museum – Streaming thru America

The Road to Recovery

July 21, 2025Posted in Adventure, health, hiking, humor, landscape, museum, Photography, psychology, sports, travel, wanderlustTagged arthroscopy, Intrepid Museum, Rockland Lake, rotator cuff, shoulder repair4 Comments

BREAKING NEWS

Ordinarily, I’d be blogging about my summer road trip to Quebec’s National Parks, with occasional lookbacks to our winter adventures in Vietnam. But circumstances have changed, and future long-distance travel has been placed on hold until October.

Instead, I’ll be introducing a new cycle of posts reflecting my road to recovery after emergency rotator cuff surgery on my right shoulder. And, I’m using a photo of a famous location in Door County taken 6 summers ago, which may seem like a metaphorical cliche, but it still rings true in consideration of my latest debacle.

Let me explain.

About 35 years ago, I joined a neighborhood softball league as a catcher. During a particularly fateful game near the end of our schedule, a batter hit a routine flyball to shallow left field with a runner on third and one out. The outfielder made the routine catch, setting up the showdown at home plate.

The runner on third sprinted home with “Pete Rose” intentions. The throw came in hard and accurate. I covered the plate in anticipation of the play–waiting for the ball while preparing for impact–and ready for the tag.

But the runner arrived just before the ball. He came in fast and hard, battering the right side of my body.

Safe!

But not for me!

My shoulder ached for the next few months and eventually healed itself without medical intervention… or so, I thought.

What I didn’t know was that the torn labrum and the eventual arthritis in my right shoulder would become my personal weather barometer for the next three decades.

But I lived with it. I found that my old injury rarely interfered with daily life or staying active. Cycling, hiking, and paddling had little effect… until I took up pickleball.

Yes, Leah and I got caught up in the sensation–3 times a week. Because we both played tennis in a past life, we quickly improved our self-assessed ranking from 2.5 to 3.0 during our first year of play.

Over time, increased ability and better competition provided a better workout, but also contributed to greater wear and tear on my right arm. It began aching and now required a visit to an orthopod.

After an x-ray, the doc’s preliminary diagnosis of bursitis warranted a steroid injection which provided relief for only a couple of days. That’s when I knew it was time for an MRI and a follow-up with the orthopod.

But not before another Monday of morning matches… which was my ultimate undoing. While playing a doubles match, I reached for an overhead slam. Upon contact, I immediately felt and heard a pop in my shoulder accompanied by a stabbing pain. I shook it off and resumed play for the next hour.

Big mistake!

The following day, I was incapacitated and in constant pain, requiring another trip to the orthopod and a second MRI.

My radiology report revealed a much more serious injury than earlier: a torn rotator cuff, bone spurs, and extreme inflammation surrounding the joint and capsule. Only arthroscopic surgery could save me now!

But not before a brief visit to northern New Jersey to witness Lucy, Leah’s granddaughter,

accept her diploma from Pascack Valley High School.

In addition to celebrating with family,

there was also a hike around Rockland Lake,

and a visit to the Intrepid Museum…

in NYC.

After a disastrous flight home on United (a 5-hr delay AND lost luggage), surgery was performed early next morning.

According to the surgical center, the procedure was unremarkable. My doctor repaired the rotator cuff and addressed the biceps tendinosis; he shaved the outer end of my collarbone and vacuumed the bone spurs from the AC joint; and finally, he eased the impingement by performing a subacromial decompression with acromioplasty.

After an hour in recovery, I was released to Leah, wearing a shoulder immobilizer that would soon become my arch nemesis.

Interestingly, Leah insists that despite my stupor, I was largely responsible for composing this photo.

The first couple of days were a blur–existing in and out of a drugged sleep–thanks to an oxy-cocktail and a nerve block that slowly wore off after 36 hours.

However, Hour-37 became a painful reminder that my road to recovery would be a litmus test for controlling my anxiety, because at this moment, my life feels like I’m trying to get comfortable in an economy airline seat for a 6-week flight to Normaltown.

More to follow…

Exploring Angkor Wat

May 31, 2025June 2, 2025Posted in Adventure, archeology, Architecture, culture, History, landscape, museum, Photography, religion, travel, wanderlustTagged Angkor Wat, Buddhism, Cambodia, Hinduism, Kampong Kdei Bridge, Siem ReapLeave a comment

Siem Reap Province, located in northwestern Cambodia, possesses significant cultural, religious, and symbolic value, and is also renowned for its architectural, archaeological, and artistic importance. Furthermore, Siem Reap is home to Angkor Archaeological Park, the world’s largest religious monument complex and the cornerstone of Cambodia’s tourism sector.

Our O.A.T. group overlanded from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap with a stopover at the ancient Kampong Kdei Bridge, constructed in the 12th century during the reign of King Jayavarman VII.

The bridge is a testament to the engineers who designed the 87m river span with 21 corbelled arches of laterite, making it the longest structure of its kind in the world.

A view of the ancient Kampong Kdei Bridge, showcasing its impressive 12th-century architecture with multiple corbelled arches over a dry riverbed, set against a clear blue sky.

Nine-headed nagas–whose bodies form a continuous balustrade alongside the roadbed–welcome only pedestrians and cycles on the bridge because of weight restrictions.

A detailed close-up of a stone sculpture depicting a nine-headed naga, showcasing intricate carvings and textures, set against a blue sky.

While admiring the scenery, I paused a moment to consider that Leah and I were walking the same trail as the Chinese merchants who traded along the Maritime Silk Road nearly a millennium ago. Back then, it was a 2-day trek through the lowlands to reach Angkor Wat.

A person in a hooded jacket and face mask rides on a wooden cart pulled by two water buffalo along a rural path surrounded by greenery.

But not for us; we stepped out of our air-conditioned coach the following morning, well before the crowds, to cross a moat symbolizing the cosmic ocean in Hindu cosmology.

Lush greenery surrounds a tranquil lake, with trees lining the water's edge and a cloudy sky overhead.

While getting our bearings, our guide Seong, a native of Siem Reap revealed Cambodia’s worst kept secret: by arriving at Angkor Wat’s Death Gopura (East Gate), we were avoiding the popular western gateway with five times the tourists.

Restoration work on an ancient temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia, featuring scaffolding, surrounded by lush trees and fallen leaves on the ground.

The cloud cover flattened the morning light on our approach down the expansive causeway. It was the best time for photographing Angkor. Eventually, we reached a break in the trees, perfectly framing the famed lotus tower of this Khmer masterpiece. It was reminiscent of the thrill I felt after emerging from the slot canyon in Jordan and peeking at Petra for the first time at first light.

A view of Angkor Wat, a grand Khmer temple, with a crowd of visitors walking towards its entrance, surrounded by trees and greenery.

A view of the intricate architecture of Petra, framed by tall rock cliffs, showcasing carved columns and reliefs in the sandstone.

Much has been written about Angkor Wat:

A panoramic view of Angkor Wat, with numerous visitors exploring the temple grounds, framed by trees and a cloudy sky.

About its monumental size,

A view of Angkor Wat under cloudy skies, featuring the temple's distinct architecture with its multiple spires and a nearby stone naga statue in the foreground.

spanning 402 acres,

Angkor Wat, a monumental temple complex in Siem Reap, Cambodia, showcasing its intricate architecture and historic significance.

or 4 times the size of Vatican City;

Angkor Wat temple structure showcasing intricate architecture amidst lush greenery in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

It’s intricate bas-relief carvings throughout the temples and galleries;

Intricate bas-relief carvings showcasing historical and mythological figures from Khmer culture on a temple wall in Angkor, Cambodia.

Its historical significance, showcasing Khmer mythology and history etched into laterite stone;

Bas-relief carving depicting a scene from Hindu mythology, featuring a figure surrounded by multiple smaller figures, illustrating the artistic significance and intricate detailing of Angkor Wat. — *^{_{Churning of the Sea of Milk}}*

Intricate bas-relief carvings depicting a historical battle scene, showcasing detailed figures and intricate designs, part of the Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia. — *^{_{Heaven and Hell}}*

Close-up view of a bas-relief carving depicting warriors on horseback and infantry, showcasing the intricate artistry of Khmer culture in Angkor Wat. — *^{_{Military Parade of Kink Suryavarman II}}*

Its religious significance–originally constructed in the 12^th century as a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu but converted to a Theravadin Buddhist temple during the 15t^th century to reflect the shift in Cambodia’s spiritual landscape;

This image depicts a detailed bas-relief sculpture of a seated figure, adorned with intricate traditional Cambodian attire and jewelry, surrounded by ornate decorative patterns. — _{Hindu Goddess}

A statue of a Buddha seated in a meditative pose, protected by a nine-headed naga hood, with offerings of a lotus flower and food placed in its lap, set against the backdrop of an ancient temple. — _{Hindu Goddess}

And its architectural accomplishment–a profound reflection of Hindu cosmology, particularly the concept of Mount Meru, regarded as the mythical abode of the deities. The central tower of Angkor Wat epitomizes the summit of Mount Meru, while the adjacent smaller towers signify the mountain’s subordinate peaks. The moat and the rectangular outer wall delineate the oceans and the boundaries of the world, respectively.

A detailed scale model of Angkor Wat, showcasing its intricate architectural features and layout.

