This Land Is Mine
This Land Is Mine from Nina Paley on Vimeo.
A brief history of the land called Israel/Palestine/Canaan/the Levant.
Who's-killing-who viewer's guide here: http://blog.ninapaley.com/2012/10/01/this-land-is-mine/
Ellora Caves, Aurangabad, India
"Covering an area more than 2 kilometers in size, the Ellora Caves are a massive and humbling tribute to faith and medieval-era workmanship in India. In fact, the term "caves" hardly does justice to the 34 Buddhist, Brahmanist and Jainist temples in Ellora, each painstakingly carved out of the mountainside and filled with delicate works of art."
via atlasobscura.com
Stylites - The Pillar Saints
Illustration to Tennyson's "St. Simeon Stylites" by W. E. F. Britten
"And yet I know not well,
For that the evil ones come here, and say,
'Fall down, O Simeon; thou hast suffered long
For ages and for ages!'"
"Stylites (from Greek stylos, "pillar") or Pillar-Saints are a type of Christian ascetic who in the early days of the Byzantine Empire stood on pillars preaching, fasting and praying. They believed that the mortification of their bodies would help ensure the salvation of their souls. The first stylite was probably Simeon Stylites the Elder who climbed on a pillar in Syria in 423 and remained there until his death 37 years later. via en.wikipedia.org
Simeon was a shepherd until he was 13, when he began to work as a servant at a monastery. Well-loved, he entered a stricter monastery, where he outfasted his brothers. Simeon was expelled from the monastery for excesses. He lived on Mt. Teleanissæ until 423, when he set up his first 9-foot pillar. His ascetical feat drew such attention that he later erected pillars of 12 and 20 feets to escape the crowds who came, twice daily, to hear him preach. At the end of his life (495), he lived on a pillar 60 feet high and 6 feet wide." The Ecole Glossary
Katskhi Pillar – Stairway to Heaven
"In central Georgia’s Imereti region about 7 miles from the mining town of Chiatura there is an imposing 130 foot rock pillar called Katskhi that has been venerated since ancient times.
In pagan times Katskhi Pillar was thought to represent a local god of fertility. With the arrival of Christianity in the 4th century, it became a place of seclusion and asceticism.
A church was first built atop the rock between the 6th and 8th centuries — no one knows exactly how or why.
It is not known how the pagans who built the temple carried the materials up the steep pillar without large cranes that are used today.
The church is currently being restored with the help of brave volunteers who carry vital materials up the steep ladder.
Father Maxim, 55, who has lived in the church for 18 years, says he dreamed of living there as a child.
‘Since I was a child I dreamed of settling on the top of this pillar as other hermits did in ancient times,’ ... ‘When I came here with my friends I envied the monk who had lived there long ago – now I am here too I am happy.’
The Garden of Earthly Delights
The Garden of Earthly Delights is a triptych painted by the early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450–1516), housed in the Museo del Prado in Madrid since 1939. Dating from between 1490 and 1510, when Bosch was about 40 or 50 years old, it is his best-known and most ambitious work. It reveals the artist at the height of his powers; in no other painting does he achieve such complexity of meaning or such vivid imagery.
This is a CG interpretation of Hieronymus Bosch’s painting The Garden of Earthly Delights by Thomas Beg
The Garden of Earthly Delights
from Thomas Beg on Vimeo.
The Hajj and Eid al-Adha
"The Hajj pilgrimage draws millions of Muslims from around the world every year to Mecca, the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad, Islam's holiest place. Saudi Arabia expects to host perhaps three million people in a ritual journey that every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it must make at least once in their lifetime. It is the largest annual gathering of humanity anywhere. Timed to the Muslim lunar calendar, the Hajj is followed by the celebrations of the three-day festival of Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, which symbolizes Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son. Collected here are photographs of the Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, as well as images of preparations for the Hajj and Eid al-Adha in many other parts of the Muslim world. -- Lane Turner (42 photos total)"
via boston.com
Interactive Sistine Chapel
"Here is an amazing bit of technology that you would never see in person, as you would NEVER be alone in the room. It is ALWAYS VERY CROWDED and of course you can't see Michelangelo's artwork close up as you can here. This is especially spectacular if you have a large high-definition screen! Too many details to view on an iPhone.
TO VIEW EVERY PART OF MICHELANGELO'S MASTERPIECE, JUST CLICK AND DRAG YOUR ARROW IN THE DIRECTION YOU WISH TO SEE.
In the lower left, click on the plus (+) to move closer, on the minus (-) to move away. Choir is thrown in free. MOVE THE ARROW AND YOU WILL SEE EVERY PART OF THE CHAPEL.
This virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel is incredible."
via nickvt.posterous.com
Rennes-Le-Château
"Rennes-le-Château (Rènnas del Castèl in Occitan) is a commune in the Aude department in Languedoc in southern France.
It is known internationally, and receives tens of thousands of visitors per year, for being at the center of various conspiracy theories.
Starting in the 1950s, a local restaurant owner, in order to increase business, claimed that the 19th century priest Bérenger Saunière had discovered the treasure of Blanche of Castile. The story achieved national fame in France, and was then enhanced and expanded by various hoaxsters, who added that the priest, Father Bérenger Saunière had found proof of a secret society known as the Priory of Sion. The story became the origin for hypotheses in documentaries and bestselling books such as The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail and the fiction thriller The Da Vinci Code."
via Wikipedia
Hidden Minaret of Jam in The City of the Turquoise Mountain
"Amazingly, this imposing structure was standing forgotten for centuries… until rediscovered in 1886 by Sir Thomas Holdich; then forgotten again and rediscovered in 1957...
The minaret displays an incredibly intricate baked-brick work, stucco and glazed tile ornamentation (containing Kufic and Naskhi calligraphy and verses from the Qur’an, relating to Mary, the mother of Jesus)...
Dan Cruickshank, who visited the place, writes about the carvings: “This chapter, called Maryam, tells of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, both venerated in Islam, and of prophets such as Abraham and Isaac. It’s a text that emphasises what Judaism, Christianity and Islam have in common, rather than their differences. It seems the Ghorids placed the text here to appeal for harmony and tolerance in the land, a message that is more relevant now than ever.”"
The minaret displays an incredibly intricate baked-brick work, stucco and glazed tile ornamentation (containing Kufic and Naskhi calligraphy and verses from the Qur’an, relating to Mary, the mother of Jesus)...
Dan Cruickshank, who visited the place, writes about the carvings: “This chapter, called Maryam, tells of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, both venerated in Islam, and of prophets such as Abraham and Isaac. It’s a text that emphasises what Judaism, Christianity and Islam have in common, rather than their differences. It seems the Ghorids placed the text here to appeal for harmony and tolerance in the land, a message that is more relevant now than ever.”"
Our Freedoms Are Under Attack Again…
This time, by government officials at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Houston National Cemetery.
The story of religious hostility, deception and unlawful censorship of veterans and other citizens, including grieving families burying their loved ones at the Houston National Cemetery, is outrageous and unbelievable.