NAME THAT COUNTRY Episode 59

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Pamukkale is located in southwestern Anatolia, a 4 to 5-hour drive inland from coastal attractions such as Ephesus, Bodrum, Marmaris and Antalya. The closest major attraction is Aphrodisias, roughly halfway between the coast and Pamukkale (less than 2 hours driving). Pamukkale is known as the “Cotton Castle” because of its dramatic travertine terraces formed by hot-spring deposits of calcium carbonate. The Romans built the thriving spa town of Hieropolis here and besides the natural wonders there are some nice ruins to explore.

 

Can you name that country? 
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Perseus

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Perseus with the head of Medusa, Benvenuto Cellini, 1554

Perseus with the head of Medusa, Benvenuto Cellini, 1554

Having just passed through the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower, I thought it appropriate to write a bit about the Greek Hero Perseus. The meteor shower is the result of debris trailing behind the Swift-Tuttle comet. Each year at this time, Earth passes through the comet’s debris field, which appears to originate in the Perseus constellation, hence the name Perseid, which means son of Perseus. Continue reading →

NAME THAT COUNTRY Episode 58

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Pictured above is Essaouira, a walled, seaside city on the Atlantic coast of our mystery country. Crystalline light and wide vistas have been attracting visual artists for decades, maybe centuries. Musicians and writers are drawn here too, including Beat poets and 60s rockers. The annual Gnaoua Festival celebrates the sacred music of the, Gnaoua (Gnawa) people, the descendants of slaves brought to Morocco from Sub-Saharan West Africa. Surfers love the near-constant wind, sunbathers, not so much. Besides the wind and music festival, visit for the scenery, the low-key medina and fresh fish.

Can you name that country? 
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Poetry Corner – Pindar, Wherefore, O Light of the Sun…

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The Ancient Greek poet Pindar has been revered for his lyric verse pretty much continuously since his lifetime, in the 5th century BCE. He was a noble son of Thebes, a city in the Boeotia region on the eastern side of the Gulf of Corinth. Pindar is best known for his victory odes, written for champions of the Olympic and Pythian Games. We’ll revisit Pindar and his victory odes come Olympics season. In the meantime, please enjoy this fragment of a poem inspired by a solar eclipse, possibly that of April 30, 463 BCE:

Wherefore, O Light of the Sun, thou that seest all things and givest bounds unto the sight of mine eyes—wherefore O star supreme hast thou in the daytime hidden thyself, and made useless unto men the wings of their strength and the paths that wisdom findeth, and hastest along a way of darkness to bring on us some strange thing?

Now in the name of Zeus I pray unto thee, O holy Light, that by thy swift steeds thou turn this marvel in the sight of all men to be for the unimpaired good hap of Thebes.
Yet if the sign which thou showest us be of some war, or destruction of harvest, or an exceeding storm of snow, or ruinous civil strife, or emptying of the sea upon the earth, or freezing of the soil, or summer rains pouring in vehement flood, or whether thou wilt drown the earth and make anew another race of men, then will I suffer it amid the common woe of all…

 

 

NAME THAT COUNTRY Episode 57

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The Western Al Hajar mountains provide a dramatic, high-contrast backdrop for the crisp whitewash and muted pastels of our mystery country’s capital city. In the picture, 16th-century Portuguese watchtowers look down respectfully on the modern royal palace, ceremonial residence of the country’s beloved, progressive ruler Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said. Since coming to power in 1970, Sultan Qaboos has been committed to the welfare of his people. Thanks to his investments in education, health care, infrastructure and economic development the country enjoys political stability and a high standard of living and is known as a beacon of moderation in the wider region.

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Cuba’s Bay of Pigs

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About 2 hours southeast of Havana, on the Caribbean Sea, the Bay of Pigs (Playa Giron) is the site of an attempted counter-revolutionary coup by Cuban exiles in April of 1961. With backing from the U.S. government, the invading forces included airstrikes, infantry and paratroopers. The offensive began on April 15, when eight B-26 Bombers attacked Cuban airfields. On the night of April 16, the main invasion landed at Playa Giron Beach. After three days of resistance, under the command of then Prime Minister Fidel Castro, the invaders surrendered on April 20.

The failed invasion strengthened the position of Castro’s administration, which proceeded to strengthen ties with the Soviet Union, leading to the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The invasion was a major embarrassment for the U.S. government and internal investigations were ordered by President Kennedy.

Today there is a very good little museum at Playa Giron, where all the pictures in this post were taken.

Click to see our scheduled tours to Cuba.

NAME THAT COUNTRY Episode 56

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This mystery country is made up of seven largely autonomous city-states. In the most populous and best-known of the seven, the Sheikh Mohammed Center for Cultural Understanding welcomes visitors with the traditional tea and dates, as well as full meals, lectures, demonstrations and classes. With an expatriate population of about 85% and a steady flow of business and leisure travelers, cultural understanding is a national priority.

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