Restoration and maintenance have become routine endeavors in Angkor, which fell into neglect following the capital’s relocation to Phnom Penh in 1434. The site garnered renewed attention after being rediscovered by French naturalist Henri Mouhot in 1858.

A worker is restoring intricate stone carvings on a temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia, using scaffolding for support.

An international task force supported by Japan, India, France, South Korea, and other contributing nations have collaborated with APSARA National Authority, the Cambodian government agency responsible for Angkor’s ongoing preservation and management, to address the extensive neglect and restore the temple to World Heritage status.

A corridor at Angkor Wat with intricate stone walls and a roof with visible carvings, populated by tourists walking along the path. — *^{Ceiling before repair}*

Interior view of Angkor Wat showcasing a detailed ceiling with floral patterns and carved stone walls. Visitors observe the intricate designs along the corridor. — *^{Ceiling before repair}*

Recently, new risers have been completed by the Korea Heritage Agency…

Visitors climbing the steep wooden stairs of Angkor Wat, showcasing the temple's iconic structure in Cambodia.

giving access to the Bakan (central sanctuary),

A detailed architectural plan of Angkor Wat, highlighting its complex layout and design features with marked sections in red.

which supports the amazing quincunx of towers,

Close-up view of the central tower of Angkor Wat, showcasing its intricate architectural details and carvings against a blue sky.

offering amazing views,

Aerial view of Angkor Wat temple complex in Siem Reap, Cambodia, showcasing its intricate rooftops and surrounding lush greenery with visitors walking along pathways.

and providing sanctuary for a rare wooden Buddha sculpture whose head remains intact,

A wooden Buddha statue draped in a golden robe, standing in a niche with a decorative background, symbolizing religious significance.

unlike most of the other Buddhas who fell victim to so many marauders over the centuries.

A partially eroded statue with missing head and arms, set against an ancient stone backdrop, showcasing intricate designs typical of Khmer art.

But amidst the vastness and splendor surrounding us, it was the people donning their Sunday best who truly captured my attention with their warmth and spirit.

A man and a woman in traditional Cambodian attire, posing together with a bouquet of flowers, against a scenic backdrop that hints at the cultural significance of their location.

often posing by the Reflecting Pool for the quintessential photograph, or so I thought.

Two people in traditional Cambodian attire posing by a reflecting pool in front of Angkor Wat, with palm trees and the temple complex in the background.

Unfortunately, the wind kicked up, causing the pool to ripple ever so slightly and affect my mirrored imagery.

View of Angkor Wat temple, with lush greenery and palm trees reflected in the water of the surrounding moat.

However, by returning the following day for a sunset farewell to Angkor, I believe I captured the iconic shot that characterizes Cambodia’s cultural landscape.

A tranquil view of Angkor Wat reflecting in the moat, highlighting the iconic lotus towers and surrounding lush greenery during a serene early morning.

The experience not only fulfilled a bucket-listed destination but deepened my appreciation for the rich heritage of Cambodia, reminding me that some locations leave an indelible mark on our souls.

Surviving Toul Sleng

May 16, 2025Posted in History, museum, Photography, Politics, Sociology, travelTagged Cambodia, Chum Mey, genocide, Khmer Rouge, Norng Chan Phal, Phnom Penh, Pol Pot, Tuol Sleng Detention Center, Vann Nath2 Comments

Phnom Penh and the Khmer Republic fell to the Khmer Rouge on April 17, 1975.

A historical photograph depicting a crowd of people on the streets of Phnom Penh during the Khmer Rouge's takeover on April 17, 1975, with an armed soldier present.

For the Communists, it was Liberation Day and cause for celebration.

A historical black-and-white photograph depicting a large group of people, including children, celebrating on a street, displaying expressions of joy and excitement, with palm trees and buildings in the background.

While it marked the end of civil war, it was the beginning of one of history’s darkest chapters. Almost immediately, the Khmer Rouge ordered the exodus of the city’s 2 million inhabitants.

A large crowd of people, many carrying belongings and wearing traditional conical hats, is depicted in a busy street scene. Smoke rises in the background, suggesting a tense or chaotic atmosphere during the Khmer Rouge takeover in Phnom Penh. — ^{from Agence Khmere de Press archive}

Khmer Rouge strongman, Pol Pot declared 1975 “Year Zero,” in his quest to build a classless agrarian utopia patterned after Maoist China, but it also marked the start of a genocide that would devastate the country, claiming over 25% of the population through forced labor, starvation and slaughter.

It started with a civil servant purge that eliminated tens of thousands of military loyalists, local police, and anyone associated with the previous government. Additional targets included academics, professionals, and “impure” ethnic minorities.

To facilitate the Khmer Rouge agenda, an education campus in Phnom Penh that housed Tuol Svay Prey High School and Tuol Sleng Primary School was commandeered and codenamed “S-21”–the nerve center of the Khmer Rouge secret police.

A sign titled 'The Gallows' stands in a courtyard surrounded by trees and greenery, with a view of a building in the background. The sign provides historical context regarding the site during the Khmer Rouge regime, including an illustration.

The survivors remember that day as the day when hope turned to horror, changing their lives forever.

Black and white photograph of six men standing together outside, possibly former prisoners or survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime, with names and information printed below.

For Vann Nath (tall man in the middle), the unexpected journey to Tuol Sleng began with his arrest in 1978 while working in a rice field. Before 1975, he led a normal life as a commercial artist in Battambang. The Khmer Rouge first detained him at Wat Kandal–a temple turned detention center– and accused him of violating the regime’s moral code before moving him to S-21.

Visitors entering the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, formerly a school turned detention center, with barbed wire fencing visible in the foreground.

Detainees arrived in handcuffs and were immediately photographed. Today, their images hang on bulletin boards as a numbing reminder of their journey into hell.

Two large display frames containing black and white photographs of individuals, each wearing identification tags. The images are arranged in a grid pattern, showcasing the faces of detainees from the Khmer Rouge era.

Following intake and registration, they were showered.

A mural depicting detainees at Tuol Sleng, illustrated by Vann Nath, showing survivors being doused with water in a grim prison setting.

High-ranking cadres were imprisoned and interrogated in larger cells,

An empty interrogation room at Tuol Sleng prison with a metal bed frame, a simple table and chair, and a photograph of a lifeless body on the wall.

while the masses were confined to bricked-in cubbies the size of shower stalls, with ammunition boxes for toilets.

A poignant painting of a gaunt prisoner depicted in a cell, representing the suffering endured during the Khmer Rouge era, with a visitor observing the artwork in the foreground.

Of course, Vann was interrogated…

An artist's depiction of a prisoner sitting in a chair, tied up, with two Khmer Rouge soldiers interrogating him at a table in a stark room.

and tortured to extract a confession,

Artwork depicting scenes of torture at Tuol Sleng Prison during the Khmer Rouge regime, illustrating the brutality faced by detainees.

according to a strict code of conduct.

A poster detailing the rules of conduct and discipline for detainees, with numbered instructions emphasizing strict compliance and the severe consequences for disobedience.

Archives from S-21 reveal that initially, Vann was to be executed, but the commandant spared him in exchange for the portraits he later painted of their supreme leader, Pol Pot.

A black and white illustration depicting an artist sculpting a bust while painting a portrait of a man in a uniform, with additional sketches of other figures in the background.

Vann was among the handful of prisoners who narrowly escaped death by virtue of their special skills and usefulness to the regime.

An illustration depicting the brutal torture methods used by the Khmer Rouge, showing a victim being suspended and interrogated by armed guards.

Vann’s first-person account of his misfortune was interpreted years later after his release through a series of colorful graphic depictions–on permanent display throughout the museum–that ironically brings life to the drab surroundings of prison buildings.

Two students in school uniforms walk through a former detention cell area at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, with brick walls and a checkered floor, reflecting the somber history of the site.

These vibrant illustrations vividly capture the stark contrast between the bleak memories of confinement and the essence of freedom, allowing us to connect emotionally with Vann’s experiences.

A painting depicting a scene of violence during the Khmer Rouge era, showing soldiers overpowering a person in a rural landscape.

The cracked walls reflect the forgotten whispers of hope and despair, transforming the narrative into an immersive journey that transcends time and pain.

A dramatic depiction of a torture scene during the Khmer Rouge era, showing soldiers inflicting violence on a restrained individual.

The art not only serves as a commentary on the injustices faced but also inspires conversations about redemption, resilience, and the profound impact of creativity in the face of adversity.

A depiction of a figure observing another person submerged in a water tank, evoking a sense of interrogation or torture associated with the Khmer Rouge regime.

Chum Mey is another survivor who’s grateful for his mechanical skills. By fixing the typewriters used to record the forced confessions of fellow prisoners, Chum Mey managed to escape a death sentence, but not the torture. He sits at the edge of the museum courtyard, eager to recount his story in horrific detail. “I come every day to tell the world the truth about the Tuol Sleng prison… so that none of these crimes are ever repeated anywhere in the world.”

An elderly man sitting in a wheelchair, performing a traditional gesture of respect, while another younger man sits nearby. A display board titled 'Survivor' detailing the testimony of Chum Mey stands beside them, featuring images and text about his experiences during the Khmer Rouge regime.

