THE FORUM ROMANUM Perhaps you've been there before, or just wanted to go. You know, "Et tu, Brute?" That was Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Don't we learn most about ourselves and our history through Shakespeare and the Bible? That is what Orson Wells thought, but he also thought we were being invaded by Martians. At least [...]
Category: Ancient Places
The Yemen of Old
THE YEMEN OF OLD I am fascinated by Yemen. Frankincense and myrrh, spectacular Aden of the spice trade, ancient Saana, the Marib dam, the Port of Mocha, and the lands opposite on the Horn of Africa. But not by its tragic, almost unceasing civil wars. Nor do I seek to wallow in the world [...]
The Dzungarian Gate
THE DZUNGARIAN GATE And what it is not, location is. And here is the place. A 3,000-mile, nearly impenetrable chain of mountains blockading China from the rest of Eurasia. 1.4 billion people, and all looking to get out. Or at least to expand a little, like they did in 471 A.D. THE TIAN CHAN [...]
DILMUN: THE PLACE YOU NEVER HEARD OF!
DILMUN: THE PLACE YOU NEVER HEARD OF Pottery shards. Pottery shards and flint flakes. You look for them, don't you? I do. They are like movie tickets for the latest film. The one that's already been shown. A film that seems to halt the flow of time long enough to look at the product of its [...]
Gilgamesh
GILGAMESH You see him every winter evening on a clear night. And when it is cloudy, he sees you. He is the oldest myth of the humankind, and the first to be placed in the heavens to honor their power. And he kinda, sorta, looks like a person. Not like one of those later Greek [...]