at the end of the thirteenth century, Bab Lalla Rihana blends well with all of the building mainly dating from the ninth century.[39]

Enclosure and gates of the Mosque of Uqba

  

Courtyard

  

The courtyard is a vast trapezoidal area whose interior dimensions are approximately 65 by 50 meters.[40] It is surrounded on all its four sides by a portico with double rows of arches, opened by slightly horseshoe arches supported by columns in various marbles, in granite or in porphyry, reused from Roman, Early Christian or Byzantine monuments particularly from Carthage.[14] Access to the courtyard by six side entrances dating from the ninth and thirteenth centuries.

The portico on the south side of the courtyard, near the prayer hall, includes in its middle a large dressed stone pointed horseshoe arch which rests on ancient columns of white veined marble with Corinthian capitals. This porch of seven meters high is topped with a square base upon which rests a semi-spherical ribbed dome ; the latter is ribbed with sharp-edged ribs. The intermediary area, the dodecagonal drum of the dome, is pierced by sixteen small rectangular windows set into rounded niches.[41] The great central arch of the south portico, is flanked on each side by six rhythmically arranged horseshoe arches, which fall on twin columns backed by pillars.[42] Overall, the proportions and general layout of the facade of the south portico, with its thirteen arches of which that in the middle constitutes a sort of triumphal arch crowned with a cupola, form an ensemble with " a powerful air of majesty ", according to the French historian and sociologist Paul Sebag (1919–2004).[43]

Courtyard area and porticoes

  

Details of the courtyard

  

The combination formed by the courtyard and the galleries that surround it covers an immense area whose dimensions are about 90 meters long and 72 meters in width.[44] The northern part of the courtyard is paved with flagstones while the rest of the floor is almost entirely composed of white marble slabs. Near its center is an horizontal sundial, bearing an inscription in naskhi engraved on the marble dating from 1258 AH (which corresponds to the year 1843) and which is accessed by a little staircase ; it determines the time of prayers. The rainwater collector or impluvium, probably the work of the Muradid Bey Mohamed Bey al-Mouradi (1686–1696), is an ingenious system that ensures the capture (with the slightly sloping surface of the courtyard) then filtering stormwater at a central basin furnished with horseshoe arches sculpted in white marble.[45] Freed from its impurities, the water flows into an underground cistern supported by seven meters high pillars. In the courtyard there are also several water wells some of which are placed side by side. Their edges, obtained from the lower parts of ancient cored columns,[46] support the string grooves back the buckets.

  

Minaret

  

A square stone tower rises high above a wall.

  

The minaret, which occupies the center of the northern facade of the complex's enclosure, is 31.5 meters tall and is seated on a square base of 10.7 meters on each side.[47] It is located inside the enclosure and does not have direct access from the outside. It consists of three tapering levels, the last of which is topped with a small ribbed dome that was most probably built later than the rest of the tower.[48] The first and second stories are surmounted by rounded merlons which are pierced by arrowslits. The minaret served as a watchtower, as well as to call the faithful to prayer.[48]

The door giving access to the minaret is framed by a lintel and jambs made of recycled carved friezes of antique origin.[49] There are stone blocks from the Roman period that bear Latin inscriptions. Their use probably dates to the work done under the Umayyad governor Bishr ibn Safwan in about 725 AD, and they have been reused at the base of the tower.[49] The greater part of the minaret dates from the time of the Aghlabid princes in the ninth century. It consists of regular layers of carefully cut rubble stone, thus giving the work a stylistically admirable homogeneity and unity.[50]

The interior includes a staircase of 129 steps, surmounted by a barrel vault, which gives access to the terraces and the first tier of the minaret. The courtyard facade (or south facade) of the tower is pierced with windows that provide light and ventilation,[51] while the other three facades—facing north, east and west—are pierced with small openings in the form of arrowslits.[47] The minaret, in its present aspect, dates largely from the early ninth century, about 836 AD. It is the oldest minaret in the Muslim world,[52][53] and it is also the world's oldest minaret still standing.[54]

Due to its age and its architectural features, the minaret of the Great Mosque of Kairouan is the prototype for all the minarets of the western Islamic world : it served as a model in both North Africa and in Andalusia.[55] Despite its massive form and austere decoration, it nevertheless presents a harmonious structure and a majestic appearance.[51][56]

Minaret

  

Domes

  

The dome over the mihrab (9th century)

The Mosque has several domes, the largest being over the mihrab and the entrance to the prayer hall from the courtyard. The dome of the mihrab is based on an octagonal drum with slightly concave sides, raised on a square base, decorated on each of its three southern, Easter and western faces with five flat-bottomed niches surmounted by five semi-circular arches,[24][57] the niche in the middle is cut by a lobed oculus enrolled in a circular frame. This dome, whose construction goes back to the first half of the ninth century (towards 836), is one of the oldest and most remarkable domes in the western Islamic world.[58]

  

Interior

  

Prayer hall

  

The prayer hall is located on the southern side of the courtyard ; and is accessed by 17 carved wooden doors. A portico with double row of arches precede the spacious prayer hall, which takes the shape of a rectangle of 70.6 meters in width and 37.5 meters depth.[59]

  

The hypostyle hall is divided into 17 aisles of eight bays, the central nave is wider, as well as the bay along the wall of the qibla.[60] They cross with right angle in front of the mihrab, this device, named "T shape", which is also found in two Iraqi mosques in Samarra (around 847) has been adopted in many North African and Andalusian mosques where it became a feature.[61]

The central nave, a sort of triumphal alley which leads to the mihrab,[62] is significantly higher and wider than the other sixteen aisles of the prayer hall. It is bordered on each side of a double row of arches rested on twin columns and surmounted by a carved plaster decoration consisting of floral and geometric patterns.[63]

Enlightened by impressive chandeliers which are applied in countless small glass lamps,[64] the nave opens into the south portico of the courtyard by a monumental delicately carved wooden door, made in 1828 under the reign of the Husainids.[65] This sumptuous door, which has four leaves richly carved with geometric motifs embossed on the bottom of foliages and interlacing stars, is decorated at the typanum by a stylized vase from which emerge winding stems and leaves.[66] The other doors of the prayer hall, some of which date from the time of the Hafsids,[67] are distinguished by their decoration which consists essentially of geometric patterns (hexagonal, octagonal, rectangular patterns, etc.).[59]

