Ambassadeur Everlasting
A pattern of fish
A still-life (literally) from the morning market in Chinatown, Yangon. Fresh fish is bought and sold daily, the competition to sell is tough so making your fish display look attractive helps attract the customers.
17th Street
Continuing our walk with our Burmese friend through the old colonial part of Yangon we meet Tun Sein, he runs the Daw Kyi 50 year old business of making spring roll wrappers. The dough, kaw pyer, which is made from rice flour is rapidly cooked on 16 charcoal hotplates. Tun Sein throws the dough with the speed of light onto the hotplates one quick wipe and the dough is set, the young boys follow in quick succession to remove the wrapper from the hotplate. Ten thousand wrappers are made per day.
The lost teashop
Many of the old traditional teashops in Yangon are closing down and there are no new licences being issued. Therefore what was and is a quintessential part of the cultural life will soon be lost. We met Mr. Myint several years ago during our first visit to Burma, he was eager to learn something of the outside world, then of course, all news was censored and international news was hard to come by . Burma has changed a lot, Mr. Myint can listen and watch the BBC or CNN to gather all the news he wants. He has a smart phone, but still wears a longyi and still enjoys life in his teashop which has stood on this place for over 60 years. It never had a formal name but everyone knows where it is and it has a following of regular customers. What a pity if the teashops are lost to modernization.
Upper 38th Street
I think I may have visited Yangon more than 20 times in the past 12 years, but this last visit together with a Burmese friend uncovered hidden treasures on its downtown streets. Meeting the various inhabitants and their business unfolded a story of social and economic life. In the upper 38th street we find a produce market. There is a natural energy here, all the sellers are good friends, many stalls are handed down through the families. It is a joy to come to work each day and share time together. The fresh and salted fish is good, particularly fresh local sardines soaked in oil and full of flavour. A large one costs Ks 300 and is delicious. It is the first time I have seen these in a Burmese market.
Andalusian tiles
A detail from the 48 niches decorated with typical Andalusian tiles, on which the Spanish provinces with their coat of arms and geographical location are shown which surround the "Plaza de Espana",
Plaza de Espana
Seville makes a great (long) weekend city trip, small enough to cover everything by foot, a few gems to see, good food in the spring not too many tourists and reasonably priced hotels. I was impressed. Here one of the most famous squares the "Plaza de Espana" It was built in honor of the Ibero-American exhibition of 1929. The square was the largest and most expensive project of the exhibition where at one point called 1000 man at the same time were at work. Among the buildings are 48 niches decorated with typical Andalusian tiles, on which the Spanish provinces with their coat of arms and geographical location are shown. A nice place to rest and people watch.
Exquisite Mezquita
The Mezquita of Cordoba is regarded as one of the most accomplished monuments of Moorish architecture. The site was originally a small temple of Christian origin. When Muslims conquered Spain in 711, the church was first divided into Muslim and Christian halves. This sharing arrangement of the site lasted until 784, when the Christian half was purchased by the Emir 'Abd al-Rahman I, who then proceeded to demolish the original structure and build the grand mosque of Córdoba on its ground. Córdoba returned to Christian rule in 1236 during the Reconquista, and the building was converted to a Roman Catholic church. Since the early 2000s, Spanish Muslims have lobbied the Roman Catholic Church to allow them to pray in the cathedral but this campaign has been rejected on multiple occasions, and it remains a Catholic cathedral. The artwork is exquisite especially the mihrab (prayer niche) which you see here, a masterpiece of architectural art, with geometric and flowing designs of plants.
Heaven on Earth
If heaven really does exist, then let's hope it looks a little bit like the inside of Seville's Alcázar. Built primarily in the 1300s during the so-called 'dark ages' in Europe, the fortress' intricate architecture is anything but dark. Without boring you too much with the details, - originally founded as a fort for the Cordoban governors of Seville in 913, the Alcázar has been expanded or reconstructed many times in its 11 centuries of existence. In the 11th century Seville’s prosperous Muslim taifa (small kingdom) rulers developed the original fort by building a palace called Al-Muwarak (the Blessed) in what’s now the western part of the Alcázar. In 1987 Unesco made it a World Heritage site. When you have finished exploring the various rooms and patios inside you can then move out into the gardens another beautiful feature.
The gossips
Sitting in the shade of the temple I wonder what these two elderly laddies found to talk about so intensely. Families, politics, the weather or just the price of eggs.
After Karma Vedha
The Karma Vedha ceremony (which I explained in my last upload) is over for this little girl. The crying has stopped and now safe in her mothers arms. We were invited to spend the entire morning with this family, several of the young girls were have their ears pierced at the same time. We stuffed rupees into the girls hands after the piercing had taken place along with other family members, we ate corn and rice after each piercing, and drank the blessed coconut water. All this of course afforded us great photo opportunities, This is one of my favourites.