Our group was also moved by our off-site exchange with Norng Chan Phal, who delivered his oral history through an interpreter. He was 9-years old in 1978, when his world was turned upside down. His father was arrested and executed at Tuol Sleng. Months later, the Khmer Rouge returned for the rest of his family. He recalled his mother’s torture and disappearance, and how he and his brother hid under piles of dirty laundry to escape retreating guards after S-21 was liberated.

A man holding a photograph of two young boys, both appearing shirtless, against a backdrop of blue fabric.

Even now, the burden of remembering brings on sudden sadness.

A middle-aged man with closed eyes sits calmly, resting his hand against his face, expressing a moment of reflection or contemplation. He wears a light-colored shirt, and the background features a blue curtain.

All three survivors later testified against senior leadership before the UN-backed Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal, which led to their convictions.

Infographic detailing the Khmer Rouge tribunal, featuring the names and details of convicted individuals and a map highlighting execution sites and prison locations in Cambodia.

Tuol Sleng was liberated by the Vietnamese Army in January 1979, and reopened the following year as a museum.

A historical information board describing the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, detailing its significance, history, and the events surrounding the Khmer Rouge regime.

Cambodia’s willingness to confront its past is only one part of the healing process. Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) states, “Post-conflict nations must redefine themselves and actively commit to a future without violence, atrocity crimes and genocide.”

The S-21 Boneyard

May 11, 2025May 17, 2025Posted in Adventure, History, landscape, museum, Nature, Photography, Politics, travelTagged AEON Mean Chey, Cambodia, Choeung EK, genocide, Khmer Rouge, Killing Fields, Phnom Penh, Tuol Sleng Detention CenterLeave a comment

At first glance, Choeung EK is an inviting greenspace on the edge of Phnom Penh,

with flowering trees,

and a peaceful lotus pond stocked with ancient koi.

Located 12 km from City Center, it’s conveniently adjacent to AEON Mean Chey, the city’s trendiest and largest all-purpose shopping center and fashion mall targeting Cambodia’s rising middle class.

Although, from my perspective, the only fashion that’s display-worthy is a collection of fabric remnants protected in a glass box…

once worn by 20,000 prisoners whose remains continue to float to the surface during every rainy season.

On closer inspection, the heritage trees throughout the grounds were once used as tools of brutality by agents of Khmer Rouge: from towers of dissonance,

to hardwood battering pillars.

Over the years, visitors to Choeung EK Genocidal Center have rebranded this tree as an ad hoc totem to memorialize the fate of thousands of children whose skulls were bashed against it.

Nearby, a stunning Buddhist stupa rises from the epicenter of the killing field…

housing thousands of adult skulls recovered during a site excavation in the 1980’s.

Between 1995 and 2007, the Documentation Center of Cambodia undertook the most challenging and disheartening task of mapping and documenting Cambodia’s killing fields. Through thousands of interviews and field investigations, DC-Cam identified 19,733 mass graves and 196 prisons that operated during the Democratic Kampuchea (DK) regime.

Choeung EK’s conversion from orchard to reeducation center…

served as a lethal gateway for every soul imprisoned at the notorious Tuol Sleng Detention Center.

All day long, trucks rolled into S-21, herding political enemies into primitive barracks,

where they ultimately met their untimely fate through horrific violence.

In 5 years, an estimated 2 million Cambodians (men, women, children, and infants) were murdered by Khmer Rouge,

accounting for 25% of the nation’s population.

Choeung EK reopened as a historical museum and learning center on January 7, 1989, with a mission to acknowledge the historical atrocities that occurred, and to remind us that violence against each other can have devastating consequences.

Its exhibits, memorials, and curated educational programs engage visitors in meaningful conversations about human rights and reconciliation.

Cambodians will soon commemorate their loss with a National Day of Remembrance. Every May 20th, students take part in an annual ritual–reenacting the crimes of Khmer Rouge guerillas–that still haunt Cambodian people deep to the bone.

On that day and every day, we pray for healing and understanding, and the realization that confronting past acts of inhumanity will inform and guide the well-being of future generations.

Finding Sanctuary in Luang Prabang

April 21, 2025April 22, 2025Posted in Adventure, culture, Food, History, landscape, museum, National Parks, Nature, Photography, religion, travel, wanderlustLeave a comment

Visiting the World Heritage city of Luang Prabang was an enlightening adventure, given its rich history, its cultural gems, and its natural wonders that draw travelers from around the globe. The vibrant blend of ancient temples and French colonial architecture creates a stunning backdrop for exploration, inviting visitors to wander through its charming streets. With so much to explore, from the serene banks of the Mekong River to the bustling local markets filled with handmade crafts, it’s little wonder why our three days went by so quickly, while only scratching the surface of so many not-to-be-missed activities.

We toured the ancient capital’s Royal Palace-turned-museum …

with its purpose-built shrine housing the golden Phra Bang (translates to “delicate Buddha”), created in Sri Lanka between the 1st and 9th century, and worshipped in Luang Prabang since 1359 as the nation’s most sacred symbol.

We trekked through Kuang Si Waterfall Park,

featuring a 165 ft drop …

feeding terraced plunge pools of milky green water,

and a rescue sanctuary for black Moon bears and Malayan Sun bears.

After a full day of sightseeing, many in our tour group sought respite at our hotel, the Muang Thong.

However, Leah and I enjoyed a 60-minute, aromatherapeutic couples massage for $34 at M.K. Wellness Centre only steps from our hotel,

followed by a stroll to a nearby hotel …

where an acre of tropical gardens is thoroughly hidden from the street,

protecting three UNESCO-classified lily ponds …

amid an oasis of orchids …

along a mahogany-clad boardwalk.

Lush flora surrounds the property and covers nearly every surface,

including the living walls.

It was the perfect location to share a special dinner with fellow OATers at the hotel’s on-site restaurant, Manda de Laos,

featuring traditional Lao flavors that had us grinning ear to ear,

and energized to continue our journey to Vientiane the following day.

The Death Railway of WWII

March 10, 2025Posted in Adventure, History, museum, Photography, travel, video, wanderlustTagged Bridge Over the River Kwai, Burma-Thai Railway, Hellfire Pass, Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Kwai River2 Comments

After Japan entered the 2nd World War at the end of 1941, their forces quickly overran most of Southeast Asia. However, by summer 1942, supply lines to Burma and Thailand were faltering after Japanese naval strength was compromised in the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway.

To ensure a secure distribution channel in the region, the Japanese military built a single line railway to link existing railheads between Burma (now Myanmar) and Thailand.

By commanding a forced-labor construction brigade of 60,000 Allied POWs and 200,000 Burmese, Malayan and Thai civilians (Romusha) who toiled along the route (from Thanbyuzayat in the west to Nong Pladuk in the east), Japanese military eventually completed the 415 km rail line in October 1943, but not without considerable neglect and harm to their captors and conscripts.

At first, work at the termini progressed quickly across flat, lightly vegetated land. But as terrain turned to rocky jungle, and monsoons turned the ground to mud, the work became difficult, causing the project to stall multiple times–which intensified Japan’s desperation to finish the line with little regard for human life.

One of the most challenging excavations required the construction of many large embankments, as the railway crossed the relatively flat high ground towards the steep valley wall to the north.

Crew survivors called it Hellfire Pass (Konyu), recalling the horrid conditions of the cutting and how much the work scene resembled a living hell when illuminated by fire.

All of the grueling work was done without the aid of reliable mechanical equipment. Instead, the most primitive of hand tools were used to drill holes for the explosives used in blasting the rock and removing the debris.

It took 12 weeks of round-the-clock shifts to complete this section of the roadbed, which resulted in a great loss of life. Sixty-nine men were beaten to death by Japanese guards, and countless others died from cholera, dysentery, starvation, and exhaustion–all of which is well documented at the Interpretive Center’s exhibition hall,

and memorial trail built and managed by the Australian government.

Construction brigades completed the 415 km railroad in October 1943. Unfortunately, the project cost the lives of approximately 15,000 POWs and 100,000 Romusha from disease, starvation, exhaustion and mistreatment. Their sacrifice was commemorated by a granite block placed at the track.

Eighty km south of Hellfire Pass, the railroad crosses the River Kwai in the town of Kanchanaburi–site of the work camp where all prisoners and laborers were processed.

The bridge is primarily remembered because of its portrayal in the 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai, which depicts the harsh conditions and forced labor endured by Allied POWs, making it a powerful symbol of the brutality of war and the sacrifices made by captives.

Nowadays, the bridge can be crossed on foot or with a small tourist train that runs back and forth.

The Kanchanaburi War Cemetary, just down the road, is the final resting place of nearly 7,000 Commonwealth soldiers who participated in building the Burma-Thailand Railway.

Their mission is commemorated across a manicured lawn of gravestones,

and memorials.

It was a solemn day of remembrance in Kanchanaburi, which also came with a telling lunchtime reminder of WWII’s Hellfire experience…

The Royal Grand Palace of Thailand

January 3, 2025January 25, 2025Posted in Architecture, Art, culture, History, museum, Photography, religion, travelTagged Bangkok, Emerald Buddha, Royal Palace, Thailand2 Comments

No visit to Bangkok is complete without a tour of The Grand Palace, simply because it’s beyond comparison.

Consider the enormity and scale of the site.

