Fetih 1453

I am following a course on World History 1300 - 1900, offered by Princeton University and taught by professor  Jeremy Adelman.
One of the classmates found drew attention to a Turkish movie about the Ottoman's conquest of Constantinople in 1453. I got interested and decided to watch the movie.
I would like to say something positive about this movie. It is interesting, but it also fails decisively on many aspects. The movie starts in the 627 in Medina. There Mohammed pronounces that one day the city of Constantinople certainly will fall.  An eagle then flies across time and space and lands in Adrianopolis. We see young Mehmed and his friend Hasan, busy engaged in sword fighting. We learn also that Mehmet has some daddy issues.
People with deep knowledge about this time have doubted the accuracy of these historical reconstructions. Indeed the makers of the film should have used some of their budget to consult a historian. For a wider audience this will be their vision of this particular time and so they should care -- prodesse et delectare. These two can easily be combined by a skilled filmmaker.
Once he is in the power, Mehmed sees in a vision (or is it a nightmare?) Osman, the founder of the Ottoman dynasty who encourages him to conquer Constantinople. And this will be his concern now.
However, there is already another emperor in Constantinople. He, Constantine XI, is particularly hostile against the Ottomans, which is not very surprising as the Ottomans had conquered much of what used to be the Byzantine Empire. To call this process 'the spread of the Ottoman Empire' seems to be a blunt euphemism. This spreading was, needless to say, the result of attacks, wars and battles. While we see crusaders butchering around, mutilating women and children, the Ottomans never engage in such cruelty. They are, on the contrary, heroic fighters. And they fight against vicious morons...
These battle scenes may attract viewers, but for me this computer-generated war is rather boring. And these animations are not really well done. There is no fire without smoke, but here we have a lot of fire without burning.
 We get a hint of the Ottoman's technological superiority, although the director decided not to elaborate on that theme.
The most spectacular strategic decision is merely hinted at. Mehmed decided to drag his ships behind the Byzantine defense lines. We see only a brief sequence in bad cgi-footage.
These things may be known to Turkish viewers, but greater emphasis on these themes might have given an international audience a better insight into the Ottoman's achievements.
At last we arrive at May 29, 1453. The Ottomans fire their cannons and boom the defense wall cracks. I think they managed to enter the city through an unlocked gate, but such an action doesn't have mythological qualities.
The end should have been silence - but here it is nasty propaganda. The sacking of Constantinople never occured. Mehmed sees the body of the dead emperor Constantine and orders him to be buried according to Christian rites. This is to shown the Ottoman's tolerating other belief-systems. However, the body of the emperor was never found.
Then Mehmed finds the frightened women, children and old people in the cathedral. He tells not to be afraid, from now they will live peacefully together (of course, as there nothing left of the Byzantine Empire to conquer). A girl that was weeping before, now smiles to dear uncle Mehmed.
History happened. This seems to be a half-fictional account that sometimes has parallels from history. If you omit central features, you falsify history and build mythology instead. -- Maybe this is why the present prime minister of  Turkey is said to have liked this movie.
I give it two good-will points, so that it ends up with 4/10.

Tro om igen - et lalleprogram fra Danmarks Radio

Samtale fremmer forståelse - sådan hed det engang i en reklame for et mobilselskab.
Indenfor Danmarks Radio hedder det derimod: Samtale skaber fordummelse.
Sådan et program er "Tro om igen". Det skal skabe forståelse og det er sådan set fint nok. Men det skaber meget lidt forståelse når den empirisk opfattede realitet gang på gang bliver affærdiget som en myte og et glansbillede skal forestille at være realitet.
Så ender det sædvanligvis med, at begge skærmeklovne konkluderer med smil og enighed og så er alt godt.
Eller er det?
For eksempel i går. Der hev fru Khankan Matthæus 10, vers 34 frem og konkluderede triumferende at kristendommen også et "sværdvers". Ja, det er rigtigt, Jesus sagde godt nok 'sværd', men meningen er totalt hen i skoven. Og det kan man se, når man læser videre. Man behøver ikke engang være skriftklog for at se det. Hvorfor påtaler sekretæren for det Danske Bibelselskab ikke fru Khankans sludder? Til gengæld lader han, som om hendes tydning ikke kan afvises og tilføjer noget pladder og kristendommens kærlighedsbudskab for øvrigt. Hvor plat - og hvor gennemskueligt.
Pladder - pladder - pladder --- det er Danmarks Radios speciale.

