248 / museum

Out past Xian, last year in China.. sorry, can't remember 

where, but a good museum

oddly, people had left money at this group

of sculptures

some lovely pieces, or were they copies?

the real deal, I'd say

am thinking these were from burial sites, along the Silk Road,

could they be Scythian? The dry air & sand kept some artifacts

in amazingly good condition, I recall from reading

 all Sir Aurel Stein's books.

247 / edits

Was checking some camera cards, & saw again how I edit

differently at different times:

here are more from my Silk Road trip last year

above is near the end of the Wall

getting into the desert areas

& one of the great very old trees in

the garden of the Forbidden palace

in Beijing

231 / Nepal

On Saturday 25th there was a 7.8 earthquake in Nepal,

with many big aftershocks, well over 4000 injuries, 

& nearly 2000 deaths, & untold houses & historic

buildings wrecked

it is such a beautiful country, & people,

this will make it an even harder life for many

Like all parts of the Himalayas, earthquakes are a fact of life

the mountains are still moving. When I visited Pokhara

in 2012, this was the view from my guesthouse roof

the plan is to visit again in October, but who can say..

There are many ancient Hindu & Buddhist temples 

& monasteries, with exceptional wood carving, 

metal work & statues

I wish that everyone who has been, & loved it, 

(surely everyone?)

will donate generously

Nepal needs our help

223 / the best shop

I did wonder what happened at the end of the day..

did they have to put the stock away?

anyway, it looked very inviting

& even more so, close up

but when you step back, theres the sense 

you might miss something extraordinary..

that's the art of display, isn't it?

Meant to visit this shop, didn't find time

221 / Topkapi

Here at Topkapi, you know that some of the

skills are still alive

as it seems to have a continuous restoration

happening

& its truly an exquisite palace

I keep returning to the marvellous photographs

of Nuri Bilge Ceylan,

it is a Turkey that one glimpses, even as a visitor

& falls in love with, as in a dream

220 / over time

These photos are from what were originally christian churches,

then maybe mosques, & now museums

its nice to think that all the differences calm down

eventually

the great Sinan was born into a christian family,

obliged to convert, & ended up designing some of the great

masterpieces in Constantinople or anywhere

the above mosaic was inside the curve of a high domed ceiling

- hard to reach -

or perhaps even vandals could appreciate it

& I loved these ceilings, too.

219 / & more

Tried to photograph some so that I could stitch together later

the angles were too difficult

The calligraphy in these was incredibly fine

Wished I could have learnt more about their making

it was probably available, but I only know english

someone said this above was a deed to property  

!!!

I couldn't tell whether these 2 books were by the hand of one person;

if it was by two or more, they were in truly remarkable accord

those artists loved what they did.

(passion is a drastically over-used word these days..)

218 / more

Most of the time I'm painting, but on the Mac I'm back

in Istanbul: looking at the dazzling books, & craft

at the museum of Turkish & Islamic arts

click for a little more detail, though with the glass cases, lights,

etc, the photos give more of an impression only

astonishingly fine details

I love all the variations of how humans write

though Arabic is close to being my favourite

~ if it is even possible to compare ~ 

each says so much about the culture that gave birth to it

Have read about people in pre-literate cultures who could recite

whole sagas from memory ~ but how wonderful to turn a page

from long ago & understand what it says.

217 / museum pieces

an astrolabe, I think?

click to see the intricate detail

(I'm busy painting,  so posting photos from my time in Turkey

in 2010)

I think that artists might often find the same designs,

when starting with a particular plant

& these have something of the innocence of

Romanesque carvings..

a lovely delicate wood carving 

one of my favourite pieces

& who wouldn't want to store their brushes in these?

I wonder if such splendid craftspeople are still at work?