Covering over 2.3 million sq ft, its walled, rectangular space has evolved over the course of 200 years…

into a myriad of ornamental buildings,

grand halls,

and gilded pavilions…

surrounded by manicured lawns,

lavish gardens,

and decorative courtyards.

Much more than a royal residence that has housed generations of the Chaki dynasty, it was also the seat of power and governance until the abolition of Thailand’s monarchy in 1932.

Currently, it’s Bangkok’s largest tourist attraction (8 million visitors a year),

although it continues as an important backdrop for ceremonies and state functions, with royal offices still intact.

The Grand Palace is also the site of the Royal Chapel–known as Wat Phra Kaew–

which houses the Emerald Buddha–a 26-inch jade statue cloaked in solid gold and diamonds–which is considered Thailand’s most sacred icon and key to its good fortune and prosperity.

Photography within Wat Phra Kaew is absolutely forbidden,

but then, a photograph exists online with attribution.

Only the King of Thailand is permitted to touch the Emerald Buddha (three times a year in order to change its shroud according to the season).

However, Leah was able to pet the nose of the bronze guardian lion protecting the temple.

Exploring Jim Thompson’s House: A Thai Heritage Journey

December 27, 2024January 2, 2025Posted in Adventure, Art, culture, History, museum, Photography, travelTagged Bangkok, Jim Thompson, ThailandLeave a comment

Dashing through snow-covered Christmas displays,

and crossing over treacherous boulevards…

to serene hideaways…

flowing into idyllic canals,

we finally arrived at Jim Thompson’s house–

his private residence-turned-heritage museum, replete with a gallery, restaurant, and boutique–

all dedicated to Jim Thompson’s love of ancient Siam.

The compulsory spirit house surrounded by lush gardens–situated according to Feng Shui principles–informed us that we were protected from the steel and glass towers that enveloped us.

An English-speaking docent guided us through gardens and living quarters, which showcased archetypal Thai tapestries,

ancient wood carvings,

Buddhist watercolors…

and fanciful porcelain tea sets, among a dazzling array of other riches…

which inspired Thompson’s line of patterned silk fabrics used in clothing, furnishing, and accessories,

such that he single-handedly revolutionized Thailand’s handicraft industry during the 1950s and 1960s, earning him the moniker of the “Silk King of Thailand.”

His home has become an amalgam of Southeast Asian cultures…

and museum-worthy artifacts that he collected throughout the years,

sprinkled with practical flourishes, while serving as de facto US Ambassador to Thailand and founding the Thai silk company that still bears his name.

His status as a raconteur and entertainer of celebrities and royalty was legendary, but abruptly came to an end on Easter Sunday, March 1967. He had visited a friend’s house in the Cameron Highlands of central Malaysia, and took an afternoon walk through the jungle that day, never to be seen again.

Despite a land and air search effort involving hundreds of full-time trackers across multiple agencies and governments, it seems Jim Thompson disappeared without a trace.

There are many who have traveled down the rabbit hole of theories and conspiracies, determined to unravel the truth and possible whereabouts of his remains.

Yet the legacy Jim Thompson left behind continues to this day, and Thailand’s prosperous silk industry remains his greatest contribution.

Colorado Springs

August 30, 2023Posted in Adventure, Airstream, family, hiking, landscape, museum, Nature, Photography, sports, travel, video, wanderlustTagged Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods, Guffey Gorge, Manitou Springs, Paradise Cove, Royal Gorge, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum2 Comments

Leah and I arrived in Colorado Springs, where we liaised with Leah’s daughter, Carrie and her clan to enjoy a camping adventure together during the Independence Day holiday weekend, and it was action-packed.

Hiking one mile into Guffey Gorge…

brought us to Paradise Cove, a swimming hole popular among local adolescents who come to cool off from the 100^oF heat and flex their courage muscles by cliff jumping into deep water.

Risk-takers were scrambling up the terrain to pick their “launch” position on the rocks, and prove to themselves and others that they had “The Right Stuff.”

We were happy eating our lunch while watching the derring-do entertainment.

But Colorado Springs has so much more to offer. For starters, the interactive U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum offered the perfect opportunity to celebrate athletic excellence;

to mock-compete in several sports categories by testing memory, reflexes and endurance;

and provide exhibition space for thousands of Olympic artifacts collected over the years.

After capturing a clever montage from the digital mural in the building foyer,

it was time to watch the Colorado Springs Switchbacks take the pitch at Weidner Field against Monterey Bay, but not until after the cloudburst,

when the unexpected hail finally had a chance to melt.

While Carrie and clan cruised to nearby Cañon City to view the Royal Gorge (our destination in 2 weeks,

Leah and I returned to Garden of the Gods,

before continuing to Manitou Springs to visit the urban fauna…

and flora.

Ironically, we’ve recently visited Carrie and clan at home in Cedar Crest, NM after 7 weeks of subsequent travel to dozens of different destinations…

which is a sore reminder of how far behind I am in chronicling this summer adventure, whether it’s because of inconsistent internet on the road or enjoying myself too much to stay current.

It may be time to discontinue continuity.

Getting to Denver thru Topeka

July 30, 2023Posted in Airstream, Entertainment, History, museum, Photography, sports, travel, videoTagged Dirty Heads, Evil Knievel, Harley-Davidson, Ted Endley Gardens, Topeka KSLeave a comment

Rather than basecamp in Kansas City, Leah and I opted for something more pastoral, which we found at Lake Shawnee, the crown jewel of Shawnee County parks in Topeka, KS.

More than 1 million people visit Lake Shawnee each year for festivals, golf outings, ballfield tournaments, boating, fishing and camping or to hike/bike the Lake Shawnee Trail.

While circling the 6.5-mile lakeshore trail on our e-bikes,

we discovered a resident friend of the park getting his tan on,

We took a detour through the Ted Endley Gardens, a 37-acre botanical garden in the northwest corner of the lake with spectacular blossoms, although I was drawn to a wildflower display reminiscent of Claude Monet.

Our only commitment while in the vicinity called for an excursion to Kansas City to claim tickets for the Dirty Heads, an American reggae band on national tour with my son, Noah acting as VIP concierge. In fact, this is the job he chose over working as the Jam Tram admin during the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, from where we last left (see Bonnaroo–the Logistics).

With doors at the concert venue opening at 6pm, Leah and I had an afternoon to kill, so we settled on an unlikely museum that was annexed to the local Harley-Davidson dealership celebrating the life and times of Evel Knievel–an unlikely choice for Topeka, considering that Evel’s hometown was Butte, Montana in 1938.

Evel was a showman and a stuntman without rival during the 70’s, amazing fans around the world with his push-the-envelope antics on his motorcycle.

The museum has plenty of requisite motorcycle displays showcasing his many exploits.

Evel was very good at two things during his jumping career: breaking records and breaking bones (433 fractures, which is a Guinness world record).

There were many successes…

and epic fails as well…

Those who followed Evel’s career 75+ jumps will never forget the hoopla and disappointment surrounding his Snake River launch.

But the pride of the museum is Evel’s “Big Red,” which also answers the question of “Why Topeka?” of all places.

Simply put, Topeka’s Historic Harley-Davidson dealer, Mike Patterson put up the money for the 13,000 sq. ft. expansion, and funded the Mack truck restoration.

Visitors can delight over Lathan McKay’s world-largest collection of paraphernalia behind ropes and glass, from costumes…

to merchandise…

to memorabilia.

There’s even a VR-enabled activity for an extra $5.

After a visit with Noah at Grinders KC,

and an evening of rap and reggae…

it was time to continue our trek to Colorado.

Getting to Denver–Part 1

July 21, 2023July 21, 2023Posted in Adventure, Airstream, hiking, History, landscape, museum, Nature, Photography, travel, wanderlustTagged Arkansas, Big Dam Bridge, Civil War, Clinton Presidential Center, Little Rock, Parker's Crossroad, Tennessee Safari Park4 Comments

Much has happened since leaving Bonnaroo for Denver. There’s been a long-distance get-together in Rogers, Arkansas with a nursery school buddy from Pittsburgh…

and a long-overdue reunion with family from Pittsburgh, who now reside in Overland Park, Kansas.

We’ve also kept a watchful eye on the weather–always tracking the extreme conditions that have been swirling around us, the likes of tornadoes, hail, flooding, land slides, and record-setting heat streaks–yet with each destination, we’ve mostly managed to dodge a bullet.

There was also a handful of visits to some iconic sites along the way, and some less familiar, but definitely photo worthy.

Our first stop took us to Parker’s Crossroads, halfway between Nashville and Memphis, and the site of a celebrated Civil War skirmish in West Tennessee.

It was the final battle for Confederate Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, who managed to outfox the Union brigades of Col. Cyrus L. Dunham and Col. John W. Fuller by escaping with his regiment across the Tennessee River and avoiding certain defeat in the face of an enemy nearly twice the size with two times the artillery.

Leah and I took the walking tour past interpretive markers depicting critical moments in the battle, and observed that Parker’s Crossroads battlefield, while a testament to the 737 fallen soldiers,

should also be appreciated for its serenity and pastoral scenes.

Only 45 miles west of us was Tennessee Safari Park in Alamo,

where we looped around a drive-thru zoo for an hour with 4 buckets of animal nachos for hungry wildlife roaming freely throughout the fenced prairie. We were immediately greeted by an aggressive mob of ostriches and camels that descended upon our truck sensing a meal was imminent.

