Sunday, May 03, 2009
Istanbul before a storm
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An old Turk tries his luck one last time on the Bosporus.
Taken about a year ago in Istanbul.
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An old Turk tries his luck one last time on the Bosporus.
Taken about a year ago in Istanbul.
Somebody said something interesting in an article about the first North Korean pizza restaurant. Not only does the article involve tasting a food for the first time, but there is a very interesting scene that makes me think about the nature of the miraculous. To set the scene:
Last year, chefs were flown to Naples and Rome to learn how to create authentic pizzas and pasta dishes, returning to North Korea to perfect them through “trial and error”, said Kim Sang-soon.
Italian chef Ermanno Furlanis was flown to North Korea in 1997 along with special pizza ovens.
In 2004, he described to the BBC how he had given lessons to three army officers who took copious notes and asked detailed questions such as how far apart olives should be placed on each pizza.
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The lessons took place on a warship off the coast of North Korea, no doubt for purposes of secrecy. What follows I have illustrated for the purpose of dramatizing the interaction of Chef Ermanno Furlanis, his Korean pupil, and an unexpected visitor to the waterborne pizzeria:
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This is a very amazing story from Kenya. Not only does a snake lift a man off his feet and into a tree, not only does the man escape by biting the snake, but the story ends with a jailbreak!
The police officer said they took the snake to a sanctuary in Malindi town but it escaped overnight, probably from a gap under the door in the room where it was kept.
“We are still seriously looking for the snake,” said Supt Katam. “We want to arrest the snake because any one of us could fall a victim.” full article
I do not know how a person would arrest a snake but I would like to find out. I think you would have to handcuff the snake to itself like this:
This idea would work, but only if the snake was the same thickness as a person’s hand. Maybe you could arrest the snake by putting it in a bag. But then, if the snake is strong enough to pull a man into a tree, it would have to be a big bag.
context and attribution
Sri Pada is also known as Adam’s Peak, and pilgrims from various traditions have their own opinions as to whose footprint marks its summit. The Buddhists believe it was the Buddha, who, nine feet tall and having the gift of flight, first touched Sri Lankan land at the point where the footprint was made. The Muslims believe the print to be made by Adam, the primordial man, and the Hindus contend that the footstep is Shiva’s. The Portuguese Christians, not in agreement, argue either for St. Thomas or the eunuch of Candace, queen of Ethiopia.
Beliefs aside, the temple built around the holy footprint remains a pilgrimage site for the island’s people. The site of sunrise is a blessing to those who win its summit, who are given the privileg of ringing the silver bell that hangs from the temple’s awning.
The morning light casts a long shadow that reaches almost to the horizon, and in Sinhalese, the place is known as Samanalakanda, “Butterfly Mountain.”
Atlas of Curiosities Part 2:
The climb was longer than we had expected. We picked our ways over ancient stone stairs covered in slick moss and slime, and took paths through the grass cut by wandering elephants. Our legs were bleeding from the leeches that took every opportunity to latch on to us, and shaky from hours of ascent. As night came on, we were high enough to be within the storm clouds of the monsoon, the lightning that surrounded us was sometimes overhead and sometimes below us in the valley. Exhausted, soaking wet, and cold, we sat to rest.
We were found quite improbably by some caretakers of the temple lights, who offered us tea and rice, and a bed for the night. Three hours before sunrise, we rose again to continue the climb. The storms had dissipated, and we walked by starlight, which was indeed enough light by which to see. Arriving at the mountain’s pinnacle at sunrise, we were surprised to see a cascade of white butterflies flowing from the temple, which were beautiful and unafraid of human beings. Indeed, the monk who lived alone at the top of the peak handled them as if they were his companions as they greeted us.
Pictures on my wall clipped from the National Geographic:
| The capital of the Aksumite Empire, the 1st century kingdom of Ethiopia was the first major empire to convert to Christianity. Today, it is the purported home of the Arc of the Covenant. Pilgrims from around the world visit the city’s ancient shrines, some of which can only be reach by climbing to great heights and braving log bridges no wider than a man. The gaps spanned by these frail bridges can be as deep as 100 meters; a fall would surely be deadly. |
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Atlas of Curiosities Part 1:
Arriving in Aksum we were brought to a man who was claimed to be the guardian of the Arc of the Covenant. Dressed in white robes, he greeted us with hesitation, as if unsure whether we were worthy of his trust. The building that housed the arc was filled with dust. Crossing its threshold, I missed a breath due to the closeness of the air. What little light that made it into the room fell in tight lines, illuminating the dust and incense smoke that the monks kept burning at all hours. The Arc was shrouded in thick cloths, not unlike burlap, a fact I learned not by sight but by hearsay, as we were unable to cross even into the room in which it was hidden.
I inquired as to the possibility of seeing it first hand on a later trip.
“It is impossible,” the monk replied.
Our disappointment was no doubt visible, because in moment following the monk offered us proof of the Arc’s existence.
“If you require proof,” he said, “I can show you its effect.”
We followed him a mile or more out of town, where we were brought to a small wooden building with a sunny exterior. Upon entering we found it to be filled with volumes, scrolls, and manuscripts of enormous size.
Convincing the site’s caretaker to pose for a portrait, we were told, “The Arc has caused an increase in the size of books, papers, and all other written things. Here is your evidence.”
This picture has been hanging on my wall for some time. As the caption explains it is completely amazing. Since it is so amazing I created a new category called “amazing” to put it in.
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I like to imagine a future history textbook including a description of the varieties of pirate culture circa 2009.
