210 / stone stories

Every time I walked past these walls in Istanbul,

& now when I look at the photos, I saw them

as masterworks

Depending on the light, the stones glowed  

  

more like jewels

not just here, in many areas,

the masons clearly loved what they did

& those who repaired, also

I saw many walls where there was a deep respect for

their predecessor's work, even when matching stones or bricks

weren't available

at least those are the stories the walls spoke to me

there might not be too many 

as interested as I was/am

so this is just one area near our hotel, I took hundreds..

theres an extra dimension, being there, of course.

I love how photographs can put one back there, as if its real

99 / no longer new

It could be these 2 are in Bangkok, where I once

had a great guide to the temples famous for their

paintings

you have to be very lucky to find them open, I think

From a distance, the wall is unreadable,

seems just a scumble of paint, up close there is that 

miraculous fine detail - what's left of it.

Nice, how some structures outlast the politics of their times,

& sometimes even the belief systems.

no longer new but still looks great

98 / wall paintings-2

I could figure out the location, if I had the time..

this one I know is in Luang Prabang, & was at some stage 

restored by people from Chiang Mai university

fairly sure this is too

97 / wall paintings-1

There are some wonderful wall paintings in temples

in Thailand & Laos, many in poor condition,

from the climate as much as anything, its also

difficult to photograph them without flash

I don't always know the story, but enjoy them very much

95 / older story

In the east of Turkey, near Diyabakir from memory,

the darker walls at top were ancient ~ were they

defending, making a last stand, or what?

a mysterious inside pillar, I think it was at Aya Sofya,
so it spoke of two quite different chapters..

(apologies if I've got that wrong)

68/ real

There always seemed to be more women than men

a sweet mother & child, they looked so open

speaking volumes

Doubt if this is real gold, still? 

66/ Tibetans

In Sydney recently, I met a friend who'd been on the same tour to Tibet,

we showed our photos. He had some great people shots,

while mine were more landscapes. I'd like to take more of people,

but am often uncomfortable, without some interaction

- unless they are part of a scene, as above

or already lined up for someone - this very 

attractive  & happy group, at the Summer Palace

near Lhasa. I count smiling at each other as communication.

This I fluked as we drove past, they looked happy too

& one can often get people who are not looking,

except its those telling faces which interest me. 

Faces that speak volumes.

12/ earth memory

Someone wrote their name in stones, across the hillside
now just "I AM'' remains.

We can have these ideas of leaving something tangible
of ourselves,
earth has it's own timetables & destinations.

11/ if walls could speak

If walls could speak & we could understand their language..
imagine

For instance the man who designed the building where these
tiles have been repaired, was conscripted in
Ottoman times, lived to a great age, & is revered to this day
for his marvellous buildings.

.

Old cities like Istanbul have an extraordinarily
layered history

The stories of the city walls are myriad,
as they would be: Attila the Hun is said to have turned
instead to Europe, when he saw them.

Then there's the small domestic histories, better than
many paintings, in forgotten corners.
(am noticing how it's easier for me to be
imaginative with the visual mode)

08/ when a story comes

When a story comes, the words fly from somewhere else
into your mind, & then somehow onto a page,
or out of your mouth.
Into your wings.

The story comes by it's own path, sometimes from so far off.
Even if you can't quite hear the words,
you can sense the gift of it.

I like the ones that spring from the earth,
the stories that have been hiding in faraway places
waiting for just this moment
to alight as birds.

04/ that way

A rock sits by the water's edge & looks both ways.
Right? Left?
So the plan is to use pictures I've already made;
I'm not sure where this will go, yet.
Meantime, notice how the stories differ in these 2 new pictures:




do they?

03/ lineage

One of my great grandfathers was a sea captain,
I never thought to ask whether that meant sail,
while there was still someone to answer. We understand
some stories in our bodies ~ birth, sickness, old age
& so on, as the Buddha taught; what about seasickness?
& all that conditioning that was passed down,
so that we believe our way of perceiving (as if it's real!)
though we may be seeing quite differently to others.
How can we tell, even?