With the passenger window down, Leah tentatively extended the bucket beyond the door, only to have the bucket ripped from her hand by a dromedary with no manners and fewer eating skills.

Kibble went flying everywhere–inside and outside the truck. Even today, I’m still fishing out morsels between the seats. Lesson learned.

However, the lure of food was a perfect ploy for pet portraits…

Continuing west, we traveled to Little Rock, home to the Clinton Presidential Center, dedicated on November 18, 2004.

We parked the Airstream directly across the Arkansas River in North Little Rock by a decommissioned WW II tug and sub…

and cycled the long way around the riverwalk trail (some of it kinda sketchy),

past the Big Dam Bridge…

until we circled back 8 mi. to Clinton’s library–a hulking structure clad in glass screens that cantilevers over the Arkansas River as a symbol of “building a bridge to the 21st century.” And it was air conditioned!

The building that houses Clinton’s legacy is enormous enough to collect and archive 2 million photos, 80 million document pages, 21 million e-mails, and 79,000 artifacts from the Clinton years (1993-2001).

Appealing graphics break down the headlines and the issues of the time: year by year, month by month, surrounded by wings dedicated to domestic policy, diplomacy, economy, education, civil rights, and scandal. It’s all on display throughout the Main Hall, modeled after the Long Room of Trinity College in Dublin.

Exhibits feature Clinton’s campaigns;

Clinton’s security;

Clinton’s Oval Office;

State dinner receptions under Clinton:

and impressions of Clinton by character experts.

Our journey to Denver continues through Kansas…

Jordan Redux

May 11, 2023Posted in archeology, Architecture, Art, geology, History, landscape, museum, Photography, religion, travel, video, wanderlustTagged Dead Sea, Jordan, Madaba, mosaic, St. George Greek Orthodox ChurchLeave a comment

We were a crew of 48 aboard the Viking Ra, divided into 2 camps of 24 travelers who identified as Bus A or Bus B.

Most of the cruisers returned home at the end of our Nile excursion, but 18 intrepid globetrotters–a union of both buses–continued our journey to Jordan for four nights, where we were greeted at Queen Alia International Airport by Ahmad Al Khaldi, our tour director and self-proclaimed terrorist, who adopted the moniker after once guiding the brother of ventriloquist/comedian Jeff Dunham.

Upon arrival to Amman, we boarded a coach for a half-hour ride to Madaba. It was an ambitious itinerary with a lot of ground to cover before reaching the Dead Sea,

but we quickly knew–given the depth of Ahmad’s knowledge, wit, and organization skills–that we were in good hands.

During the half-hour ride to Madaba we absorbed some background about this ancient city that’s renowned for its skilled mosaic artisans,

and its deeply religious ties to Christianity and Islam.

After an orientation of one ofJordan’s holiest landmarks,

we headed to Madaba’s feature attraction… the Greek Orthodox Basilica of Saint George,

where the current structure, consecrated in 1896 is adorned by mosaic icons on every pillar…

but it’s the mosaic floor that’s the star of St. George and Madaba!

The partially restored mosaic map of the Holy Land originates from the 6th century, and was excavated in 1884 when the current church was built atop the ruins of the original Byzantine church. Over 2 million tiles comprise a detailed rendering of the Middle East with surprising detail and accuracy, making it both an artistic masterpiece, and the oldest surviving representation of familiar biblical sites.

We bypassed Mt. Nebo (to be explored the following day) and continued to the Dead Sea Museum,

where we enjoyed an aerial panarama of the Jordan Rift Valley with the lowest elevation on earth (-1410 ft).

and a closer examination of the area’s geological and cultural significance.

Developers see tremedous potential in promoting Dead Sea tourism, touting first-class accomodations and access to its briney beaches. And they’re wasting little time in hotel construction,

because at it’s current rate of evaportion, the Dead Sea will cease to exist by 2050.

Shortly after checking into the sprawling Movenpick village…

it was time to relax with a mud treatment,

and a bouyant soak. What a feeling!

There’s been lots of internet chatter about which country, Israel or Jordan, has the best beaches. The answer is easy: it’s whichever one you’re on!

However, the east coast scores extra points for hosting the sunset over Jerusalem most nights.

Egypt: Gimme That Ol’ Time Religion

May 1, 2023May 1, 2023Posted in archeology, Architecture, Art, culture, Egyptology, History, museum, Photography, religion, travel, wanderlustTagged Atenism, Cave Church, Christianity, Coptic Church, Egypt, Hanging Church, Islam, Judaism, monotheism, Old Cairo, Old Testament, paganism, polytheism2 Comments

Like many ancient civilizations, Egyptians were obsessed with religion and mythology. They pledged their love and devotion to more than 700 distinct deities entrusted to protect the natural order of all things (wind, water, sun, sky, etc.) from creation to afterlife. In exchange, the devout would be rewarded with an everlasting life of prosperity, good fortune, and happiness… once they reached their final destination–the Underworld.

Gods and goddesses were personified as powerful creatures,

and hybridized animals,

and amalgams of animals and humans.

Egyptian paganism lasted long into the 5th century. However, with Egypt situated at the intersection of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, Egypt was also at the crossroads of influence when monotheism gained a foothold in the Middle East and spread throughout the continents.

When synchronizing Egyptian chronology and Old Testament timelines, the earliest record of monotheistic worship in Ancient Egypt occurred during a time of remarkable prosperity when Joseph–in his role as Grand Vizier of Egypt–governed and fed its people, while surrounding neighbors faced famine and hardship.

This informed Jacob’s decision to relocate his clan from Canaan to Egypt in search of provisions and an unforeseen reunion with his son. Biblical scholars have speculated the date to be 1875 BC.

This led to the eventual settlement of the Israelites, whose numbers may have grown to 2,000,000 over the next 430 years, until the storied Exodus–which would have occurred in Year 18 of Thutmose III’s reign–in 1446 BC.

Interestingly, Amenemhat, Thutmose III’s first-born and heir apparent, mysteriously predeceased his father, and was inscribed on a column at the Temple of Amun at Karnak shortly after the death of Hatshepsut and the subsequent accession of his father to Pharaoh.

Religious reform from polytheism to pagan monotheism was momentarily embraced by Amenhotep IV during the his reign (c. 1358–1341 BC).

For some unknown reason, he changed his name to Akhenaten and elevated the cult of Aten (the sun disc) as the one and only true God.

Akhenaten went so far as to scrub all references of Amun-Ra from Karnak and build a new worship center and capital in Amarna, 170 km south of Thebes. But Atenism was short-lived; it never survived Akhenaten death, as he was so reviled by the priests that critics would often refer to Akhenaten as the Heretic King.

Subsequently, Tutankhamen–upon his ascension to the throne–reverted to worshipping Amun-Ra with his wife/half-sister, Ankhesenamun. He was 8 and she was 13 when they wed, albeit she was previously married to her father for a short time.

They had two daughters together; both were stillborn. Tut died suddenly at 18 from a fall or malaria or both, leaving Ankhe without an heir. She remarried Ay (presumedly her maternal grandfather), the next pharaoh, and soon disappeared from history.

Polytheism remained the cultural norm for the following 1,400 years, until Egypt bore witness to the seeds of a new cultural revolution when the Holy Family escaped the wrath of Herod the Great’s infanticide decree c. 7 BC, and sought refuge in Egypt for the next three-and-a-half years.

Their journey through the Sinai dessert and across the Nile to Heliopolis…

brought them to the Roman fort of Babylon in Old Cairo,

where they found shelter in a cave for the next three months,

which would later become the foundation for the Church of Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus in The Cave (aka Abu Serga) built in the 4th century,

and the site of a water well which nourished Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus during their stay.

Other distinguishing features of the church include: the wall of painted icons;

and the precious relics of Saints Sergius and Baccus.

Worship of pagan deities began to wane around the late 4th and early 5th Centuries as Christianity became popular, and was finally outlawed in the 6th Century by Christian Roman Emperors. Consequently, Old Cairo became an important center of Christianity in the world, with Monasticism begetting Coptic Christianity, and extending throughout the Arab tribes.

With Coptic Christianity taking root, church worship proliferated in Byzantine Egypt, as did the number of churches in Old Cairo.

As Leah and I walked through Old Cairo, we were transported through history.

We took time to explore the Church of the Virgin (aka Hanging Church), which dates to the 3rd century.

Egypt was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate in 646 AD, ending 7 centuries of Roman rule, but Christianity survived the war. The Arab invaders carried the Quran with them, and slowly converted the Copt population to Islam. By the end of the 12th century–which coincided with the end of the Crusades–the Christians lost their majority status thanks to intermittent persecution, destruction of Christian churches, and forced conversions by the Muslim brigade.

Today, Coptic Christianity accounts for 10% of Egypt’s population. And while they are mindful of their slim minority and occasional, bigoted backlash, the Copts are not shy about their zeal.

The survival of Judaism in Egypt has been less fortunate. Only 100 Jews remain in Egypt, mostly concentrated in Alexandria. To date, only three Jews live in Cairo, and all are women. The youngest of the bunch is Magda Haroun, age 70, and the elected representative of Cairo’s Jewish community.