  

Columns and ceiling

  

In the prayer hall, the 414 columns of marble, granite or porphyry[68] (among more than 500 columns in the whole mosque),[69] taken from ancient sites in the country such as Sbeïtla, Carthage, Hadrumetum and Chemtou,[59] support the horseshoe arches. A legend says they could not count them without going blind.[70] The capitals resting on the column shafts offer a wide variety of shapes and styles (Corinthian, Ionic, Composite, etc..).[59] Some capitals were carved for the mosque, but others come from Roman or Byzantine buildings (dating from the second to sixth century) and were reused. According to the German archaeologist Christian Ewert, the special arrangement of reused columns and capitals surrounding the mihrab obeys to a well-defined program and would draw symbolically the plan of the Dome of the Rock.[71] The shafts of the columns are carved in marble of different colors and different backgrounds. Those in white marble come from Italy,[59] some shafts located in the area of the mihrab are in red Porphyry imported from Egypt,[72] while those made of greenish or pink marble are from quarries of Chemtou, in the north-west of current Tunisia.[59] Although the shafts are of varying heights, the columns are ingeniously arranged to support fallen arches harmoniously. The height difference is compensated by the development of variable bases, capitals and crossbeams ; a number of these crossbeams are in cedar wood.[59] The wooden rods, which usually sink to the base of the transom, connect the columns together and maintain the spacing of the arches, thus enhancing the stability of all structures which support the ceiling of the prayer hall.[73]

  

The covering of the prayer hall consists of painted ceilings decorated with vegetal motifs and two domes : one raised at the beginning of the central nave and the other in front of the mihrab. The latter, which its hemispherical cap is cut by 24 concave grooves radiating around the top,[74] is based on ridged horns shaped shell and a drum pierced by eight circular windows which are inserted between sixteen niches grouped by two.[57][75] The niches are covered with carved stone panels, finely adorned with characteristic geometric, vegetal and floral patterns of the Aghlabid decorative repertoire : shells, cusped arches, rosettes, vine-leaf, etc.[57] From the outside, the dome of the mihrab is based on an octagonal drum with slightly concave sides, raised on a square base, decorated on each of its three southern, Easter and western faces with five flat-bottomed niches surmounted by five semi-circular arches,[24][57] the niche in the middle is cut by a lobed oculus enrolled in a circular frame.

  

The painted ceilings are a unique ensemble of planks, beams and brackets, illustrating almost thousand years of the history of painting on wood in Tunisia. Wooden brackets offer a wide variety of style and decor in the shape of a crow or a grasshopper with wings or fixed, they are characterized by a setting that combines floral painted or carved, with grooves. The oldest boards date back to the Aghlabid period (ninth century) and are decorated with scrolls and rosettes on a red background consists of squares with concave sides in which are inscribed four-petaled flowers in green and blue, and those performed by the Zirid Dynasty (eleventh century) are characterized by inscriptions in black kufic writing with gold rim and the uprights of the letters end with lobed florets, all on a brown background adorned with simple floral patterns.

The boards painted under the Hafsid period (during the thirteenth century) offers a floral decor consists of white and blue arches entwined with lobed green. The latest, dated the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (mostly dating from the time of the Muradid Beys), are distinguished by an epigraphic decoration consists of long black and red texts on olive green background to those painted from 1618 to 1619, under the reign of Murad I Bey (1613-1631), while those back to the eighteenth century have inscriptions in white naskhi script on an orange background.[76]

  

Mihrab and minbar

  

Close view of the mihrab, whose current state dates from the ninth century

The mihrab, which indicates the Qibla (direction of Mecca), in front of which stands the imam during the prayer, is located in the middle of the southern wall of the prayer hall. It is formed by an oven-shaped niche framed by two marble columns and topped by a painted wooden half-cupola. The niche of the mihrab is two meters long, 4.5 meters high and 1.6 meters deep.[77]

The mosque's mihrab, whose decor is a remarkable witness of Muslim art in the early centuries of Islam, is distinguished by its harmonious composition and the quality of its ornaments. Considered as the oldest example of concave mihrab, it dates in its present state to 862-863 AD.[78]

  

Upper Part of The Mihrab

  

It is surrounded at its upper part by 139 lusterware tiles (with a metallic sheen), each one is 21.1 centimeters square and they are arranged on the diagonal in a chessboard pattern. Divided into two groups, they are dated from the beginning of the second half of the ninth century but it is not determined with certainty whether they were made in Baghdad or in Kairouan by a Baghdadi artisan, the controversy over the origin of this precious collection agitates the specialists. These tiles are mainly decorated with floral and plant motifs (stylized flowers, palm leaves and asymmetrical leaves on bottom hatch and checkered) belong to two series : one polychrome characterized by a greater richness of tones ranging from light gold to light, dark or ocher yellow, and from brick-red to brown lacquer, the other monochrome is a beautiful luster that goes from smoked gold to green gold. The coating around them is decorated with blue plant motifs dating from the eighteenth century or the first half of the nineteenth century. The horseshoe arch of the mihrab, stilted and broken at the top, rest on two columns of red marble with yellow veins, which surmounted with Byzantine style capitals that carry two crossbeams carved with floral patterns, each one is decorated with a Kufic inscription in relief.

  

Detail of the marble cladding

  

The wall of the mihrab is covered with 28 panels of white marble, carved and pierced, which have a wide variety of plant and geometric patterns including the stylized grape leaf, the flower and the shell. Behind the openwork hint, there is an oldest niche on which several assumptions were formulated. If one refers to the story of Al-Bakri, an Andalusian historian and geographer of the eleventh century, it is the mihrab which would be done by Uqba Ibn Nafi, the founder of Kairouan, whereas Lucien Golvin shares the view that it is not an old mihrab but hardly a begun construction which may serve to support marble panels and either goes back to work of Ziadet Allah I (817-838) or to those of Abul Ibrahim around the years 862-863.[79] Above the marble cladding, the mihrab niche is crowned with a half dome-shaped vault made of manchineel bentwood. Covered with a thick coating completely painted, the concavity of the arch is decorated with intertwined scrolls enveloping stylized five-lobed vine leaves, three-lobed florets and sharp clusters, all in yellow on midnight blue background.[80]

