Gorge

Looking down from the bridge, you saw a dry riverbed (which I showed you previously). Looking up, you saw this mighty stone gorge!

Roman bridge

Here you can see some details of the magnificent bridge structure, including some very Roman columns on it!

Septimus Severus

An older, Roman, bridge, built by/for Septimius Severus (but I think before he became emperor) while commanding an army on this side of the Euphrates.

Literary award

Swedish radio has this week awarded their literary fiction prize to the young novelist Jonas Hassen Khemiri. Khemiri gets the award for his second novel, Montecore, which I have yet to read (but it's waiting in my shelf). He was also nominated to the August prize for the book.

His first book in 2003 "Ett öga rött" (One eye red?) was hilarious, not least due to his fantastic linguistic feeling, where the whole thing is written in spoken suburban slang.

Some more links on the author here and here.

Bridging the GAP?

Excuse the pun, I couldn't help alluding to the location of these sites in the so-called GAP-region (9 provinces included in the South-East Anatolia Project centred on large-scale national infrastructure developments such as the dams, but nowadays also a bit more oriented to local economic SME-development and other initiatives - some general information in English can be found here).

The bridge and stream here are the same ones as below, by the way.

Recommendations

This is a collection of recommendations that don't really fit a theme for a full posting, but that I still want to point you at because I myself appreciate knowing about them. Some of them also include onward links for further reading or similar features.

In media/reading:
as usual, the weekly Konflikt on the Iraqi resistance movement (in Swedish, with links to articles on the topic).
a Carl Bildt-interview in Zaman yesterday (conservative Turkish newspaper)
recent ICG-reports on the Middle East (scroll down to find links to most recent ones)
webportal Gapminder on globalization and development statistics

Films:
I usually stay away from films made from books I have really liked - I have frequently been disappointed after initial high expectations. But in recent years I have noticed 2 important exceptions to that rule that I will happily share with you and can warmly recommend - the Narnia-film and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Shopping:
My favourite jewellery designer, Egyptian Azza Fahmy now has a longed-for web presence (no web outlet - yet? - but you can feast your eyes on her typical designs in several collections).
Yet to come is a joint web outlet for handicrafts made by women's cooperatives in poor and underdeveloped South-East Turkey.
I have shown this previously, the Stockholm home-delivery service of ecological fruit&veg. Several of my friends and acquaintances are happy with it so far.

Seljuk bridge

There were some remains from later historical periods also, like this Seljuk bridge. The Seljuks were the first Turkish kingdom to encompass most of Anatolia, even if they did have other Turkic rivals, especially in the South-East (like the Akkoyonlus and Karakoyunlus and some Ayyubid offshoots in pockets, too, I believe, but never on a large geographical scale). But sometimes I suspect tho word is used also to claim something as ethnically Turkish in heritage without associating it with the late Ottoman perceived decadence. Anyway, the bridge and the water it crosses were suitably magnificent in this heritage-heavy surrounding!

Falafel rivalry in classical setting

A classical film theme in a different environment - a poignant illustration to the world today...

Riverbeds

I show you these images to give you some additional idea of the landscape - with magnificent mountains and rivers alongside the important cultural heritage value. But also very much marked by man and "development". And probably making for a very hard life for the population, both in historical times and today.

Commagenian palace

A distant view of a Commagenian palace ruin among the Taurus heights.

Greek meets Persian

Yes, the basic underlying Commagenian theme was very vividly illustrated in this mountainside relief!


And more pictures are still to come, have been offline for a few days...

Diamonds are forever???

The film Blood Diamond has revisited a debate on the price of diamonds, the human and social price paid in countries of origin. This was very hot also a few years ago, as a result of the civil wars of the 1990's, which resulted in Kimberley process in where the diamond industry and (some 70-odd members of) the United Nations could cooperate to stop the dirty trade.

The organization Global Witness also works on this issue, as well as Amnesty International.

And here is an additional link.

Learning more is always a good basis for making good decisions. Let's hope this does not mean that diamonds will be stigmatized, but actually lead to deeper knowledge and further clean-up.

These boots are made for walking?

This is sort of on demand, or at least I have promised several people to show pictures of the übercool boots I recently fell for. They are embroidered on velvet from Uzbekistan and made into boots in Turkey, according the the Grand Bazaar seller (my favourite corner, where I can never find my way before getting soundly lost first..., features a lot of Central Asian and Afghan sellers with very nice handicraft works for sale).

And yes, it is possible but not easy to walk on them. And I have worn them to the office!

Misleading and rectifying...

Of course, it turned out there is a special name for the instrument-which-is-not-a-classical-oud! It's called a baglama! Apparently though it's different from the Greek rembetiko-instrument of the same name (don't ask me!). I't s supposed to be one of the most used Turkish folk music instruments and has a very nice soft sound to it.

This is an oud, anyways.