But Magda is living proof that all three religions can co-exist under the same roof. After all, her ex-husband is Muslim, as are their two daughters, and her current husband is Catholic.

The Valley Girls and Guys of Thebes.

March 4, 2023March 15, 2023Posted in archeology, Architecture, Art, Egyptology, History, museum, Photography, travel, wanderlustTagged Al Qurn, Hatshepsut, Howard Carter, King Tut, Queen Nefartari, Thebes, Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens2 Comments

In ancient times, the Nile split the imperial city of Thebes in two parts:

On the east bank, a fertile garden where 80,000 Egyptians lived and worked, called “City of the Living;”

and along the west bank, Egyptian royalty huddled with their architects and priests to select the best nest for rest in “City of the Dead.”

Occasionally, it was a family affair, with namesake mummies networking in the same vicinity–no doubt, making it easier to pay respects on Pharaohs Day.

Unlike Giza, the only thing resembling a pyramid in the Valley of the Kings is Al Qurn, the highest peak in the Theban Hills at 420 meters.

Perhaps this gave the pharaohs some ancestral comfort, knowing their final journey to eternity had topographical similarities.

At last count, international expeditions have excavated 65 crypts concentrated within the Valley of the Kings and Queens, with only 11 tombs available for viewing.

But the most remarkable thing about this vast necropolis is what’s waiting to be discovered. Hardly a day goes by without hearing of a new discovery from the dozens of white “dig” tents that dot Luxor and Giza.

Easily, the most famous discovery came from British archaeologist, Howard Carter,

whose remarkable discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922 created a global sensation.

But seeing is believing.

Viewing the tomb requires a special ticket, and admission is limited.

While the tomb’s treasures have been removed, (see Egyptian Museum Mania),

the mummy and first sarcophagus remain intact.

Equally impressive is the remote Temple of Deir el-Bahri (KV22), anchored to the rockface below Al Qurn.

It was commissioned by Hatshepsut, who broke the aristocratic glass ceiling in 1480 BC by becoming Egypt’s first female pharaoh. Throughout her 22-year reign as king, she cross-dressed as a male, wearing a fake beard, a traditional headdress (nemes) with cobra, and a short kilt like her male predecessors.

While controversial as a female pharaoh, and all but erased by her successors, Hatshepsut’s place in history was secured as the only female interred in the Valley of Kings.

Nearby, the Valley of the Queens is only 2 km away by club cart conveyance,

where the shining star of the valley is Nefertari’s tomb.

Officials require a special admission ticket–that only allows 10 visitors at a time to roam through the chambers for only 10 minutes–upon theorizing that reduced traffic likely reduces environmental impact.

Nefertari was the first of Ramses’ II Great Royal Wives (6 in total). In fact, he was so smitten by Nefertari’s beauty, that he built her the grandest tomb on the block, and shared his glory side-by-side at Abu Simbal.

^{Photo by Alberto Capparelli on Pexels.com}

Besides her good looks, Nefertari earned her place at the palace table as the king’s court communicator. She was a writer, a strategist, and a skilled diplomat in support of her husband.

A long tunnel empties into an antechamber…

followed by a second staircase,

that leads to a burial chamber…

supported by elaborately painted columns,

with finely decorated funerary rooms at the wings,

featuring the sacred bull and seven celestial cows, who collectively represent the Goddess Hathor.

Given today’s global issues of gender identity, glass ceiling theory, propaganda, and branding, it might be wise to take a papyrus out of ancient Egypt’s playbook for the benefit of clarity.

Hathor’s Opus

March 1, 2023March 2, 2023Posted in archeology, Architecture, Art, Egyptology, History, museum, Photography, travel, wanderlustTagged Cleopatra, Dendera, Egypt, Hathor, Ptolemy XII, Zodiac circleLeave a comment

If temples had beauty pageants, then Dendera’s Temple of Hathor would surely win. Only an hour’s float downriver from Luxor, Dendera Temple shines like a polished gemstone on the Nile for all of Hathor’s devotees.

Regarded as the “Mistress of the Vagina,” Hathor exemplified ancient Egyptian femininity as the goddess of love, beauty, music, dancing, fertility, and pleasure…and its all on display at her temple.

From a distance, it’s an unassuming temple,

obscured by a surrounding wall of mudbrick rubble with a golden glow.

However, it stands wonderfully intact for a structure built 2000 years ago, albeit atop the remains of another sanctuary that predates its commission by 2250 years.

While Temples of Karnak and Luxor were built to worship Amun-Ra–the alpha-male of all New Kingdom deities, who brought sun, light, and daily creation to the world–their energy is very androcentric.

Whereas, the Temple of Dendera exudes a powerful yet feminine charm,

evidenced by the 18 four-sided capitals of Hathor–with her cow-eared likeness–supporting the Hypostyle Hall.

Unfortunately, all carvings of Hathor were deliberately defaced by Christian iconoclasts who sheltered within its walls.

Their open fires lined the chamber surfaces with centuries of soot–obscuring the bas-relief paintings–

until a delegation of French archaeologists recently restored the artwork to its original colors.

Hathor’s temple was most likely commissioned during the second rule of Ptolemy XII in 54 BC until his death in 51 BC, and overseen by his successor daughter, Queen Cleopatra VII and her son King Caesarion until her suicide in 30 BC. They are both enshrined on the temple’s outer rear wall.

Romans embellished the temple compound by constructing the Gate of Domitian and Trajan in lieu of a traditional Egyptian pylon,

but stayed true to the Greco-Egyptian design by invoking Nekhbet (vulture goddess and protector of Upper Egypt and its rulers) beneath the lintel.

and beyond the temple columns.

Emperor Trajan also completed a Roman Kiosk in the forecourt.

There’s a wealth of illustrations and hieroglyphic stories throughout Hathor’s temple…

However, the real beauty can be found in the artistic renderings of astrological symbols painted across the Hypostyle Hall, where Goddess Nut ordains the passage of time in a celestial barge.

The masterpiece of the temple is surely the circular zodiac chart of the ancient sky that’s located on the ceiling at the entrance to the Chapel of Osiris–

accessed via a processional staircase that leads to the temple’s rooftop.

Amid controversy, the original engraving was blasted from the ceiling in 1821, and stolen away to France, where it currently hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Alas, a replica hangs in the chapel.

Which begs the question: Was it guilt and reparations that brought the French back to Dendera to supervise the restoration?

Luxor Temple after Dark

February 23, 2023February 25, 2023Posted in Adventure, archeology, Architecture, Egyptology, History, landscape, museum, Photography, travel, wanderlustTagged Avenue of Sphinxes, Egypt, Luxor Temple, Opet Festival2 Comments

November, 2021 was a cause for celebration in Luxor, as the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities marked the formal reopening of the Avenue of Sphinxes with a parade attended by Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, president of Egypt.

The 1.7 mile boulevard connecting the temples between Karnak and Luxor once boasted 1200 sphinxes. They were buried for centuries under several meters of sand, but are now revealed after 70 years of intermittent excavation and restoration.

Initiated by Amenhotep III and completed during the reign of Nectanebo I around 2,400 years ago, the impressive series of unearthed statues can be categorized into two shapes:

the first being a body of a lion with a ram’s head;

and the second and most reoccurring shape portrays a lion’s body supporting a human’s head.

Our daytime excursion to Karnak Temple was followed by an evening tour of Luxor Temple.

Although the entrance to the gate was originally flanked by twin obelisks, the right obelisk was gifted to France by Muhammad Ali Pasha, Ottoman ruler of Egypt in the early 19th century (see Walking Like an Egyptian), and now adorns the Place de la Concorde in Paris.

Several rulers contributed to the Temple of Luxor over the ages.

Although the temple was started by Amenhotep II in 1400 BC, Ramses II appropriated the first pylon with placement of a pair of black granite colossi of his likeness seated on a throne…

that depicted the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Beyond the pylon, Ramses II also chose to enshrine 17 of his sons within a courtyard surrounded by double rows of columns capped with lotus-bud capitals. He fathered a minimum of 111 sons and 67 daughters.

The Courtyard of Ramses II flows into the Colonnade of Amenhotep III, dominated by seven pairs of 52 foot (16m) open-flower papyrus columns, which still support their huge architrave blocks.

The decoration of the Colonnade of Amenhotep III was largely undertaken by Tutankhamun, who is featured beside his Great Royal Wife, Queen Ankhesenamun, daughter of King Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti.

Beyond the Colonnade, the Great Sun Court of Amenhotep III showcases the remains of a peristyle court with a double row of sixty columns with papyrus bundle capitals on three sides. They represent the best preserved and most elegant columns in the temple.

While Luxor Temple was conceived to celebrate the Theban trinity of Amun-Ra, married to God Mut, and son, God Khonsu, the religious focus of the adjacent chapels evolved over time from polytheism to Coptic Christianity during Roman rule, until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in the 7th century.

Thus, the Fatimid Caliphate inaugurated the Mosque of Abu El Hagag in 1286 atop the temple ruins and rubble, repurposing columns and stones to create a strange amalgam of Islamic civilization and ancient Egyptian civilization.

Ironically, the Opet Festival–originating during the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom, and celebrated to promote the fertility of Amun-Ra and the Pharaoh–has now become an annual event.

