20
Aug
2009
Saint Catherine’s Monastery
There was one part of the journey that I felt I only walked away with one shot I really liked. I’ll explain that in a minute, but first, that one shot.
Side By Side
This photo was taken outside the walls of Saint Catherine’s Monastery on the Sinai Peninsula. Inside the walls is a bush revered to be the original burning bush from biblical history. It’s also the site of the oldest working Christian monastery in the world, founded in the 6th century by Helena, mother of Constantine I. It’s also a place where Muslims and Christians exist side by side. Within the grounds of Saint Catherine’s is both a church and a mosque. It’s a place of incredible and rugged beauty as you can tell from this black and white photo.
It’s also the base of Mount Sinai, and the starting point for many for the 3,750 steps of penitence. When you climb this route, you are supposed to be following in the footsteps of Moses. And that most of my group did. Frankly, I probably should not have. I was in no shape for such a climb, but I went anyway, just arriving at the top as the last of the sunset finished. And just in time to turn back around! It was an incredible trek and I’m very proud to have completed it, but I’ve done my penitence and if I was ever near Mount Sinai again, I would take the camel route up if I went up at all!
For more prints of Egypt, please check out my Egypt Gallery.
2
Aug
2009
Abu Simbel Prints
Ramses II, we were told, was the only Pharaoh of Egypt to bear the epithet, The Great. Ramses The Great lived to be 90 or 91 years old and reigned for some 67 years. He’s known today for being a warrior, a diplomat, a builder, and for his progeny. Ramses II is known to have had between 44 and 56 sons and 40-44 daughters. In Egypt, he was often referred to as “the great ancestor.” He was so long lived that he outlasted many of his children and would be followed as pharaoh by his 13th son.
Ramses Colossi
Ramses is also known as the great builder. It’s the buildings and monuments he left behind that owe much to his legacy today. He built unlike any pharaoh before him, founding cities and covering Egypt and Nubia with buildings and monuments that bore his name. Among the greatest surviving monuments is Abu Simbel. This temple to Ramses II was carved from the solid rock of mountains in one piece. There were originally four colossi at the entrance, all representing Ramses with the crowns of upper and lower Egypt. The temple faced Nubia to remind the Nubians of the might and power of Ramses The Great.
Nefertari's Temple
There are two temples at Abu Simbel, the larger to Ramses II, the smaller for his chief consort, Nefertari. This is only the second temple built for a consort of the Pharaoh, and more remarkably if you look at the statues at the front, they represent both Nefertari and Ramses. Nefertari is represented as the goddess, Hathor. Normally, statues of the wives and children of the Pharaoh would never be taller than the knee of the statue of the Pharaoh and Nefertari is depicted as the same height as her king. This shows her status in the pharaoh’s eyes. Ramses and Nefertari visited Abu Simbel together in the 24th year of his reign.
The Things I've Seen - Ramses The Great
One final image of the Pharaoh, Ramses The Great. Gaze upon these eyes and face from across the centuries. This is a close up of one of the colossi on the large temple. There were originally four colossi, but one was damaged in an earthquake. The remaining are in remarkable condition for being some 3,000 years old. Further, the amazing thing about Abu Simble is the entire structures were moved in the 1960’s. The high dam at Aswan threatened to flood the temples and UNESCO orchstrated the moving of these and other treasures to higher ground. The two temples were carved into large rocks and moved to their new location. There’s a slightly artificial feel to the place as a result, but it’s still amazing that they were able to save these monuments for future generations.
To see more of Abu Simbel and more prints from Egypt, please check out my Egypt Prints Gallery.
10
Jul
2009
Puuc Hills – Uxmal & Kabah Prints
If you’re ever planning a trip into the Yucatan to see ruins, you should really try to get into the Puuc Hills. From Mérida, Uxmal and Kabah are an easy day trip, but there are more Puuc Hill ruins to see to the extent I wish I had more time when I visited to travel a bit further afield. None-the-less, the ruins I did see were excellent. The ruins in this area of the country have the distinction of having a style of Maya architecture named for them. They are also different from their low land counterparts in not being built over Cenotes (sink hole access points to the underground rivers of the Yucatan). Instead, the Maya built large cisterns in these cities to capture rain water for the dry months. If the theory that droughts were largely responsible for the end of the Maya way of life, these people were probably the first to suffer.
