Tuscany

Tuscany

When we think of excellent food and wine, we think of Tuscany. Also, when we think of rolling hills, hilltop medieval villages, endless olive groves and beautiful scenery, Tuscany may come to mind.

One notices right away that obesity has not reared its ugly head here. People seem to eat a lot and often, but they do not end up wearing it. What is the difference? The crowded restaurants at 9 and 10 pm would suggest that middle age would show itself around people's waists. What are they doing that protects them? I know not.

Eggplant, artichokes and large ripe tomatoes delight me. Here, they feature in abundance in the cuisine. The choice of wines is sheer delight. I have had a predilection for several years for Sangiovese grapes and this is the place to indulge.  If you want to spend more money on your wine and sip vintages, look at Brunellos. You don't have to spend a fortune though to thrill the palate. 

Wandering the hills and villages brings its own special joy. There is a sense of history here, of a people prepared to defend themselves in clans and live high above the contagion of the swamps below. To be in a village which has been continuously inhabited for a thousand years and still thrives today in a new iteration brings a rare sense of continuity and triumph over adversity. So far from the tearing down of recently built malls and the notion of housing having a lifespan of 50 years or so. We could learn a lot in these villages that would serve us well as we prepare to survive the next millennium, Trump notwithstanding. 

Even in late May, the heat has to be handled with kid gloves, so to speak. And you will see gossamer like leather gloves, Italian made, all over the tourist areas! Rest in the middle of the day. The long evening lies ahead, another passeggiata and a delicious repast beckon! There is all the time in the world! Today is the best day to enjoy oneself. 

Florence

Florence

Everybody knows something about Florence. Perhaps you know it as the home of Michelangelo's David, the centre of Renaissance art, a place of intrigue and crime as the home of the Medicis, an important political cauldron for governance in Italy, or all of the above and more.

It is situated in an important and fertile valley in central Italy and a large but mostly peaceful river, the Arno, runs through it. For centuries now conquerors, inhabitants and  pilgrims have come and gone but the essential architecture of the city has remained the same. Modernity, as expressed in tall buildings and wide highways, have been kept successfully at bay. Millions of tourists flow through but trains handle most of them efficiently. The throngs never seem chaotic. It is easy to move around and see what you want to see. There is an underlying order everywhere. Those who live there, many of whom live off the tourist trade, are at peace with the endless visitors. The museums, churches and palaces are easy to visit and enjoy. 

The city is very small and one can get everywhere on foot unless your mobility is compromised. It is beautiful to wander the narrow streets and drink deep of its pleasures. The foods and drink are excellent of course and one can enjoy the relaxed Italian lifestyle. Be aware that dinner is late, very late! And therefore the mornings are quiet - the best time to move around and savour the experience of being here.

The Uffizi Gallery contains the world's greatest collection of Early and Late Renaissance paintings and is nicely laid out so that you literally walk through two centuries of the art, the most frenetic outpouring of artistic activity ever perhaps. The rich and powerful elite of medieval and Renaissance Florence also were avid collectors of Greek and Roman statuary so that is also on display, a confusing distraction in a way.

The Galleria d'Academia contains the glorious statue of David but also another extensive collection of Greek and Roman statuary. The Duomo, the huge cathedral, simple on the inside as a result of a difficult history, and peculiarly ornate on the outside, is of interest of course, particularly if you are interested in the extraordinary architecture of the huge cupola by Brunelleschi. But it is not the main course!  The Palazzo Vecchio, home of politics in old Florence, is beautiful, with a glorious view from the top of the city. It is hard not to be jealous of the mayor who still has offices there! The Palazzo Pitti is also a beautiful museum and the attached Boboli Gardens are lovely for a peaceful stroll. One gets to Pitti via the  historic Ponte Vecchio, dating to the mid 14th century, which is iconic. Step into any of the churches for a moment of peace and reflection and admire the decoration and adoration. 