Following a 3400-year old ritual, a royal procession parades from Karnak Temple to Luxor Temple along the Avenue of Sphinxes accompanying a statue of Amun-Ra within a barque of gold that rests on the shoulders of priests.

The news is enough to make Ramses II stand up and take notice.

The Great Pyramids of Giza

February 12, 2023February 14, 2023Posted in Adventure, Architecture, History, landscape, museum, Photography, travel, video, wanderlustTagged Egypt, Giza, Pyramids, Saqqara7 Comments

I’ve dreamt of visiting the Great Pyramids nearly all of my adult life, and now, as I gaze through the window of our Viking coach, I catch my first glimpse of these ancient wonders rising beyond a construction zone. Somehow, I can’t escape the notion that these ancient Wonders of the World are part of a half-baked theme park, given their scale and juxtaposition.

We entered the vast necropolis of Saqqara, which served as the ancient cemetery of Memphis,

featuring the Pyramid of Djoser (frequently called the Step Pyramid), considered the world’s oldest known stone structure, constructed c. 2670–2650 BC. This 6-tier, 4-sided edifice rises 205 ft (62.5m).

That’s where I met Abdul the Bedouin, regarded by locals as the honorary mayor of Saqqara.

What luck! Seeing Abdul broadly smiling against this epic backdrop, I knew this was an irresistible photo op… and he knew it too–for he was adding instant authenticity to my visual narrative.

Not long after pressing the shutter release, Abdul eagerly approached me and offered to have Leah take our picture together, but not until I was properly costumed.

But don’t be fooled! Despite his diminutive stature, this mild-mannered goat herder with Clark Kent glasses had a secret power. Abdul the Bedouin could hypnotize me into giving him money in exchange for wearing his shemagh.

He wrapped his arm across my shoulder. “Habibi, you’re going to make me very happy,” he whispered as Leah was composing the shot of us. “After all, I have five children to feed.”

Egypt is a poor country. Wages in Giza average between $500 and $750 per month.

Yet, as a Saqqara personality, Abdul was very good at his job–equal parts ham and shmaltz. And he managed to squeeze me for 5 bucks.

Leah and I resumed our tour of the Saqqara necropolis,

at the site of King Teti’s pyramid.

We followed a dark shaft down a narrow passage…

into the belly of his burial chamber, replete with impressive and very rare pyramid texts traced to c. 2300 BC.

This led to an antechamber lined with relief engravings that showcased the preparations made by Teti’s royal staff in anticipation of his journey to eternity,

after having traveled beyond the alabaster alter to the kingdom of the dead.

Our next stop was the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the largest of the “big three,” standing 481 ft. and constructed c. 2570 BC. And what a site to behold!

Venders were omnipresent, with pop-up stalls surrounding the pyramid’s perimeter.

That’s where we met Mohammed and his camel. While chatting us up, he snatched my cellphone and insisted on taking our picture.

I paid Mohammed a $5 ransom for my cellphone ($1 for each of his 5 children), however, he expressed his disappointment knowing there’d be no camel ride, but only because another vendor was promised Viking’s business:

We ended our visit to Giza with a brief jaunt to the Sphinx…

with still enough time for one last parlor trick before boarding the bus.

As for Abdul and Mohammed, best $10 spent, ever!

Next stop: Luxor, Egypt…

Egyptian Museum Mania

January 30, 2023February 8, 2023Posted in Adventure, Architecture, Art, culture, History, museum, Photography, religion, travel, wanderlustTagged Egyptian Museum, King, mummies8 Comments

Leah and I arrived at the Egyptian Museum to dig a little deeper into some of the earliest and most significant discoveries of ancient Egypt.

Of course, we would have preferred touring the Great Egyptian Museum (G.E.M.), but the many delays since construction began (2012)–complicated by supply chain dynamics and coronavirus has pushed the official opening to sometime in 2023, optimistically.

However, when the museum eventually opens, it will be the world’s largest archaeological museum, housing 100,000 artifacts from hundreds of tombs and temples, and the entirety of the Tutankhamun collection.

But for now, we must adjust our expectations by visiting the fabulous Egyptian Museum instead, where a smattering of the riches belonging to Tutankhamun’s tomb have been on view:

including his incomparable solid gold mask,

and triple coffins staged within his sarcophagus–yet unfortunately, all without the possibility of photography once we entered the special exhibition room.

There were, however a few items from Tutankhamun’s tomb displayed in the general exhibition hall that were equally as impressive, including:

^{Anubis the jackal, who guards the crypt}

**^{Alabaster canopic jars which held vital organs}**

^{A gilded throne beside an inlaid and painted ceremonial chair.}

There were so many more treasures to appreciate beyond the towering entrance and throughout the wings of the cavernous exhibition hall.

From the moment we entered the building, we were confronted by a stone Colossus of King Merneptah, successor to Ramses the Great.

Along our stroll, we stopped to appreciate a 2-foot palette of some of the earliest hieroglyphics ever found.

This palette, with reliefs on both sides, commemorates the victories of King Narmer, who came from the south of Egypt to invade the Delta in about 3000 BC. It represents the most important evidence that the first political unification in the history of mankind occurred in Egypt. The two faces of the artifact are topped by the name of Narmer inscribed inside the Serekh, or rectangular frame. In hieroglyphic signs, the chisel reads mr and the catfish reads naar.

The upper section of the back side shows the king wearing the Red Crown of Lower Egypt, followed by his sandals bearer and preceded by his vizier and four standard bearers. Next comes a scene depicting the corpses of 10 beheaded men. In the middle section, two men are holding two felines with extremely long necks representing the people of the North and South under the control of the king and his men. The lower section shows a bull, representing the king attacking the walls of a northern city.

The Serekh is flanked by two female heads having the ears and horns of a cow, which could be the first representation of the goddess Hathor. The scene on the front shows the king, followed by his sandals bearer and wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt, smiting a helpless foe from the North. The falcon Horus of Upper Egypt stands upon a bunch of papyrus plants holding a northern prisoner. The lower register, or scene, depicts two other northern enemies running away from the king. Inscribed upon their heads are hieroglyphic signs indicating their names or those of their localities.

We stood in awe of the oldest known life-size statue found in Egypt.

It depicts King Djoser of the Third Dynasty seated on his throne and enveloped in a jubilee cloak. The statue was entirely coated with white plaster and painted. The deep-set eyes were once inlaid. The king has a ceremonial false beard and wears a black wig topped by the royal Nemes headdress. The front side of the pedestal is inscribed with hieroglyphic text, indicating the name and epitaphs of King Nethery-khet of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Next, we got acquainted with an exquisite 4600-year old polished, gneiss statue of King Khafra, builder of the second largest pyramid in Giza.

It was found in a pit in the antechamber of his Valley Temple in Giza. The king is seated on a throne flanked by lion heads. The two sides of the throne are decorated with the Sema-Tawy, symbol of the unity of Upper and Lower Egypt. Khafra wears the nemes headdress, surmounted by the uraeus, or royal cobra. He wears the royal pleated kilt. Attached to his chin is an artificial ceremonial sacred beard. He is protected by the god Horus, represented as a falcon, perched at the back of his neck.

Nearby was a triptych of King Khafra’s neighbor, King Menkaure.

King Menkaure built the third and smallest of the Great Pyramids of Giza. The triad of Menkaure was intended to represent him with the personification of the nomes, in the presence of gods, especially Hathor. The king wished to enjoy resurrection and fertility from Hathor and endless offerings from the nomes. He is represented here in an idealistic form between Hathor, with her horned sun disk crown, and a figure of the personification of the nome of Diospolis Parva.

Sheikh el-Balad, Arabic title for the chief of the village, was the name given to this remarkable wooden statue discovered by the workmen of Auguste Mariette, the French archaeologist, because it resembled their own village chief.

The statue depicts Ka-aper, the chief lector priest, in charge of reciting prayers for the deceased in temples and funerary chapels. It is one of the masterpieces of the private statuary of the Old Kingdom.

The arms were separately modeled and attached to the body, a technique frequently used in wooden statuary. A wooden cane supported the left arm, made out of two pieces of wood joined together. The eyes are inlaid; the rim is made out of copper and the white is of opaque quartz, while the cornea is made out of rock crystal.

Also of interest is a small stone carving of Seneb, an Egyptian dwarf who was the chief of all the palace dwarfs, and charged with the care of the royal wardrobe.

He is seated on a rectangular seat together with his wife, Senetites, and his children stand before him. He has short black hair and wears a short white kilt. His wife rests her right hand on her husband’s shoulder and her left hand on his left arm in an affectionate pose.

Senetites, who held the titles of Priestess of Hathor and Neith, wears a black wig that reaches down to her shoulders and a long white tunic. The artist rendered her face with a smile to show the woman’s satisfaction at being depicted with her husband and children.

The son and daughter are shown standing in front of their father in the place where the legs should be. Here, the Egyptian artist succeeded in creating a balanced composition for the figures of the family.

Protected in a nearby glass box was another painted couple. Rahotep might have been a son of King Senefru and thus, a brother of King Khufu. He held the titles of High Priest of Ra at Heliopolis, General of the Army, and Chief of Constructions.