The minbar, situated on the right of the mihrab, is used by the imam during the Friday or Eids sermons, is a staircase-shaped pulpit with an upper seat, reached by eleven steps, and measuring 3.93 meters length to 3.31 meters in height. Dated from the ninth century (about 862) and erected under the reign of the sixth Aghlabid ruler Abul Ibrahim (856-863), it is made in teak wood imported from India.[81] Among all the pulpits of the Muslim world, it is certainly the oldest example of minbar still preserved today.[82] Probably made by cabinetmakers of Kairouan (some researchers also refer to Baghdad), it consists of an assembly of more than 300 finely carved wood pieces with an exceptional ornamental wealth (vegetal and geometric patterns refer to the Umayyad and Abbasid models), among which about 90 rectangular panels carved with plenty of pine cones, grape leaves, thin and flexible stems, lanceolate fruits and various geometric shapes (squares, diamonds, stars, etc.). The upper edge of the minbar ramp is adorned with a rich and graceful vegetal decoration composed of alternately arranged foliated scrolls, each one containing a spread vine-leaf and a cluster of grapes. In the early twentieth century, the minbar had a painstaking restoration. Although more than eleven centuries of existence, all panels, with the exception of nine, are originals and are in a good state of conservation, the fineness of the execution of the minbar makes it a great masterpiece of Islamic wood carving referring to Paul Sebag.[83] This old chair of the ninth century is still in its original location, next to the mihrab.

  

Maqsura

  

The maqsura, located near the minbar, consists of a fence bounding a private enclosure that allows the sovereign and his senior officials to follow the solemn prayer of Friday without mingling with the faithful. Jewel of the art of woodwork produced during the reign of the Zirid prince Al-Muizz ibn Badis and dated from the first half of the eleventh century, it is considered the oldest still in place in the Islamic world. It is a cedar wood fence finely sculpted and carved on three sides with various geometric motifs measuring 2.8 meters tall, eight meters long and six meters wide.[84] Its main adornment is a frieze that crowns calligraphy, the latter surmounted by a line of pointed openwork merlons, features an inscription in flowery kufic character carved on the background of interlacing plants. Carefully executed in relief, it represents one of the most beautiful epigraphic bands of Islamic art.[84]

The library is near located, accessible by a door which the jambs and the lintel are carved in marble, adorned with a frieze of floral decoration. The library window is marked by an elegant setting that has two columns flanking the opening, which is a horseshoe arch topped by six blind arches and crowned by a series of berms sawtooth.[85]

  

Artworks

  

The Mosque of Uqba, one of the few religious buildings of Islam has remained intact almost all of its architectural and decorative elements, is due to the richness of its repertoire which is a veritable museum of Islamic decorative art and architecture. Most of the works on which rests the reputation of the mosque are still conserved in situ while a certain number of them have joined the collections of the Raqqada National Museum of Islamic Art ; Raqqada is located about ten kilometers southwest of Kairouan.

From the library of the mosque comes a large collection of calligraphic scrolls and manuscripts, the oldest dating back to the second half of the ninth century. This valuable collection, observed from the late nineteenth century by the French orientalists Octave Houdas and René Basset who mention in their report on their scientific mission in Tunisia published in the Journal of African correspondence in 1882, comprises according to the inventory established at the time of the Hafsids (circa 1293-1294) several Qur'ans and books of fiqh that concern mainly the Maliki fiqh and its sources. These are the oldest fund of Maliki legal literature to have survived.[86]

  

Among the finest works of this series, the pages of the Blue Qur'an, currently exhibited at Raqqada National Museum of Islamic Art, from a famous Qur'an in the second half of the fourth century of the Hegira (the tenth century) most of which is preserved in Tunisia and the rest scattered in museums and private collections worldwide. Featuring kufic character suras are written in gold on vellum dyed with indigo, they are distinguished by a compact graph with no marks for vowels. The beginning of each surah is indicated by a band consisting of a golden stylized leafy foliage, dotted with red and blue, while the verses are separated by silver rosettes. Other scrolls and calligraphic Qur'ans, as that known as the Hadinah's Qur'an, copied and illuminated by the calligrapher Ali ibn Ahmad al-Warraq for the governess of the Zirid prince Al-Muizz ibn Badis at about 1020 AD, were also in the library before being transferred to Raqqada museum. This collection is a unique source for studying the history and evolution of calligraphy of medieval manuscripts in the Maghreb, covering the period from the ninth to the eleventh century.

Other works of art such as the crowns of light (circular chandeliers) made in cast bronze, dating from the Fatimid-Zirid period (around tenth-early eleventh century), originally belonged to the furniture of the mosque. These polycandelons, now scattered in various Tunisian museums including Raqqada, consist of three chains supporting a perforated brass plate, which has a central circular ring around which radiate 18 equidistant poles connected by many horseshoe arches and equipped for each of two landmarks flared. The three chains, connected by a suspension ring, are each fixed to the plate by an almond-shaped finial. The crowns of light are marked by Byzantine influence to which the Kairouanese artisan brought the specificities of Islamic decorative repertoire (geometric and floral motifs).[

  

Role in Muslim civilization

  

At the time of its greatest splendor, between the ninth and eleventh centuries AD, Kairouan was one of the greatest centers of Islamic civilization and its reputation as a hotbed of scholarship covered the entire Maghreb. During this period, the Great Mosque of Kairouan was both a place of prayer and a center for teaching Islamic sciences under the Maliki current. One may conceivably compare its role to that of the University of Paris during the Middle Ages.

In addition to studies on the deepening of religious thought and Maliki jurisprudence, the mosque also hosted various courses in secular subjects such as mathematics, astronomy, medicine and botany. The transmission of knowledge was assured by prominent scholars and theologians which included Sahnun ibn Sa'id and Asad ibn al-Furat, eminent jurists who contributed greatly to the dissemination of the Maliki thought, Ishaq ibn Imran and Ibn al-Jazzar in medicine, Abu Sahl al-Kairouani and Abd al-Monim al-Kindi in mathematics. Thus the mosque, headquarters of a prestigious university with a large library containing a large number of scientific and theological works, was the most remarkable intellectual and cultural center in North Africa during the ninth, tenth and eleventh centuries

New Amsterdam Vodka Bottle

When I am an old woman,

I shall wear purple – -

With a red hat which doesn’t go,

and doesn’t suit me.