Inscriptions

Commagenian remains abound in the hills near to Nemrut. This was a firmly Hellenistic world, but east of the Euphrates and so outside of entrenched Roman rule. Which was where, in the balance between them and the Persians, realms like Commagene found a place for themselves.

Internet freedom

Read here and here (in Swedish) about current developments in Egypt on this important and difficult topic.

Also, Reporters without borders follow developments in the issue continuously.

Some more stunners...

Very photogenique, wouldn't you say?

Adiyaman views

The surrounding landscape among the Taurus heights. To my amazement, the local population somehow managed to eke out a living from agriculture also on the barren-looking hillsides. It was more feast for the eyes, than the stomach, I believe...

Conspiracy theory

Make your own conspiracy theory!

We all hear them, we know they go around. Sometimes they make the world go around too. Some countries abound more than others (at least where I tend to go ;-) ). Conspiracy theorists frequently set the agenda. And now, you can even make your own...

The truth is out there!

Mt Nemrut views

The setting and scenery were mindblowing, and the whole project of heightening a Taurus summit for a grave also! But Antiochos continues to impress with his high-placed site, elevating towards the skies.

More Nemrut images

The lions were very striking, and there was also a relief of a lion probably symbolizing the astrological date of Antiochos, but I don't seem to have any proper pictures of it.

Now you probably think there was literally no end to the marvels, but there was, actually!

Reliefs in the cliffs

Apart from the giant broken statues, there are also some magnificent reliefs to be found on the two terraces (this from the western). Not least striking is of course the setting among the cliffs.

More Nemrut faces

Human and godly faces. Awesome!

Common ground?

This BBC poll gives us at least some hope in possibilities of building political and personal bridges over the divides currently shaping world affairs. It also gives hope that most people are in fact not extreme in their views. Help us build on this!

Eastern terrace

More images from the Eastern terrace of Antichos mountain-top shrine on Nemrut, in the Taurus.

Teheran photo special

This week's edition of Newsweek magazine has a photo special from Teheran, which you may enjoy. The photos are quite striking in black and white, but is, despite the name "Modern life in Iran" very focussed on religious and revolutionary aspects of life and the streets.

I have also done some work recently (if not all at once) on the links in the righthand margin. Take a look through them, if you find something to your interest.

Antiochos, Zeus and Ahura-Mazda

This very special mix of deities that filled the Commagenian universe.

Recommendations

Just to remind all of you in Stockholm (unless of course you belong to those of my friends who regularly hang out there already...) about the fantastic scene at Södra Teatern. Concerts, clubs, lecture series - you name it and they give it!

A friend also recommended this - a service that delivers a boxful of ecological fruit&veg to your Stockholm door every week. I am dying to try it myself, but will have to wait.

Mr Nemrut!

Here it is, the magnificent mountain-cum-grave of Antiochos of Commagene, a small Hellenistic kingdom in the Eastern Taurus, surviving by playing off the Romans and the Persians against each other. (read also)

The views and the site were breathtaking, but not least amazing on this December morning was at all getting up there. Usually, snow blocks the road in the winter season but we had very mild weather.



The Eastern terrace, with images of the king among his gods and ancestors, both Persian and Greek. Walking around among these deities and pondering the vanity of the builder and his success was quite an experience.

Atatürk dam

An early December morning, at daybreak, we stopped by the viewpoint to see the enormous turbines of the Atatürk dam, one of the prestige projects of the republic.



And here, the dam at sunrise.

The Ottoman Bank and other learning experiences

We spent a weekend in Istanbul and saw a number of interesting exhibitions. (find a list of Istanbul museums here)

Foremost, perhaps, was the Museum of the Ottoman Bank, located in their old Karaköy building. The vaults gave very interesting insights on social and economic issues during the last decades before the First World War, including photos and files on all their diverse staff in cities across the empire. Fascinating!

They also gave a special exhibition on symbols and aestethics in European nation-building in the 20's and 30's - comparing France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Soviet Russia and Turkey - which was quite striking. I can't find a web presence for it though, but will add it for you later if I do.

We also saw the Gengiz Han-exhibition on Mongol-Turkish history at the Sabanci Museum, in it's beautiful Bosphorus kösk. The Mongols in history have always been rather obscure to me, but is here illustrated well and as a coherent whole (even if I find some Asian religious imagery difficult to understand and digest).

Oud!

I have bought an oud! Or, at least I think it is one, even if it is smaller, more pearshaped than a traditional one and has a longer neck (pictures to come). If there is another name for it, please enlighten me...

This will surprise you, as I am not a musical person (at least not a performing one - I DO appreciate music! and especially so-called oriental music - find some traditional oud equilibrists in the link above for inspiration). The intention is actually not to learn to play, first of all (even if we may be inspired to that eventually, I guess) but for decorative purposes...

Another oud-link: here

Open internet

A friend reminded me today of the importance of an open internet. One of the frontlines of the struggle for that (even if I am sure there are many more) is in the Arab world today. Read this recent report on the situation.