STROLLING ALONG THE QUAYS OF ZADAR

Zadar, in Croatia, was called Zara in the ancient times. Its history is closely related to a continuous and continued struggle.

The rectangular street plan that had been left by the Roman in the XIV century was occupied by the Venetians and the Turkish. However, the Italian influence is noticeable. 

The interconnection between the city and the Mediterranean Sea gives an amazing sequence of views of boats and buildings in an appropriate scale. 

The street pavements and quays are made out of white limestone and sometimes of white marble.

Zadar water organ facing Zadar channel is a fantastic new achievement. Simple and elegant steps, carved in white stone, underneath which there are 35 musically tuned tubes with whistle openings on the sidewalk. As the boats sail by, the movement of the sea pushes the air through and, depending on the size and velocity of the wave, musical chords are played. The waves create random harmonic sounds. 

People wait for the boats sailing and so hear the sound of this world’s first musical pipe organ that is played by the sea.

I leave you with this last photo - a small marina - of my today's series. Hope you have enjoyed travelling with me!

Thank you!

THE SAVAGE BEAUTY OF THE DESERT

"To wake up every morning in various points of the immense desert… To exit from a tent and behold the splendour of a new day: to distend arms, to iron oneself in the cold and pure air, to be filled with light and space, to know, upon awakening, the extraordinary inebriation of breath alone, of just living...", PIERRE LOTI

A journey through the desert is an unforgetable experience and the desert of Lybia offers a very special atmosphere. It's one of the last stunning places in the world. The 'erg' of sand is a mesmerizing vision in its facets of colour.
The country offers a couple of the longest treks of sand desert in the world and as I headed out into the Ubari Sand Sea, I could get the perfect desert landscape. Right there in the middle of the soft dunes, lakes emerge as the true miracles they are. There are at least 11 lakes in this area, deep out into the softest and largest sandy desert. The salt levels are extremely high and can be compared with the Dead Sea.

Below, you see Mavo Lake that is reknown for changing colour (from blue, green.. even red). It's rimmed with lucky vegetation. Unfortunately, I was not as lucky as the vegatation and saw it in no other colour but blue, only.

Near one bank of Lake Gaberoun (below) lies a ruined town, fittingly called Old Gaberoun. I saw a lot of wrecked houses.

A necklace whose beads are made out of the desert sand. I bought it from the above man

The Lake Umm el-Maa (below) is still water reflecting the surrounding landscape

By the lake there were not many but a few natives selling handicrafts, all  were very colourful.

In the silence and emptiness of the desert, the beauty of nature exists... undisturbed!

Thank you!

OTHER LAND, OTHER PEOPLE

Hindu pilgrims converge for a holy dip in the Holy Pushkar Lake to 'wash away the sins of  a lifetime'.

Today, I would like to give you a glimpse of an unparallelled and unforgettable experience I had when I visited Pushkar, a town in the state of Rajasthan (India). I happened to have been there at the time of a fair that is held every November, at the time of the full moon. 

I think I can say it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the colour, spectacle and carnival of one of the great traditional markets, which brings villagers, farmers, livestock, camels, natural colours, handcrafts, from all over Rajathan.

It was a wonderful time, a great place, a terrific event.

THANKS FOR YOUR VISIT!

WHO KNOWS???

In 2004, I went on a trip to Syria, together with Arabic scholars and archeologists from Portugal. It was nice to find such a peaceful country in stark contrast with Iraq.

Syria’s treasures have crossed over the centuries and they show us the influence the Fertile Crescent has had on our Western civilization.

While in Syria, I had the opportunity to be ‘introduced’ to the Epic of Gilgamesh that dates to the days of the Sumerians who surprise us with their inventiveness, their cuneiform writing. Mind you, it was in the 4^th millennium BC.

The search for eternal life, the paradise myth, the diluvia and the Noah’s Ark, the first report of the resurrection and the image portraying Saint George are parts of the epics inherited from the Hebrews. They became Bible stories that the Christians know so well.

The first Islamic dynasty, the Omayyad, elected the Great Syria as their kingdom and Damascus its respective capital. 

The next Islamic dynasty, the Abassids, rebelled against the Omayyad. At first, they did it on Persian territory but later they conquered Damascus. Abd-al-Rahman, the last Omayyad prince, managed to escape the massacre, and fled to the Iberian peninsula where he established a brilliant dynasty in Al-Aldalus. .

Damascus mosque (786 AC) was the model for the Cordoba mosque at Al-Andalus. 

Syria wooden norias - huge water wheels up to 20 meters in diameter built on the Orontes River - developed in the Byzantine period. Nowadays, we can still see similar ones in Al-Andalus, mainly in Cordoba, where they are called noras. 

And now Syria is at war! So much of our Past is over there and nobody knows how longer it will survive…

TWO IN ONE....

For professional reasons, recently I had to fly to Brussels where I stayed for one week long, enough time to have some free time after my hours of work.

When I arrived it was snowing and so was it when I took off. Amazing to me, considering that I live in a city that never sees snow.

 

I didn't get disappointed with the hotel I had booked online. I always do it and so far so good... It was comfortable and with an excellent location.

 

I was surprised by the large community of muslems that lives over there, mainly in the Gare du Midi area. Hardly could I believe my eyes as they set on a hamman with sepparate entrances for both men and women. Unfortunately, I couldn't take any shot as I had fear of getting in trouble if I had pointed my camera at it.

On Saturday, late in the afternoon, Le Grand Sablon Square, where a flea market had been held, was not crowded at all. The dismantling of the stalls had been almost concluded. 

 

 

By contrast, some of the many chocolate stores were crowded. Even though, I didn't see fat people. Perhaps they have some secret to keep slim, despite eating chocolates.

 

A bar-restaurant, at which the late surrealist Magritte and his artist fellows gathered frequently, was the highlight of my stay. I will never forget that delicious  hot chocolate I had there together with a Belgian friend.