Uxmal, the first place I visited is still touristed but not nearly so heavily as Chichen Itza. People were living at Uxmal around 500 AD. It flourished for sometime as the main city in the region, but it’s star dropped after the fall of Chichen Itza. By the time the Spanish arrived, Uxmal was already largely abandoned.
Uxmal - The Nuns Quadrangle
This is part of a large complex of buildings adjacent to the main pyramid at Uxmal. The first Spaniards to study this location thought that it looked like a nuns convent, hence the name. It’s believed that these buildings may have been a school for princes. This was the last building of the quadrangle, note the masks on the corner, these are masks of Chac Mool, the rain god, and are on each corner of this building. Also note the elaborated decorations. This is typical of the Puuc style. The prominence of Chac Mool highlights the importance of rain to the people living here.
Palacio del Gobernador - Uxmal, Mexico
This is another of the buildings at Uxmal, said to be one of the best examples of the Puuc style. Built in the 9th an 10th centuries, it was probably an administration building for the region. As with other Maya buildings, it is aligned with the heavens, the main door lines up with the planet Venus.
Inheritance of the Maya
The site of Kabah is yet less touristed and there’s been far less reconstruction here. There was a city here as early as the 3rd century which reached it’s height around the 8th. By the 11th century, the site was abandoned. This palace appears to have had 30 or more rooms and is remarkably intact considering how long it’s been since it was inhabited.
Uxmal is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Kabah is not listed, but should be on the list of anyone who appreciates the ruins of our past cultures.
More photo prints from both sites are available at my Mexico Prints.
8
Jul
2009
Chichen Itza Prints
It’s been a couple of years since I visited Chichen Itza. At the time, I spent a week in Mérida, the capital of the Yucatan taking day trips out to see the sights, including possibly the most well known of the Maya ruins. Many Americans visiting Cancun will take a tour to see these ruins and learn about the Maya.
The topography and soil of the Yucatan causes the formation of cenotes, typically open pits where underground water is accessible. It’s not surprising that the ancient Maya built their cities around these cenotes, which they considered magical and gateways to the afterlife. Chichen Itza or, Chich’en Itzá in Maya, translates basically as ‘at the mouth of the well of the Itza.’ The Itza were a particiular group of the Maya. This is apparently not the first name of Chichen Itza but there’s a lack of consensus on what the first name was.
These cities, like our cities today, are not built at once, they are built, torn down, and built again, inhabited by successions of people with different tastes and beliefs over the centuries. Chichen Itza was at its peak from roughly 600 AD to 1,000 AD. It was sacked and the focus moved to Mayapan sometime between 1,000 and 1,200, but even by the time the Spanish arrived, there were still people living there and making pilgrimages to the centotes. So, when we look at these ruins, we’re looking at around 1,000 years of human habitation but primarily with the buildings of the last of its prosperous times.
Lost - Pyramids of Chichen Itza
This view is of El Castillo, the main pyramid at Chichen Itza. This temple to Kukulcan was built on top of an earlier temple to Chac Mool, the rain god. The earlier temple has been excavated and was once open to the public but no longer is. The later temple shows Toltec influences. In fact, Kukulcan is the Maya version of the Toltec god, Quetzalcoatl. There are stories of the arrival of a Toltec king around 987 who set up a new court at Chichen Itza. If true, it’s possible this explains the cultural influence. It’s hard to look at these ruins without thinking of the culture that flourished and vanished here so long ago. The craftsmanship is amazing.
Kukulcan Temple
This is a close up of the top of the pyramid. It has been restored by the Mexican Government in the 1920’s and 30’s and restoration activities continue. Still, we have not restored these temples to their original appearance. The buildings were not bare stone originally but were plastered and were likely painted colorfully. Even in their muted forms, these buildings still speak to us of a talented and creative people.
El Castillo Steps
These are the northern steps to El Castillo. There are 4 stairs, one on each side, each with 91 steps. If you were to add these four sets of stairs, they total 364. The final step, the floor level of the temple at the top makes a total of 365, the number of days in a year. There are many such astronomical connections to these temples. On the north side, there are two plumed serpents (Kukulcan) carved into both sides. On the spring and autumn equinox, the sun casts shadows that make the snakes appear to slither down the pyramid. I’m told the nightly light show recreates this view. Even today, this is an imposing edfice!
Chichen Itza is UNESCO World Heritage site.
There are more prints available from Chichen Itza and Mexico in my Mexico Prints