It is very easy to have a lovely time in Florence. It is easy to negotiate and the reigning atmosphere is peaceful. It still takes the temperature of our civilization. It is a must see if you are interested in the intersection of church and state in European history, in exploring the notion of a city state and its potential power, in how at certain moments, powerful forces come together in the minds of a group of people and art flourishes, always supported by wealth, it seems. Or you could just come here to eat and drink. You could be very happy! 

Resurrection

Resurrection

This morning I arose early, at 3.30 am, to greet a significant new day. As the sun rose over the Nile, I was high in the air in a hot air balloon. It was my first experience of this mode of travel. I did not approach it without intimidation. It is here in Luxor that many tourists died in a hot air balloon accident quite recently. Egypt seems constantly on edge, waiting for the next horrific news. Nonetheless, on with the plan!

Instructions were hurriedly issued in the darkness. A small army of people worked to get the balloon airborne and it was time to board. It is difficult to get into the basket and several people had to be dragged in! We were given clear instructions on the 'landing position' but the pilot had to repeat louder as several Chinese visitors did not immediately sense the importance of this manoeuvre! Off we set. The heat from the gas jets is scary, uncomfortable even, and the noise is intrusive. In between though, in long moments of silence, there is a wonderful feeling of floating free above the earth. 

Soon, the sun showed itself peeking above the horizon and we watched in excitement as the fiery ball came into full view, lighting up the splendid wonders of ancient Thebes, both on the East Bank, the land of the living, and the West Bank, the land of the dead. 

Landing has its own hazards, and it would be safe to say that it is more like a crash than a landing! The basket hits the ground and bounces and scrapes several times, all passengers crouched down below the level of the basket rim and holding on to a rope for dear life! Eventually we come to a halt, still upright thank goodness and are told to stand up quickly and remain in place so the balloon does not float up again. The army of earlier runs towards us through the fields and grabs ropes and hauls the balloon down as it slowly collapses and is ingloriously stuffed in a giant bag. And then the long journey back to base - as in a point to point marathon! 

Thence to a café for a traditional Egyptian breakfast, southern Egyptian style, with green falafel and delicious foula, always accompanied by the best pita style bread I have ever tasted. Every house stores its own wheat and grinds the grain as necessary. This must surely add to the flavour. 

What wonderful adventures I have had! The new me now is born. I need to get used to him! I hope that does not prove too difficult.  I know well that childhood has all kinds of challenges and setbacks but it is lovely to be reborn. It comes with a strong feeling of freedom and a sense of wonder and anticipation.  With love........

Valley of the Kings

This morning, I visited the Valley of the Kings, on the West Bank of the Nile in ancient Thebes. There are 67 known royal tombs here but only a few are open at a time. I visited 3 of them today - Ramses IV, Ramses IX and Meremptah. I also visited two beautiful nearby temples, the temples of Hatshepsut and Hapu. 

It is an awesome experience to walk down, always down, into the tombs. The passage can be more than 100 metres, and the walls and ceilings are intricately decorated all the way down. After the torrid heat outside, one instantly feels cooler. The carving, the colours and artistry are all of very high quality. Pictures of scenes from life and the afterlife and in between, dominate, with large areas of hieroglyphs in places telling the story. In many ways, they give the impression of beautiful illustrated books. 

Egyptologists, for four hundred years now, have been piecing together the relics of antiquity and retelling the story of the world's oldest civilization with written records. Just recently, another tomb of a noble person was found close by filled with statuary, jewellery and other treasures. The interpretation and discoveries will never end. Of course, we all know that most of the tombs were looted very early on. That is just how it is. 

As with all civilizations, destruction of beauty by those who come after is evident everywhere. Sometimes, the destruction was very quick. Hatshepsut' stepson, Thutmose III caused much of her statuary to be defaced on her death, perhaps out of jealousy and revenge, perhaps to reflect his version of history or maybe just to be different! 