And I shall spend my pension

on brandy and summer gloves and satin sandles,

And say we’ve no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired

and gobble up samples in shops

and press alarm bells

and run with my stick along public railings,

and make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

and pick flowers in other people’s gardens

and learn to spit!

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

and eat three pounds of sausages at ago,

or only bread and pickles for a week,

and hoard pens and pencils

and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry,

and pay our rent

and not swear in the street,

and set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner

and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me

are not too shocked and surprised

when suddenly I am old,

And start to wear purple!

 

—Jenny Joseph

 

Taken on Post Street in San Fransisco, I just loved this lady's look. Happy days my friends ;) Car

 

Today's Carsounds - www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WLGMC9B6zw

  

Famous Soccer Player Johnny Brickton was pulled over and is suspected of driving under the influence. Highway Patrol Officers conduct "FST's" (Field Sobriety Tests) to determine if he is safe to drive.

 

It doesn't appears he's doing well on the tests...

 

■ Enjoy Brick Police on Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitter ■

  

We did a small group shoot at our house in December 2019, long before most people heard of Covid-19. Joy (aka Legs) came ready for this shoot and we had a chance to get her into several outfits. I love shooting with Joy - such a classic beauty with a great personality.

 

This was our last shoot of 2019, late in December, at our house in Star, Idaho.

During deep meditation it is possible to dispel time, to see simultaneously all the past, present and future, and then everything is good, everything is perfect, everything is Brahman.

 

Siddhartha by Hermann Karl Hesse

 

♫ - Tanita Tikaram - Twist In My Sobriety

 

for Flickriver - Sophie Shapiro

.

Etosha, Namibia

Sobriety control on the bridge.

 

Checking drivers and vehicles from the island driving towards the "civilization."

Cadillacs of the 1959-60 model years epitomise the exuberant Detroit styling of that period, when automobile designers took some of their cues from the aerospace industry. Cadillac remained wedded to the fin motif for longer than the other manufacturers, retaining more subdued versions into the mid-1960s.

 

This classic car show at Largo High School allowed a comparison to be made between the 1959 and 1960 iterations of what might be called ‘Peak Fin’. The black car shows the unrestrained 1959 styling. An element of sobriety is hinted at the 1960 version alongside, but the style is still iconic.

Taken at Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Berlin.

 

A photograph of an original photo.

 

Prisoners roll call in Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, probably February 1941.

 

The terms "truthfulness" "sense of self-sacrifice" and "and" are discernible on the fronts of the huts. They formed part of a slogan that extended over the prisoners' barracks, which was borrowed from a speech by Himmler and was also used in other concentration camps. The complete slogan, which was directed at the prisoners, read "There is a path to freedom. Its milestones are obedience, endeavour, honesty, order, cleanliness, sobriety, truthfulness, a sense of self-sacrifice , and love of the fatherland!"

Mehrangarh Fort, Raasthan

CAITHNESS CONSTABULARY – SGT DAVID MILLER (1861-1885)

 

Sgt Miller and his Thurso area Constables.

 

David Miller was born on 14th September 1839 (or was he? See much later!!) at Black Park, Halkirk and grew up in the Halkirk area. After working as a Labourer locally he applied aged 22 to join the County Police of Caithness.

 

On 4th December 1861 Chief Constable Alexander Mitchell appointed young David as a Constable in the Caithness-shire Constabulary and the following day he was medically examined by Dr Eric S Sinclair, JP, LFPSG, Medical Officer, Wick who certified he found him well qualified for the police service in terms of his health and bodily strength. He was sworn in as a Constable on the 8th December by Alexander Bruce, JP.

 

Of his FOUR referees, two were ministers of religion, being the Halkirk incumbents of the Church of Scotland and Free Church respectively. Another was his current employer, Donald Tait, Contractor, Halkirk who had known young David for 11 years.

 

Constable David Miller was initially stationed at Wick, where he would have received an element of on-the-job training, and then on 26th May 1864 he was transferred across the Wick River to Pulteney Harbour. This would have been an interesting transfer as technically Pulteneytown and its harbour (today that part of Wick south of the river) lay outwith Caithness and it had its own police force independent of the County.

 

This was because the municipality of Pulteneytown had been set up by the British Fisheries Society, a quasi-governmental organisation and by virtue of an 1844 Act of Parliament in respect of it, the “town” operated literally as a law unto itself. That Act gave the Commissioners powers to establish its own police (and special constables for the harbour area), which it did but there was no chief officer, other than the Resident Naval Officer. Experience of the potential for serious fall-out between locals and incoming fisherfolk (Battle of the Orange, 1859) meant the County Police maintained a presence in the “town” - despite the two or three local bobbies over whom the County Chief Constable had no control.

 

After 3 years in Pulteney (during which time he married Jessie, a farmer’s daughter), and only 6 years police service, PC Miller was in November 1867 promoted to the rank of Sergeant – no mean feat as the County only had two of that rank, one of whom would act as Deputy to the Chief Constable – and Sergeant Miller was transferred through to Thurso to take charge of the Western Area of the force. His duties also involved attending to the Procurator Fiscal, then also based in Thurso.

 

Sergeant Miller would remain in Thurso – effectively the Chief officer of that half of the County force – for the next 18 years.

 

Meantime, another young man had joined the County force in May 1865 - Constable Thomas Sinclair (a 20 year old native of Wick) was initially posted to Mey which would have been within the Thurso Division of the County. Being a single man, he was moved about a bit and he transferred to Thurso in February 1866 - where he would be under the charge of Sgt Miller. Then PC Sinclair moved yet again – this time to Lybster on the southern part of the east coast of the County – in February 1868. Three months later PC Sinclair was relocated back into the Thurso Division, at Reay - Caithness’s furthest west posting, right on the boundary with the County of Sutherland (whose force had a police station 5 miles along the road at Melvich across the River Halladale). Exactly one year later Thomas Sinclair was posted yet again, this time to “Harbour” (Pulteneytown). After four years there Sinclair was promoted to Sergeant (at Wick) – thus putting him on a par with David Miller (and actually ahead because, by being based in Wick, Sergeant Sinclair would deputise for the Chief Constable). So when the rank of Inspector (and Deputy Chief Constable) was created in the force on 27th august 1878 it came as no great surprise that the man to fill that post was none other than Thomas Sinclair. One wonders how Sergeant Miller, who had seniority of service, would have felt – slighted perhaps, or alternatively maybe he was glad to be overlooked and left in relative peace on the west side of the County.

