One of my most admired paintings by a Yemeni artist is the painting shown above by the Adeni artist Abdulla al-Ameen. I purchased the painting a decade ago at an exhibition sponsored by Yemen’s Ministry of Culture. Al-Ameen received an M.F.A. in 1984 from the Fine Arts Academy in Moscow. In addition to illustrations in books, he has designed stamps for the Yemeni government. In 1987 he received Kuwait’s “Golden Dhow Medal” for his artistic achievements.
In a previous post on Afghan Trucks, the Afghan woman could be seen without a chador. The scenes from legends and movies were complemented by religious images as well, as can be seen in the photograph above. But if the man is praying to be delivered from the violence of the bombs, his prayers are yet to be answered.
I continue a thread on one of the numerous 19th century Bible customs travel accounts by Christian enthusiasts able to travel to their “Holy Land.†The author, Frank S. DeHass, served as the United States Consul in Palestine in the mid 19th century. His text is aptly entitled Buried Cities Recovered, or, Explorations in Bible Lands, giving the results of recent researches in the Orient, and recovery of many places in sacred and profane history long considered lost. My copy, handed down from my grandmother, was published in 1886 in Philadelphia by Bradley & Company; the tenth edition no less! This is a wonderful read and it is worth reading the entire book online, thanks to Google Books.
An eastern inn, or khan, never was a house of entertainment in the sense that Americans understand a hotel to be. Such accommodations as provision, bed, and other comforts at an inn are unknown int he Orient, and belong exclusively to western civilization. In the East all travelers carry their own bedding and provision with them, and must dress their own food, kindle their own fire, and spread their own table. An Oriental inn is merely a place of shelter from the storm, or protection from robbers, where a man and his beast can safely lodge for the night free of charge. A portion of the khan was assigned to the beasts, generally one side, and travelers who came in late, if they found the khan full, would have to make their beds in the manger with the horses and camels, as Joseph and Mary were forced to do. These caravansaries, or inns, were sometimes very rude, simply a rough wall built around a house, or natural caves int he rocks, as appears to have been the case at Bethlehem. Many of these grottoes are used as stables in the neighborhood, and some of them as dwellings by the Arabs. Continue reading Buried Texts Recovered: An American Consul goes to Bethlehem, 2
Yesterday, I began a thread on one of the numerous 19th century Bible customs travel accounts by Christian enthusiasts able to travel to their “Holy Land.†The author, Frank S. DeHass, served as the United States Consul in Palestine in the mid 19th century. His text is aptly entitled Buried Cities Recovered, or, Explorations in Bible Lands, giving the results of recent researches in the Orient, and recovery of many places in sacred and profane history long considered lost. My copy, handed down from my grandmother, was published in 1886 in Philadelphia by Bradley & Company; the tenth edition no less! This is a wonderful read and it is worth reading the entire book online, thanks to Google Books.
Bethlehem, and Hill Country of Judea
Situated on a fruitful ridge about six miles south of Jerusalem, overlooking the Valley of the Kedron on the north, and the deep chasm of the Dead Sea on the east, is Bethlehem of Judea, to the Christian the holiest place on earth.
It is one of the oldest villages in Palestine, and associated with some of the most stirring events in the religious history of the world. Here Ruth gleaned after the reapers of Boaz; here the youthful David kept his father’s flocks, and was annointed King of Israel; here, also, Jeremiah, after denouncing God’s terrible judgments upon the people, foretold the coming of “The Lord of Righteousness;” and here the shepherd’s who watched their flocks by night were startled by the angelic song announcing the Messiah’s birth, and proclaiming the evangel of “peace on earth, and good-will toward men.”
The name signifies the Hosue of Bread, and truly it may be said, Bethlehem has given to our perishing race the bread of eternal life. What countless millions have feasted on this heavenly loaf!
As we rode along the well-beaten path leading from Jerusalem, crowded with pilgrims from all lands going up to visit the place that gave birth to the Saviour of mankind, what old memories were awakened! Continue reading Buried Texts Recovered: An American Consul goes to Bethlehem, 1
“The author’s object in accepting an appointment under the United States Government was not the honor or emoluments of office, but a desire to visit the lands of the Bible, that he might see for himself how far the manners, customs, and traditions of the people and topography of those countries agreed with the inspired word.â€
So begins one of the numerous 19th century Bible customs travel accounts by Christian enthusiasts able to travel to their “Holy Land.†The author is Frank S. DeHass, who served as the United States Consul in Palestine in the mid 19th century. His text is aptly entitled Buried Cities Recovered, or, Explorations in Bible Lands, giving the results of recent researches in the Orient, and recovery of many places in sacred and profane history long considered lost. My copy, handed down from my grandmother, was published in 1886 in Philadelphia by Bradley & Company; the tenth edition no less! This is a wonderful read and you can read the entire book online, thanks to Google Books.