It has been an extraordinary day of learning and experience for me! Al-hamdu lillahi

Postscript.  Try as I might, I cannot from here download pictures to illustrate my blogs and so I must wait! Sorry. 

The pyramids of Giza

A visit to the pyramids

This morning, another one of my dreams came true. I went to Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, to visit the pyramids. Against my wiser judgement, at the very last moment, I allowed myself to be persuaded to ride a lovely horse, Ramses, for several hours, to view the pyramids, the Sphinx, some workers' housing and workers' tombs. 

At first, as I took my first halting steps on an unfamiliar mode of transportation, there was fog in the air, giving a mysterious distance to the pyramids. It seemed like they could never be reached. The area all around the pyramids remains just desert, despite Cairo reaching right up to the precinct on one side. One has the convincing impression of being all alone in an empty place.

I went down, mostly squatting, inside the pyramid of Menkaure and was awed by the stillness, the sense of history and the beautiful simplicity of ancient stone masonry. While I can't imagine being buried in a tomb of that size, it is interesting to try and summon up a different age where Pharaohs ruled the world and were essentially worshipped as gods, and indeed were sometimes promoted to gods on their death. The pyramids, such a marvel of architecture, are conjectured to imitate the rays of the sun and therefore provide easy transit to the afterlife.

The solidity of their basic materials, the difficulty of moving such large stones and the desert climate have obviously combined to keep them in reasonable condition for 4000 years. A serious attempt was made to dismantle them stone by stone at the time of the Muslim conquest but the task turned out to be too great! 

The Sphinx is a whole other story. It is carved out of the local sandstone and time has been hard on it. There is a lot of restoration work going on around the base at the moment in harder stone. The head has endured better than the rest. However, the inscrutable nature of its gaze has diminished and it wears a neutral physiognomy now.

At this time, tourists have deserted Egypt in their millions and the industry is on its knees. There has been an accumulation of unfortunate incidents in which tourists have been hurt or worse. One feels empathy for the thousands of Egyptians who are, as a result, out of work and out of a source of income. May the tourists regain their courage soon and return in droves to this very welcoming country. 

Everyone is so easygoing and willing to assist. I have not found any hassling or unpleasantness of any kind. I feel free to wander the streets at will at any time of day. I sense that they are a people who really feel a strong urge and need to be loved. In the meantime, I wander the streets of Cairo at will, unaccompanied, free of worry and feeling very lucky!

Reboot!

Reboot!

This is my new life. I am reinventing myself, block by block. Life is good. Breathing is exciting. The adventure begins!

I find myself in the Egyptian Museum. It was a struggle to figure out exactly how to get in, but I did it, all on my own! Everywhere I look are artefacts from the Old, Middle and New kingdoms of Egypt, the civilization that has centred on the Nile, Africa's greatest river, as it reaches the Mediterranean Sea. There are many people about even though it is very early but they breeze by, mostly interested in taking photos they will never look at again - an excellent reminder of how not to live in the present.

The artefacts are generally stunning, especially the New Kingdom ones, when funerary decoration becomes a pressing imperative. The treasure trove from the tomb of Tutankhamun is the high point. Everything glitters and shimmers three thousand years later. Any woman would be delighted to wear the jewellery! And of course, when you look at his death mask, you see the boy king still.

As I walked by the Nile in the afternoon heat, seeking a breeze, a car screeches to a halt close to me and a motorbike behind it. The passenger emerges and confronts the biker, both young males, testosterone coursing, and a violent struggle ensues, accompanied by much shouting. As the two literally try to tear each other apart, others intervene from all over trying to calm the violence but it takes the arrival of two police officers to quiet the antagonists.

Dark suited men suddenly appear from everywhere and usher all pedestrians back from the road. The road empties, a military helicopter circles continuously, hundreds of soldiers stand guard. There is a heightened sense of expectancy. The Pope passes, in a huge, protective cavalcade, on his way home. He did not stay long.