 

Chief Constable Mitchell who had served in that role for 25 years died on 15th June 1884 aged only 56 years. It is likely that the Chief was unwell for some time and Inspector Sinclair was running the force, as in May 1884 (no date given!) Constable James Swanson was pulled into Wick from Lybster and promoted to Sergeant. Some twelve days after Mr Mitchell’s death, Inspector Thomas Sinclair was appointed Chief Constable, and immediately thereafter Sgt Swanson became Inspector Swanson.

 

Now new brooms invariably sweep clean, and on 28th May 1885 Sergeant David Miller was transferred to Lybster. After so long in Thurso, this would have come as quite a shock to the system ,whether or not Chief Constable had sold him on the idea of moving. The area was one quite unknown to him. Lybster is 40-odd miles across the county from Thurso, and some 13 miles south of Wick. Although the fishing station would have meant plenty of police work, it would have been alien territory to Sgt Miller. Transfers in Highland forces almost always tended to be carried out in the spring so the officer had an opportunity to well acquaint himself with his new area before the nights started drawing in.

 

The Personnel Records of this era look as though they were completed (retrospectively) by the Chief Constable himself – but PC John Macaulay, who seems to have been at Lybster in 1885 was promoted Sergeant on the same day as Sgt Miller was transferred to Lybster, and Sgt Macaulay ended up in Thurso (but seemingly not till 1886, although it may just be that Mr Sinclair’s memory was a bit hazy as to transfer dates). Sgt Macaulay remained in Thurso for 3 years before being moved again – back to Lybster. Having joined the force in 1870, he had previously served in Thurso under Sgt Miller from 1871 to 1872, before serving for a whole ten years at “Harbour” (Pulteneytown)

 

So after 24 years, Sergeant Miller was at the crossroads of his career. With 24 years service, and rapidly approaching the age of 50, he had to take stock. Back then there were no pensions for police officers, and no hope of financial assistance for him to move back to his "home” area of Halkirk/Thurso when he was no longer fit enough to do the job. He clearly therefore concluded that his police career was at an end and that it would be prudent for him and his family to return to Thurso. Indeed it is possible - and he would definitely NOT be the last to do so! - to have gone on ahead without the family and lived in lodgings for the time being.

His obituary reported of his time as Sergeant at Thurso: “he carried out his duties to the entire satisfaction of the Police Commissioners and was on many occasions congratulated on the absence of crime due to his tact and geniality.”

 

After resigning (his obituary says “retired” but his police record says “resigned” with no mention of any gratuity, which would have to have been done out of the goodness of the police committee's heart anyway) on 21st October 1885 – the nights would have been drawing in by then – David Miller and family moved to Scrabster, harbour of Thurso, where he took over the hotel there ”where he carried on a successful business for a long number of years.”

 

“In 1896 he retired from the business and came to reside in Thurso when he was appointed sole traffic agent for the North of Scotland for the Caledonian London and North Western Railway till the year l9O7. After the amalgamation of the traffic departments he was appointed to other agencies for Orkney and Shetland and the Northern Counties and always gave entire satisfaction to the companies.”

 

David Miller passed away on Sunday 22nd December 1929, which would have made him aged 90 years, although his biographer – having begun his eulogy by saying that he was born in 1841 – made him out to be 88. His police records definitely state he was born on 18th September 1839 but it may be he (like many others back in the day) “erred” about his age on his application to join the police. There were no Birth Certificates back then! Perhaps he thought by saying he was “only” 20, Chief Constable Mitchell might have considered him a bit young for the job? Although there was no minimum age stipulated for a recruit, the age of 21 was generally regarded as adulthood. His initial postings being to the Wick area meant little or no chance of his age being challenged by his peers in his “probation” on the job! In any case, with the kind of robust policing which would have been required around the Harbour of Wick at that time, if you were big enough, you were old enough!

 

His biography provided a great deal of other background information not generally recorded in respect of police officers back then.

 

“Mr Miller was a great draughts player and was a founder member of the Caithness Draughts Club. When the Worlds Draught Champion ‘Herd Laddie’ visited Thurso Mr Miller drew him in a game and was congratulated by the champion. Up to the time of his death he enjoyed a game with his numerous friends.

“Mr Miller all his life took a deep interest in the town and though not a member of any public body was often approached by the principal citizens of the town and county to do so.

“Mr Miller who celebrated his golden wedding 14 years ago is survived by Mrs Miller and two daughters to whom and other relatives , the deepest sympathies is extended.

“Mr Miller who enjoyed the best of health all his life until a short time ago, was a regular attender of the Parish Church and took a deep interest in church matters.

“His remains were interred in Thurso Cemetery on Wednesday and the funeral was very largely attended. Revs G.H. MacLennan, W.D. Mackenzie and G.L. Maclachlan officiated at the house and Rev Mr MacLennan at the grave.”

 

Chief Constable Sinclair retired on pension in 1912 (police pensions having been introduced in 1890) after 47 years service and aged almost 67. He passed away in February 1930, only seven weeks after David Miller did.

 

David Miller served at an important period in the history of policing. The Caithness force, along with all the other Scottish forces, were re-formed as proper professional preventative law enforcement organisations in 1858, and the forces would just be “settling” in when he joined 3 years later. The embryonic police service had quite a throughput of staff in those days, as the requirements imposed – discipline, commitment, sobriety and fitness of mind and body, patience, tact and endurance (huge beats patrolled on foot in all weathers) – were not achieved by many. To reach the rank of Sergeant at such an early stage implied that his ability was considerable and that his predecessor fell by the wayside or succumbed to health issues.

 

Judging by the photographs, which together with the obituary and career details were kindly supplied by David Miller’s great great granddaughter, Sergeant Miller was regarded as a father figure by the officers under him, and obviously was held in high regard and respect by his Thurso public. Chief Constable Mitchell clearly regarded him highly, having promoted him early and entrusting him with the Thurso division – and presumably saw no reason to change things during his time at the helm of the force. In some of the photographs, officers have put a hand on his shoulder – this is a pose encouraged by professional photographers in bygone times as a way of signifying family relationship between the parties. Well, none of David Miller’s offspring were police officers so there is NO actual family connection, but the photographer clearly intended for there to be a “police family” symbolism in the photos.