He is seen here wearing a short kilt, short hair, a fine mustache, a heart-shaped amulet around his neck, and inlaid eyes. Rahotep’s wife, Nofret, is described as “the one acquainted to the king.” She is seen wearing a shoulder-length wig, decorated with a floral diadem and a broad collar. Her natural hair can be seen under the wig.

We recognize the distinction in the skin coloring of the two statues: reddish brown for the man and cream wash for the woman. This was an artistic convention followed throughout ancient Egyptian history. The colors are well preserved and the faces have realistic expressions.

However, Queen Hatshepsut was a rare exception. She’s regarded as the most successful woman ever to rule Egypt as Pharaoh (18th Dynasty), and considered an equal among all kings. Hence, her skin color is always portrayed as reddish brown.

Advancing to the mummy exhibition, we were treated to the gilded plaster, funerary masks of Thuya and Yuya.

Yuya was the father of Queen Tiye, wife of King Amenhotep III, and husband of Thuya. Yuya came from the town of Akhmim, where he probably held estates, and where he was a priest of the Egyptian god Min, the chief god of the area, while Thuya held important religious titles, in addition to the title of the Royal Mother of the Great Wife of the King.

As part of the royal family, they were attributed royal burial rites and mummified, guaranteeing them an extraordinary eternity as museum masterpieces.

Leah and I later visited Yuya’s son-in-law, King Amenhotep III, and his daughter, Queen Tiye to share a moment of eternity inside his sarcophagus, under their protective gaze.

But remembering our plan for a night out at the market, we had to put our hereafter on hold.

To be continued…

Walking Like an Egyptian

January 22, 2023Posted in Adventure, Architecture, Art, culture, History, landscape, museum, Photography, travel, wanderlustTagged Alabaster Mosque, Cairo, Citadel of Saladin, Mosque of Mohammed Ali Pasha, Viking6 Comments

When Leah and I disembarked from our Northern Lights cruise aboard the Viking Star on February 4, 2020, the entire cruise industry was sinking from the spread of COVID-19. And the travel industry was unable to forecast with any assurance whether or when it would be safe to cruise again. Nonetheless, Leah and I reserved passage on Viking’s Nile River cruise (risk free) 2 years ago, and patiently waited for the coronavirus tide to wane.

Fortunately, Egypt had been less affected than many surrounding North African countries, so we waived our cancellation guarantee 3 months ago, and finally embarked on our eagerly-anticipated journey.

After 2 airport layovers–with extended delays between 2 sunsets–we touched down in Cairo to experience what we hoped would be a trip of a lifetime. We also elected to tack on a 4-day extension to Jordan to experience the “Rose City” built into the pink sandstone cliffs of Petra. And we would finish our Middle Eastern adventure with 9 days in Israel on our own.

We also chose to travel with Viking for their immersive programming, delivered by two resident Egyptologists, Khadiga and Youmna, who offered comprehensive commentary every step of the way.

After a night of well-deserved sleep at the Sheraton Cairo Hotel and Casino, we awoke at 6 AM to the muezzin’s prerecorded call to morning prayer,

and began our tour with an excursion to Cairo’s Citadel of Saladin, the largest citadel in the Islamic world opened in 1176,

for magnificent views of the entire city–a massive sprawl sheltering nearly 22 million people within its metro borders, with what also seems as many stray cats and dogs–

and access to the Mosque of Mohammed Ali Pasha, also known as the “Alabaster Mosque” built in 1848, with twin minarets reaching a height of 84 meters, the highest in all of Egypt.

The prayer hall inside can accommodate 10,000 worshippers under a large central dome surrounded by four semi-domes,

supporting a massive crystal chandelier that has recently been repaired after a 3-year restoration project by Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Across the marble tiles to the east is an adorned, gilded pulpit of carved wood for the chief Iman.

Within the center of the mosque’s massive courtyard of 47 arched doorways finished with 45 domes stands an elaborate alabaster fountain for requisite ablutions.

The copper-clad clock tower rising above the courtyard in the center of the south façade was a gift from Louis Philippe, the King of France in exchange for one of two ancient obelisks discovered at the Temple of Luxor that still stands in the Places de la Concorde in Paris.

Unfortunately, it was a bad trade for the Egyptians, as the mechanical clock is only accurate twice a day since never working properly after installation.

After roaming the courtyard,

it was time for our next excursion to the Egyptian Museum, where we motored by bus through the busy streets and circles of Cairo, while managing to avoid hundreds of pedestrians who habitually cross the roads in all directions, without any regard for traffic or life itself.

Truly, a miracle.

Penis Envy

August 10, 2022August 10, 2022Posted in Adventure, Art, Food, History, museum, Photography, satire, Sociology, travel, wanderlustTagged Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, Iceland, Icelandic Phallological Museum, penis, Reykjavik, Sigurður Hjartarson5 Comments

Thanks to an earlier tour of The Cave Víðgelmir, Leah and I rolled into Reykjavik @ 4pm–an hour ahead of schedule–and it made all the difference. I immediately found a legit parking spot by the side of Grandi Center Hotel, and we quickly settled into our suite long enough to unzip and freshen up. Before long, we were out the door and heading for the harbor by foot.

As we were in a hurry to walk the 1 km, there was no time for snacks…although, passing by Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur was tempting…

This little stand has been serving “the best hot dogs in town” since 1937, hence the name translated; although, some fast-foodies claim they’re the best in the world. In fact, hot dogs are so pervasive throughout Iceland, they are jokingly referred to as Iceland’s national dish.

As much as I wanted a wiener, my mission to conduct hard research on “pizzles,” at the Icelandic Phallological Museum was time-sensitive; we only had an hour before closing.

The phallo-logic behind this museum is best expressed by Sigurður Hjartarson, the museum’s founder, who recently sat down with Felix Bazalgette, contributing writer for The Guardian.

In Sigurður’s words…

For most of my life I’ve been a teacher in Iceland, where I was born. In the 60s, I did a postgraduate degree in Edinburgh, but in the 70s I settled into life as a history and Spanish teacher in Akranes, a town north of Reykjavík.

One night in 1974, I was having a drink with my fellow teachers after school and playing bridge. The conversation turned to farming in Iceland – we were discussing how the industry finds a use for every part of the animal. Take lamb, for instance: the meat is eaten, the skin used for clothes, the intestines for sausages and the bones turned into toys for kids. Someone asked if there was a use for the penis, which made me recall how, as a child, I had been given a dried bull’s penis as a whip, to drive the animals out to pasture every day.

I was telling my fellow teachers about this and said that I would be interested in finding a whip like that again. “Well,” said one of my friends, “you might be lucky.” He was returning to his family’s farm that weekend and offered to find me some “pizzles” (a very old word for penis). I agreed, and the next week my friend came back with four bulls’ penises in a plastic bag. I took them to a local tannery and had them preserved. I gave three away as Christmas presents and kept the fourth. That was the start of my collection.

At first, it was a bit of a joke. It was very common then for teachers to have other jobs in the farming and animal industries, such as whaling. So to tease me, other teachers began to bring me penises from their second jobs – whale penises, sheep penises. I started learning how to preserve them. Then, gradually, the collection took on a life of its own. I thought: what if I collect the penises of all the species of Iceland? So that is what I tried to do.

I kept an eye on the news; if an interesting whale was found beached on the coast, I would try to get the penis as a specimen, or if an outlying island was infested with black rats that had escaped from a ship, I’d ask the pest control technician to send me one. (I’ve always had a rule that no animal would be killed for my collection.)

By 1997, I had amassed 63 specimens and the story of my collection had become more well known. I was invited to display it in a small space in the centre of Reykjavík, and my penis museum, or the Phallological Museum, to give it its proper name, was born. There are a lot of different ways to preserve a penis and I have tried all of them, so the collection varies between dried, stuffed and mounted penises, and also those floating in alcohol or formaldehyde.

The collection is very large today, as people have sent in specimens. The largest, from a sperm whale, is about 6ft long, while the smallest, from a European mouse, is less than a millimetre and must be looked at through a magnifying glass. We have one human penis on display, from a 95-year-old man who left it to us in his will in 2011. A few well-endowed humans, one from America and one from Germany, have promised to donate theirs when they die. They are young, though, so we will have to wait a while for those.

You might call me a bit eccentric. At first people thought there was something wrong with me, but over time they saw I was a serious collector who was precise and accurate with the information I kept, and that there was nothing pornographic about the collection. I’m happy that people don’t think I’m a pervert any more.

I’m now 80 and have retired to a small town in the north. I’ve had great fun building the collection over the years and starting the world’s first penis museum; before me, there had been some small collections of penis bones – which many animals have – but not a more comprehensive collection of all these different types. Some people collect stamps or rare coins; I chose instead to collect the phallus. Someone had to do it.

^{In the words of Sigurður Hjartarson, Fri 22, Apr 2022–as told to Felix Bazalgette}

I don’t think I’ve ever been to a museum where the patrons have been so animated. Women easily outnumbered men by 2:1, and everyone seemed to be engaged. I saw no evidence of embarrassment, and selfies dominated most picture-taking opportunities.

But what surprised me most were all the children running through the exhibits like they were at a petting zoo. And their small hands were very busy at the gift shop,

where I found a great souvenir,

and many more items…

for more sophisticated palates.

All in all, it was an uplifting hour, yet extremely humbling for human egos.

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