Karna Vedha
Karna Vedha is the process of piercing both the ears of the child as it is believed to greatly develop good body metabolism. It is also believed to give a spiritual protection to the child. The process is normally carries out in the temple by the Acharya (an ayurvedic practitioner). The child is traditionally made to sit in the lap of the maternal uncle while the ceremony is done. Often a large piece of banana is given for the child to bite into. On the day of Karna Vedha the child is given new clothes and then an puja is performed before conducting the Karna Vedha and the kalasa water is sprinkled on the child. Mantra verses are chanted before piercing ears for the welfare of the child. Again we were in the right place at the right time and several Karna Vedha ceremonies were being held that morning.
Every colour of the..
Yesterday I showed you the cholis, (mid-riff baring blouses that are worn with saris) today a sari shop in Trichy displaying saris of every colour of the rainbow. No wonder India is so colourful.
And the choli maker
And right next door to the lady selling material to make the cholis sat a tailor in his piep-klein shop ready to make the cholis tp measure.
Cholis of every colou
Cholis of every colour could be bought by her, and as you may have guessed right next door to her was a tailor who, with a few basic measurements, would make the choli while you wait. (a choli is the mid-riff baring blouse that is worn under a sari)
Hair paraphernalia
Whatever you need for your hair, to adorn it or just to keep it tidy, she sells it. Slides, braids, ribbons, elastics, head bands, alice bands every kind of hair paraphernalia that you can imagine.
Joseph's coffee
Joseph's coffee - 'purity and quality' and delicious. The business had been handed down through generations, young Joseph here was the grandson of the original Joseph. He was really proud of his modern sealing equipment that he had imported from Germany. Just take a look at his ledger. We bought 100grs of coffee and the receipt was written in triplicate, one copy for us and two copies for Joseph, neatly written, stamped and folded.
Oranje Boven
Its all too much for this small child, exhausted from having her head shaved and blessed at the temple, she sleeps peacefully in her fathers arms. Her head in smeared with turmeric paste. Fijne Koningsdag iedereen!
Pointing the way
You can hear a pin drop, they listen reverently to their guru as he points the way of life to them. The second photo of our morning spent with the guru in Trichy.
A morning with the...
Sometimes you just get lucky and this was one of those occasions. This is the scene we stumbled into. The guru giving a lesson, his disciples giving him their full attention. We could see by his beads that not only was he a Shivite, but with the numbers of necklaces around his neck, an important man. We sat at the back of the crowd. Very shortly he beckoned us over, sit, sit. We did, and were immersed in the chants, the incense and the atmosphere. Our time in India was drawing to an end and it was so special that we were able to partake in this ceremony, no one seem to mind us being there and after a while I got brave enough to take photos without feeling that I was disturbing anyone. I'll share a few with you.
Putting your feet up
As I mentioned before the Sri Ranganathaswamy is one of India's largest temples, you walk through seven courtyards to reach the inner sanctum. Of course you have to leave your shoes at the main entrance as with all temples. During the morning the floor of the courtyards warm up and its nice to take a break and put your feet up for a while. These three gentlemen had the same idea as me.
The bus stop
These seven strong looking women were waiting at a bus stop in Trichy. They were not together, - I later saw them get on different buses, they had no bags with them - they hadn't been or were going shopping. They were all on their own. Their story remains a mystery.
A city within the...t
The Sri Ranganathaswamy is quite possibly India's biggest temple, it is so large that it feels like a city within the temple. Reaching the inner sanctum requires passing through seven gopurams. Along the way you'll pass through streets with shops, restaurants, motorbikes and cars until you reach the temple proper. A city within the temple.
The silence of the...
Visiting forest-fringed Berijam Lake, 21km southwest of Kodaikanal, requires a Forest Department permit. Out of season this is easy to organise the day before, and do half-day 'forest tours' to Berijam, via other lookouts, for Rupees1800. It is so quiet and peaceful and clean, its hard to believe that the chaos of India lie beneath on the plains.
Nature and Sai Baba..
A days trekking in the hills around Kodai affords you of some great viewpoints, as here at Moir's Point just 13 kms outside the town overlooking the terraces. In the bottom left hand corner you can just see two farmers leaning over the fence maybe discussing their crops this year. The white building on the opposite side on the hill is an ashram and retreat of Shirdi Sai Baba. If you are interested you can visit the ashram, follow a lesson or merely visit their museum. A donation may be given but not forced.
Community-updates
NEEM DEEL AAN DE COMMUNITY OP FACEBOOK
01-11-2022 Zoals jullie weten, gaat de community stoppen. Wil jij graag nog in contact blijven met de andere communityleden? Word dan lid van de speciale Facebookgroep, die wordt beheerd door communityleden!
UPDATE: COLUMBUS COMMUNITY GAAT STOPPEN
27-08-2022 Helaas hebben we moeten besluiten dat we de community niet voort gaan zetten. We leggen je graag uit waarom. Lees verder >