 

I am deeply indebted to Annette Matthew (David Miller's g-g-grandaughter) for providing me with so much material – which I have been able to weave into the various information sources of my own.

 

It is also a delight to have a name – and such a wealth of background information – to put to a face. So often, old photos of police officers which emerge have no names or dates recorded against them, and for that omission we are all the poorer.

 

POSTSCRIPT: SMALL WORLD DEPT – The whole-force group shot, which I date to 1877, is the first photo I ever received for my police history researches – way back in 1979 a lady in California, USA (sadly now passed on, as is her husband) contacted me seeking information about her great grandfather, PC George Reid who is the bald-headed officer sitting (staring into space) in front of the other Sgt! (That lady and her husband became good friends with the Conner family, coming to visit us while I was stationed at Kirkwall and again when I was based in Helmsdale, all during the 1980s. God Bless you, Tarri and Bob Whitby)

...but it was not a problem for him... fortunately :-)

 

The tests are:

the one-leg stand

walk and turn, and

horizontal gaze nystagmus test.

 

Officers may, however, also administer non-standardized tests, which might include:

stand with feet together and tip the head backwards

count the number of fingers that the officer raises

recite the alphabet or a portion of it

count backwards

Rhomberg stationary balance test: the driver stands, feet together, and leans the head back to look up at the sky while holding their arms out to the side

finger-to-nose: this requires the driver might to close his or her eyes and bring the finger around to touch the nose

hand-pat test: the driver is asked to extend a hand in front, palm upwards. The other hand is then placed on top of the first hand, palm downwards. The driver then ‘pats’ the lower hand with the upper hand by rotating it, so that first the lower hand is patted with the palm of the upper hand and then with the back of the upper hand.

At the Vemork hydroelectric power plant in Rjukan, Norway, now housing the Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum.

(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vemork)

This was the target of the famous Operation Gunnerside (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_heavy_water_sabotage), which featured Norwegian resistance fighters sabotaging heavy water production of Nazi Germany. This film with Kirk Douglas is based on the events: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heroes_of_Telemark?wprov=sfla1.

During our holidays we stayed at a hotel that was founded by the Norwegian stunt man who did the skiing scenes for Kirk Douglas in the movie. His bold and now famous offer "I'll do it for one million." was actually accepted by the film company and he used the money to build the hotel and start a successful career as ski instructor in the USA.

 

The place appealed to me on many levels but many of my photos failed to convey the atmosphere I experienced there. This one does.

"The story of the Wallace Fountains is remarkable. The true motivation of Sir Richard Wallace, the Englishman who lived most of his life in Paris and who donated funds in the second half of the nineteenth century to bring free, clean drinking water to Parisians, remains debatable. Was it simple altruism? Could it be guilt over the vast wealth he inherited? As an illegitimate child, did Richard Wallace seek legitimacy through his philanthropy? Was he trying to atone for the sins of his miserly father? Or, perhaps his rationale was simply a strong desire to wipe out public and private drunkenness among the poor, something he witnessed too often during the Paris siege of the Franco-Prussian War from 1870-71 and the Commune era that immediately followed. Whatever his motivation, the world can thank him. Through his focused efforts to combine practical design with extraordinary beauty and allegorical meaning, he created works of art that continuously serve the public by delivering clean drinking water to the population. He also gave Paris one of its most lasting and beloved iconic symbols.

...

"The fountains were welcomed by Parisians. The siege and artillery bombing of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War, as well as the destruction of the Commune episode that followed, devastated the city and destroyed many aqueducts and other sources of clean water. The price of potable water became very expensive. As a result, most poor people had difficulty obtaining and paying for water that was safe to consume. Moreover, most of the water sold by vendors and distributed on carts to the poor was drawn from the Seine River. That water was certainly contaminated, because at the time all the waste water from the streets and many of the sewers drained directly into the river. It seemed less risky to drink alcoholic beverages, which were often cheaper than the price of unsafe water. Given the choice, the lower classes were most apt to hydrate with beer or wine.

...

"Wallace remained in Paris during the siege and the Commune period distributing his own funds for field hospitals, food aid, fuel and clothing for its poorest citizens. He saw firsthand the devastating effects of consuming alcohol when clean water was not accessible. In poor neighborhoods, Wallace must have witnessed “little ones, between two and three years of age, being fed on bread soaked in wine, and suffering from various ailments in consequence.”Sir Richard and others considered it a moral duty to keep the less privileged from falling into alcoholism simply because they had nothing else safe to drink. In the name of temperance, and from a sincere desire to use philanthropy for the common good, Wallace set about to commission the drinking fountains and deliver safe water to all.

...

"The four Wallace caryatids, holding up the dome of the fountain, represent four virtues – kindness, simplicity, charity and sobriety. Each figure is different and can be distinguished by the way each bends her knees and by how each tunic is draped. However, which caryatid is which virtue is not apparent to the viewer."

 

~ wallacefountains.org

And I'm waking up to sobriety,

Just another day caught up with me.

Wish I could escape reality

And drown in the beat drums I'm lost in.

Every day I'm waking to sobriety,

Nothing can erase this memory.

Wish that I could change reality

And drown in the beat drums I'm lost in.

Human Reactor - Kaskade

   

I do. I really, really do. Life is all about balance, which I lack. I have more to add, but I'm going running before class instead. Be back soon loves.

  

exshmlore #46

yippie, thanks loves :]

  

I got back from Download Festival earlier today.

Back to reality, work, sobriety.

 

Please visit www.facebook.com/AlanSwanImages

Palm Beach County Treatment Centers

Palm Beach Florida is located in the Southern tip of Florida. It is around 1.5 hours from Miami and considered to be the home of many millionaire and billionaires. Palm Beach has year around good weather and a comfortable living environment. Most people that ...

 

hopetreatmentcenter.com/2015/11/30/why-choose-a-palm-beac...

.

Abandoned Abused Street Dogs.

 

5:05 AM and I'm on the road again.

75 minutes later The Dog Palace

is right in front of me. Mama &

Rocky are coming in fast .;-)

 

Still dark but light is just

starting to show up.