Nepal (day 9 -13)

I am still alive, although this blog hasn't been for a while. I wish I could claim writing blockage or something prestigious like that - but in my case it was sheer laziness.
So I left on the high way waiting for the bus to Pokhara.
We didn't have a ticket, but that turned out not to be a problem, as there were lots of busses - with and withiout schedule.At first we were placed in a mini-bus, but then the driver decided that six persons were not enough, however our decison was that we were not in the mood to wait any more. So we looked for another bus and there were plenty with immediate departure. First there was a leneittlr fight, as another driver thought we should drive with him instead, but then we departed.
Again it was nice to see a new part of Nepal, although the scenary was no longer so stunning; to compensate the road was at places extremely bad. Again it was remarkable how many people survive by selling things, be it salted cucumber, cooled water or fresh apples. I guess, this is merely an illusion of the authentic Nepal. The situation right and left of the highway is probably not comparable to the life as it would be in the villages.
After some hours we arrived in Pokhara.
First step to find accomodation. Lake Phewa is, of course, the magnet for tourists. I was carefully hidden, so that the price stayed reasonable. At first a taxi driver recommended cabins, which, indeed, were close to the Lake, but then it was decided that we would prefer accomodation at another place. Indeed we found a place that had a view to the Lake at one side. Mount "Fishtail" was also visible -- a Room with a View!
So the exploring started. The hotel was at guest house level, the bath tub looked like a mess, toilet looked like a very delicate structure and warm water would be available on demand. Let it be - I don't want to have a place with astericks.
The main road is filled with diverse shops and restaurants. I liked to taste the world - pizza I can find everywhere and don't need it here. So Tibetan food got a chance, like the kitchen of the Gurung people.
The next day a tourist guide would lead us around, altogether it were, eight places.
They included a temple (WITHOUT the admonition that non-Hindus should keep out!). Then there were different caves. One had bats hanging on the wall, another one an idol with application of tikka and another one located a temple. However access to the deepest part of that cave was barred. All caves were awfully dark (and slippery).
Two sites were dedicated to water - an impressive waterfall and a gauge.
And there were two museums. Being a peaceful guy, I left out the museums of Gurkhas. It could have been nice to see how the museum was arranged, but the money they demand from foreigners was just too much for my tiny bit of interest for this particular subject. We did, however, visit the local museum which contained a blend of anthropology and ethnology, thus information how people live. Unfortunately the arrangement was not very good, in spite of some nice attempts.
This day ended with boating on the lake. We arrived the temple on the island inside just before closing time and we could enjoy the sunset on the water.
This is like a summary, yeah - I could give a more detailed account on the basis of all the pics which still are on my laptopp.
Next day was dedicated to biking. But there were some initial start-up difficulties. First we lost each other. then one bike broke down, then another one and yhen we started to mount Nagarkot. The map says that it is about 1500 meters high. This doesn't sound like much, but when you start from about 100 above zero, the slope is still impressive. This is the place for paragliders - it might even be their paradise. On top of the mountain it was very peaceful - the absence of traffic makes a difference. I wasn't prepared for the sun and by now I was about to be grilled - from rare to well-done.
I felt that in the afternoon when we were at another lake in the afternoon, bigger in size but with fewer attractiions. The sun seemed to come from everywhere -- and I am not complaining about the sun, just making a statement.
The next morning,, Wednesday, we took an early bus back to Kathmandu, where we were greeted by rain. That's why I enjoy the sun as long as it lasts. For me it's almost always a peripheral phenomenon. 

Nepal (day 8 - 9) -- Manakamana

Early in the morning of July 6 we got up. The destination of the day was Manakamana, a village on top of a hill with a famous temple. The bus was to leave at 7 a.m., so we had every reason to get up early.
This was my first trip to the western part of Nepal, so I was to watch scenery, which I had never seen before. The trip took about four hours, which seems to be a lot for a distance of about 100 km. However, it takes almost one hour to get out of overcrowded Kathmandu. Then starts the highway. The term highway was to be taken literally; it is a way that runs high. The street is narrow, on one side the mountain on the other the abyss.So highway is not used in the American way; this highway is more like a country road, that can with some luck give room for two vehicles.
However, it also gives spectacular views, as it runs along with Trisuli River.