Like so many other Bibliophiles of his generation, DeHass extols the virtue of actually visiting the land where Jesus was born and died. In his own words:
Recent explorations in the East have resulted in the recovery of many places in sacred and profane history long regarded as lost; and as the facts brought out by these researches are not accessible to the general reader, the author has compiled them in this concise form, and at the request of numerous friends gives them to the public, not as a scientific work for the antiquarian, but as a humble contribution to Biblical archaeology for the home circle, believing that such a volume will add greatly to the elucidation of the Scriptures, and serve to correct some of the errors which many travellers have fallen into by a too hasty or superficial view of the places visited. Continue reading Buried Texts Recovered: An American Consul in the Holy Land
Unnamed tulip from the Turkish ‘The Book of Tulips’, ca. 1725
Webshaykh’s Note: With winter snow buffeting Europe and the Middle East, what better time to think about tulips, an Ottoman treasure that took Europe by storm almost half a millennium ago. There is an excellent book on The Tulip by Anna Pavord (Great Britain: Bloomsbury, 1999), but one of my favorite articles is one that Jon Mandaville wrote for ARAMCO World over three decades ago. The full article is available online, but I provide the first part below.]
Turbans and Tulips
Written by Jon Mandaville. ARAMCO World Magazine, May/June, 1977
Tulips come from Holland. Right? Wrong! Or at least, they haven’t always. Tulips come from Turkey, the only country in the world to call one of its major eras of national history—the years 1700 to 1730—the “Tulip Period.” And how that era got its name . . . thereby hangs a tale.
Tulips, even in the early 18th century, were nothing new to Turkey. Along with other bulbous plants such as the narcissus, the hyacinth and the daffodil, tulips had grown there for centuries, both wild and domesticated for house and garden. The Tulip Period took its name from an established hobby, which started as court fashion, grew into a generalized fad and fancy, and finally became an explosion of unrestrained international speculation in bulbs which buyers never even saw.
It all began when tulips first went to Europe. In 1550, no one in Holland had heard of tulips. Different varieties do grow wild in North Africa and from Greece and Turkey all the way to Afghanistan and Kashmir. Very occasionally they are even found in southern France and Italy, usually in vineyards or on cultivated land, which has led some botanists to speculate that they may have been brought back by the Crusaders.
The Persians were familiar with tulips, but they didn’t domesticate them as thoroughly as the Turks. For centuries they admired the flowers wild. Even as decorative motifs in Persia, they were never as popular as the narcissus, iris or rose.
In Turkey it was different. Continue reading Tulip mania
The National Library of Medicine has a splendid manuscript collection, including an 18th century Persian text with illustrations. Here is the information from the webpage, with two of the illustrations provided here.
Anonymous Persian Anatomical Illustrations. [Iran or Pakistan, ca. 1680-1750].
Anonymous Persian Anatomical Illustrations.The National Library of Medicine owns approximately 300 Persian and Arabic manuscripts dating from the eleventh to the nineteenth centuries. Most of these manuscripts deal with medieval medicine and science and were written for learned physicians and scientists. Among them are a number of anonymous anatomical treatises or groups of anatomical drawings.
The two featured here consist of a Persian bloodletting figure and a venous figure, probably drawn in the 18th century but based on earlier models (MS P 5 fol. A); and six early-modern anatomical drawings showing some European and Indian influences (MS P 20, item 2).
Six Early Modern Anatomical Illustrations
Six anonymous anatomical drawings occur on folia 554-559 at the end of a volume containing Tibb al-Akbar (Akbar’s Medicine) by Muhammad Akbar, known as Muhammad Arzani (d. 1722/ 1134) in an undated copy probably made in the 18th century. The paper on which these figures are drawn, however, is distinct from that of the main text, though similar in many respects. The illustrations appear to be unrelated to the accompanying text and to draw upon Indian and early-modern sources.
One full-opening of the manuscript, folia 554b-555a, contains two full-figure anatomical illustrations, one of a female and one of a male. Continue reading A Persian Anatomy Lesson
In a previous blog entry, I mentioned a photographic book by Jean-Charles Blanc on Afghan Trucks. In addition to legendary and technological themes, in this pre-Taliban world there was an interest in women as well, at least among truck drivers and those who appreciated truck driven art. Here is what the Introduction to the text says about the female image unveiled:
Occasionally another motif appears amongst these tablaux: that of women – a rare and daring theme for this Islamic society where tradition is so carefully guarded. they are depicted in the form of sensual, Felliniesque, sulphurous-eyed vamps whose looks are inspired from Indian statuary – the flesh of Marilyn and Sophia draped in Oriental clothing, and with just a few puffs of hashish their colored images spring to life …
to be continued