Rained part way.

 

Last few days have been a bit busy

taking care of personal issues. But

we will be returning to our regular

broadcasting schedule soon enough.

 

Did all the same same at The Bingo Room.

Crossed The Concrete Walking Bridge with

Mama and Rocky leading the way. Miss Zoomer

and The Baby Mickey greeted us on the other side.

 

Once at the nuns place a small yet special package

was handed off to the nurse nun.All the dogs were

given a quick rub down plus a field sobriety test

and IMO, They all failed miserably ! .........;-)~~~

 

While asking for their ID, drivers license and insurance

papers they would fall down on my feet, lick my toes

then get up, run big circles and crash into me.

Nun of them are allowed to operate any

motorized vehicles for 6 months,

maybe longer if they don't

cleanup their act fast.

This's serious stuff.

 

Now, all five of us take off to The Spirit House.

Zoomer way out in the lead with Mama/Rocky

next in line and of course Baby Mickey trying

to keep up with The Big Dogs.I'm on the scoop.

 

All The Hooligans were also cared for as usual.

After about 3 hours the scooter was packed

and I headed back for home where more

Loony Toony Dogs awaited my arrival.

 

Same Same Sobriety Test was given.

And yes, they too failed Big Time .;-)~

  

Thank You.

Jon&Crew.

 

Please help with your donations here.

www.gofundme.com/saving-thai-temple-dogs.

  

Please,

No Political Statements, Awards, Invites,

Large Logos or Copy/Pastes.

© All rights reserved.

  

.

 

The regional council building at Rondellplatz in Karlsruhe is a typical post-war building, completed in 1961. Its staircase is also strictly and functionally structured, exuding the charm of timeless sobriety.

 

Agfa Super Isolette - Ilford XP2

Wineglasses on a table. Lots of action in the room- presenters, attendees, service folks and then there is the #stemware just sitting on a table ready to snatched up by some anxious imbiber. A glass is picked up and gets trashed with wine after wine, I wonder if #glassware ever gets tipsy? Doubtful if it can even pass a sobriety test. Yes, wineglasses are the workhorse of any wine tasting. At best they are treated with excellent wines and at worse undrinkable plonk. Actually some suffer the ultimate indignity: They are dropped and broken into little pieces. If I were a wineglass I would rather be in the home of folks who never have big wine tastings. (August 17, 2015, San Francisco, CA)

  

A veces la forma mas sencilla de encontrar la inspiración

es escuchar un poco de...

música...?

La façana de la Passió és de recent construcció. Situat al carrer Sardenya i orientada a l'oest.

Aquesta façana representa la passió i la mort de Jesús. D'acord amb aquesta funció, té un aspecte auster i nu extraordinari, amb formes geomètriques blanques.

Està composta per un pòrtic de sis columnes, amb tres portes, de les quals es divideix el central en dos per un mainell amb els signes Alfa i Omega entre els quatre campanars. A la façana del Naixement i la glòria, les tres entrades de la Passió estan dedicats a una de les tres virtuts cristianes.

La sobrietat de la façana és visible també per la presència d'os en forma de columnes i les escultures sòbries realitzades per Josep Maria Subirachs afegint dramatisme a la disseny de Gaudí i deliberadament trist.

El conjunt respecta el projecte inicial de Gaudí pel que fa a les seves característiques generals, però els detalls estan òbviament adaptats a l'estètica moderna. En aquest sentit, la iconografia molt simbòlica de Subirachs representa una ruptura total amb el concepte figuratiu de la façana oposada (Naixement).

 

La fachada de la Pasión es de reciente construcción. Situado en la calle Sardenya y orientada al oeste.

Esta fachada representa la pasión y la muerte de Jesús. De acuerdo con esta función, tiene un aspecto austero y desnudo extraordinario, con formas geométricas blancas.

Está compuesta por un pórtico de seis columnas, con tres puertas, de las que se divide el central en dos por un mainel con los signos Alfa y Omega entre los cuatro campanarios. En la fachada del Nacimiento y la gloria, las tres entradas de la Pasión están dedicados a una de las tres virtudes cristianas.

La sobriedad de la fachada es visible también por la presencia de hueso en forma de columnas y las esculturas sobrias realizadas por Josep Maria Subirachs añadiendo dramatismo a la diseño de Gaudí ya deliberadamente triste.

El conjunto respeta el proyecto inicial de Gaudí con respecto a sus características generales, pero los detalles están obviamente adaptados a la estética moderna. En este sentido, la iconografía muy simbólica de Subirachs representa una ruptura total con el concepto figurativo de la fachada opuesta (Natividad).

 

The Passion façade is recently built. Located in the street Sardenya and oriented to west.

This façade represents the passion and the death of Jesus. According with this function, it has an austere and extraordinarily naked appearance, with geometric edged forms.

It is composed by a six columns portico, with three doors, of which the central one is divided into two by a mullion with the Alpha and Omega signs among the four bell towers. As the Nativity and Glory façade, the three entries of the Passion one are dedicated to the three Christian virtues.

The sobriety of the façade is visible also by the presence of bone shaped columns and the sober sculptures carried out by Josep Maria Subirachs adding drama to the already deliberately sad Gaudí design.

The whole respects the initial project of Gaudí with regard to its general characteristics, but the details are obviously adapted to the modern aesthetics. In this sense, the very symbolic iconography of Subirachs represents a total break with the figurative concept of the opposed façade (Nativity).

"Laughter is day, and sobriety is night; a smile is the twilight that hovers gently between both, more bewitching than either."

Henry Ward Beecher

 

Part of CH series

Don Juan said in one of Carlos Casteneda's books "There is no completeness without sadness and longing, for without them there is no sobriety, no kindness. Wisdom without kindness and knowledge without sobriety are useless."

 

.::ONEIRO photography::. >>

Exposure: 8 sec (8)

Aperture: f/3.5

Focal Length: 18 mm

ISO Speed: 100

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

DSC_2263

Find below quotes at

www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/moliere.html

Moliere, French Playwright

Date of Birth: January 15, 1622

Date of Death: February 17, 1673

 

Love is often the fruit of marriage.

 

Of all the noises known to man, opera is the most expensive.

 

One ought to look a good deal at oneself before thinking of condemning others.