Breath-taking view on river Trisuli from the bus

At around 11 am we arrived at our destiny. Before people had to walk up the hill and that took them maybe 3 to 4 hours, now there is a cable car. Nepal's only cable car. The height difference is more than 1000 m; the distance is about 3 km.
Here I got my first of many unpleasant encounters. I am here as a tourist, which means a cow that you can milk. And now, these cows are not at all holy. So I had to pay around 3 times the amount an ordinary ticket will cost. 15 $ is never the equivalent of 450 NPR.
However, the trip up the hill was simply stunning. Slowly the busy road disappears in the air gliding all the way up - a marvellous experience, like being in the Alps without the need to ski.
On the hilltop we needed to find a guest house. The owner of Hotel Sunrise is probably the most unfriendly owner of a hotel on the spot, may he is even the most unfriendly hotel owner of all Nepal. In spite of his sleazy manner we installed ourselves there, but since we didn't want to eat at his place, we were simply kicked out: Leave my hotel immediately! We were happy to oblige.
Another hotel was more friendly and also cheaper - Mountain Top it was called. Wanted to remember it, but now I am no longer sure, as I only fixed the sleazy guy in my memory. From that hotel there is a direct view to the temple.
they say that goddess Manakamana can grant you every wish. So I was prepared for a longer talk with the goddess, but also here they have the sign: Only for Hindus. They think I may have had a cow for breakfast, but they cannot know if I am a vegetarian -- they simply judge me by the face. Hindu Priests are then like racists and I will never respect this attitude. Hinduism is a f***ing exclusive religion. How can such a claim to be true? Buddhism is inclusive -- that's why I like that religion better.
From the outside I had a talk with Shiva. I think Shiva may have a broader mind than his miserable priests.

May the Force be with You!

In the evening it started to rain, so further walks around were a bit out of the question.
The next morning, Saturday, the worshipping of the goddess took place. This was an elaborate process, with burnings and a priest reciting shanti. Yes, peace on you too, man. I had to watch from outside - however some drops of peace were also spared on me by that priest of the apartheid Hindu religion. I don't know, if the people know what they are doing and why the are performing these rites. There was nobody to explain the hidden or maybe even symbolic meaning in the doings. However, it looked quite colourful, like the Immolation Scene in the Twilight of the Gods.

Tanka is preparing a fondue?

Of course we took also tons of pictures; they might appear later on Flickr or somewhere else. Before going down with the cable car, we saw what kind of goods they also transport - living goats, who were terrified, of course, and dragged out the cabin in a rather rude manner. Everywhere in Manakamana you can buy offerings for the goddess. For the reasons mentioned above, the goddess didn't get my offerings though.
Down we found a bus, as we were continuing to Pokhara.
We were there until Tuesday...

Nepal (day 4-7)

Not every day is filled with activity; sometimes relaxing is the most important part of the day, or maybe some gathering
On Monday Chabbi had his wedding anniversary. We spent the day at his house, talking. relaxing and eating.Eating all the time. This time my stomach protested a bit against the local food. Also before I needed some time to get used to the hotness (of the food, the hotness weatherwise is never a problem). - Therefore i had to be very careful and not to provoke my bowel system morer than necessary. Anyway, thinking of yesterday's ayurveda alert with regard to my BMI, I have to relaise that I don't get a chance to become only 85% full; the ratio is rather 115%. When I look at the photos I like to label them: before the diet began.

Before the Big Loser circumference reduction event

The womena had arranged an outdoor, well at least on balcony dancing arrangement, but that was stopped decisevely by a big thunderstorm. We went home in a deluvial rain. - But when it is warm, it doesn't matter so much - then the rain is like taking a shower.

This is the time of marriages, as it seems. Tanka's sister has a friend who was going to have a marriage party for their friends in Kathmandu. I was alo welcome. It is strange that in these circumstances I am the exotic part. However, this again makes me like living here, because I come to places and events where nobody lese with my background comes.
On Wednesday at last I met my Facebook friend Diwash. Last year we couldn't meet, but this time we managed at last. It's always a bit strange to meet somebody whom you else have known from the virtual world only. But it was a pleasant encounter. There should be a chance to meet more often in the remaining time. Diwash also made contact to my Nepali teacher - busy Mausam. I am going to meet him in person later. The pictures with Diwash are on my Facebook account.

This is the time of the monssom. Sometimes it is raining, sometimes it is not. This condition also blocks activities, as I don't feel very much inclined to walk through muddy streets in rain.

From  Friday we will be out of Kathmandu -- to Manakamana and Pokhara.