 

Perfect reason flees all extremity, and leads one to be wise with sobriety.

 

The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.

 

There are pretenders to piety as well as to courage.August 17, 2008

 

There is no praise to bear the sort that you put in your pocket.

 

Unreasonable haste is the direct road to error.

 

We die only once, and for such a long time.

 

Some of the most famous books are the least worth reading. Their fame was due to their having done something that needed to be doing in their day. The work is done and the virtue of the book has expired.

______________________

 

August 18, 2008, Monday, Feastday of

St. Jane Frances de Chantal, religious, of whom found much more than below at

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Frances_de_Chantal

 

Jane Frances de Chantal (Jeanne-Françoise Frémiot, baronne de Chantal, January 28, 1572 – December 13, 1641) was born in Dijon, France. The mother of six children (three died shortly after they were born), she was widowed at the age of 28. She met Saint Francis de Sales when he preached at the Sainte Chapelle in Dijon and was inspired to start a Catholic religious order for women, the Congregation of the Visitation. She died at the Visitation Convent in Moulins, one of those she founded, and was buried in Annecy.

  

Marie Bocko, OCDS | email: mlbocko@twcny.rr.com

wrote below reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

Ezekiel 24:15-23

Deuteronomy 32:18-21

Matthew 19:16-22

 

All of the Commandments I have observed. What do I still lack?

(see Matthew 19:20)

 

The Old Testament clearly reveals that the Israelites were chosen by God to make Him known in the world. Their land, however, was surrounded by heathens, enemy nations whose slack morals tempted God's people to imitate them. God used prophets to restore them to the true faith, but in Ezekiel's time He also saw a need to speak to them with a "rod."

 

Having shut God out, they rendered themselves helpless, open to invasion and some of their prominent citizens taken captive. Among them was the prophet Ezekiel who, despite enemy taunting, worked to preserve their beliefs while in exile. He paid the high cost of discipleship, hoping that one day these men would help restore their nation to God. Eventually this took place and Ezekiel earned being called "the father of Judaism."

 

In today's reading Ezekiel's beloved wife died, but God told him not to show any of the accepted outward signs of mourning. Instead he was to suffer a pain so inexpressible as to render him overwhelmed, in a stupor. This innocent, faithful man's condition was to show God's people that their infidelity to Him would bring them a suffering far beyond losing a loved one; they would be separating themselves from Him, the very Source of their lives.

 

Today's gospel reading teaches the rich young man and us that our faith in, and love for, God should vastly exceed that which we may have for anyone or anything in this world. The genuine following of God's Commandments is best seen in poor and afflicted people who retain their love and trust in God despite their sufferings. Unlike the rich young man, they are not trying to earn a high moral score or gain spiritual riches.

 

O Blessed Lord, may we love You in all things and above all things. May all we do and say bring Your peace into this world and help lead all people to Your heavenly joy. Amen.

 

EXPLORE # 198 on Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Winchester Cathedral

 

Death of Thomas Thetcher, 1764

 

To members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) the name Thomas Thetcher, a grenadier in the North Regiment of the Hants Militia, is synonymous with the foundation of their organisation. But the curious link between Thetcher’s grave in the churchyard of Winchester Cathedral and AA is less well known to the wider public.

Thetcher died aged 26 on May 12, 1764 after drinking contaminated ‘small’ beer. He was buried in Winchester Cathedral churchyard with the following inscription on his tombstone:

 

In Memory of

Thomas Thetcher

a Grenadier in the North Regt. of Hants Militia, who died of a violent Fever contracted by drinking Small Beer when hot the 12th of May 1764. Aged 26 Years.

 

In grateful remembrance of whose universal good will towards his Comrades, this Stone is placed here at their expense, as a small testimony of their regard and concern.

 

Here sleeps in peace a Hampshire Grenadier,

Who caught his death by drinking cold small Beer,

Soldiers be wise from his untimely fall

And when ye’re hot drink Strong or none at all.

 

This memorial being decay’d was restor’d by the Officers of the Garrison AD 1781.

 

An Honest Soldier never is forgot

Whether he die by Musket or by Pot.

 

The Stone was replaced by the North Hants Militia when disembodied at Winchester, on 26 April 1802, in consequence of the original Stone being destroyed.

And again replaced by The Royal Hampshire Regiment 1966.

 

In 1918, a young American soldier named Bill Wilson, who was encamped near Winchester with his US Army unit while en route to the Western Front, visited the city’s cathedral and chanced upon Thomas Thetcher’s grave. Wilson was struck by the inscription and also by the similarity between Thetcher’s name and that of a boyhood friend, Ebby Thacher. After the war, Wilson became a successful businessman, but heavy drinking marred his career and he was eventually told that he would either die from his alcoholism or have to be locked up permanently.

 

Remarkably, however, Wilson and a handful of fellow alcoholics – including Ebby Thacher – discovered a way to achieve sobriety. He became a founding member of Alcoholics Anonymous and wrote a book about his battle with drink in the hope of inspiring other alcoholics. In it he recalled his visit to Winchester Cathedral and how the gravestone had caught his eye, describing it as an ‘ominous warning which I failed to heed’. Clearly, he had forgotten the part of the inscription which read: ‘When ye’re hot drink Strong or not at all’…

 

There is no evidence that Thomas Thetcher was an alcoholic. In the mid-18th Century most people drank small beer – a weak brew – rather than water which carried cholera, typhoid and other diseases. It is likely that the ‘violent fever’ which killed Thetcher was caused by one of these diseases which had not been killed off in the making of that particular batch of beer. Ironically, had Thetcher drunk ‘strong’ beer, which had a higher alcohol content, he would probably have survived.

 

The book in which Wilson tells of his visit to Winchester Cathedral – AA’s famous ‘Big Book’ – has sold around 30 million copies. In 2011, Time magazine listed it among the 100 most influential books written in English since 1923. A year later the Library of Congress designated it as one of 88 ‘Books that Shaped America’.

 

The tombstone that Bill Wilson saw in 1918 was the copy of the 1764 original erected in 1802. In 1966 it was moved for safekeeping to the Royal Hampshire Regimental Museum at Serle’s House in Winchester where visitors can still see it. It was replaced in the cathedral grounds by the present updated copy, which is also based on the 1764 original.