Thursday, November 2, 2017

An ancient road to connections.

The acropolis of Bergama

It has been a while, lets say almost 20 years that I visited the acropolis of Bergama. Since then, lots of interesting artifacts have been discovered. I have been longing to discover those new things myself since April! We were very busy around that time, then came the summer months, no way you see me walk around on a summer day between piping hot marble ruins! Finally this last Friday we payed the acropolis a visit. It was a beautiful day but we didn't find that out until we were climbing the ancient roads in the sunshine: we were clothed way too warm and kept peeling off layer and layer of coat, sweater and blouse till we were only in a t-shirt; you wouldn't believe that the acropolis is very very cold and windy this time of the year.

You start your visit by following a wide bumpy road paved with huge rectangular stones; parallel to this road is a  smooth wooden road but I prefer the bumpy one, imagining myself walking there as a local citizen, donned in a linen chiton, maybe get a glimpse of Attalos III.  Surely Alexander the Great's feet have walked this same route! Thus wandering on this ancient stone paved road, I felt connected to the past, I felt being part of something bigger than me.

Ancient paved road of the acropolis, Bergama, Turkey.

There are lots of pictures of the acropolis of Bergama, former Pergamum on the internet; I want to post a couple pictures of less photographed segments, with the exception of 2 picture of the truly majestic temple of  Hadrianus, pictures of which I am proud.

Hadrianus Temple, Acropolis, Bergama, Turkey



Columns, capital of Hadrianus Temple, Acropolos, Bergama, Turkey.

In the picture above you see clearly the 2 types of columns, grooved (foreground) and plain (background), and in the left corner is a good view of a huge Corinthian capital with acanthus leaves.

From the tempel of Hadrianus was a passage to the theater below, but I really wonder: who would use this dark, small, steep, potentially dangerous stairs to descend to the theater when there must have been nice large entrances? My husband, 😏 😊.


Staircase to the worlds most steep theater, Acropolis, Bergama, Turkey.


Something puzzles me: because the Hadrianus temple was build on the top of the hill and partly on the slope of the hill, big foundations were needed: instead of the usual foundations, they built galleries flanked by rooms on one side, maybe used as store rooms on which the platform of the temple rested. In one of this rooms, we saw rests of paint, like frescos????

Foundation with storage room on the left behind bars.


Paint on the wall in a storage room in the foundation.of Hadrianus Temple, Bergama.

We wandered for about 3 hours; as last we visited the Z-building that houses some mosaics; one mosaic consists of 16 medaillons: in the middle 4 medaillons represent 2 tigers and 1 rooster and a chicken,  the 12 surrounding ones are faces with open mouth. It is not my picture that is bland, the mosaics themselves were, maybe they were covered with dust in the not windproof building; but you can have an idea of the level of skill the artisans had!

Detail of mosaic, acropolis, Bergama, Turkey.

Mothers and daughters.

On the way down of the Akroplis, we stopped by the shop of a friend of ours. We hadn't seen her in a while. After having exchanged some news, she started telling that her menopause was causing her a lot of trouble, psychological troubles. She kept saying she felt unsightly and "I am ugly"  but since she had seen a homeopath, for the first time in her life, she felt better; the reason she felt ugly was that her mother told her she was ugly and no good when she was small. The fact is: she isn't ugly, she is beautiful, gorgeous, lively and accomplished, she has her own business, owns the shop she is in and there she was, saying I am ugly! Now she was in menopause, she suffered more, felt it more acute. She wasn't complaining, just telling us in a pragmatical way.

The truth is: if you haven't been told that you are beautiful, smart, funny.... when you were a kid and you came in contact with kids who have been told they are beautiful... and therefore act like they are beautiful... you see your mothers words as true and you can't see yourself as beautiful when you are an adult! I know this from experience: my mother never told me I was beautiful or smart or funny, but she luckily never told me  I was ugly or stupid. Some days I am in front of the mirror and I say: you' re not bad and other days I say: how could you ever think that you are "not bad".

I have been longing to write something about my husband and childeren, but hadn't find the proper time; really, I started writing some lines about my daughter, but didn't know how to blend her in  in the context and this is a splendid moment now:  oh Mothers, please tell your daughters (sounds like a phrase out of the house of the rising sun) that you love them, that they are beautiful, smart, good looking, kind, anything they are;  I am sure the more you look for their qualities, the more you can find them. Please don't blame YOUR mother: just as you they are the product of their upbringing, environment, education..... it is to us to break the circle now we know, so our daughters do have a notion about who they are.




My dearest daughter, my little sunshine (she is mostly in a good mood), my shy girl (she isn't shy any more), my smart girl (that she still is), my kind girl (she used to write me little notes on a piece of paper), my determined, courageous, resilient daughter! You know, when she was pregnant of Vicky, her water broke very early! and she had to lie flat 24/24 for a couple of months to keep the little water she had. That was not the hardest part: there was a risk she would give birth to a baby with breathing problems, a baby with a deformed face. But she had faith, wanted the baby and Vicky is now a very special, beautiful, smart and bright little girl That's how my daughter is, who she is! Yes, my daughter, this is you!

You readers, you all are daughters and maybe mothers of daughters, tell me about your experience, as a daughter,as a mother. You can write in the comments or if you feel too shy, you can write me using the contact form on the left of the post.


Leather small goods/jewels.

Climbing the acropolis took us a whole day; still I made a bracelet AND made a prototype of my own card wallet. The concept didn't take long but working it out: choosing the leather, the measuring, the cutting, the sewing took a couple of hours! When sewing, I realized I hadn't thought about closing the card wallet. I had to think of something before every seam was closed; unfortunately I was to quick to decide and the wallet doesn't close properly. My initial intention was to make a prototype out of fabric, study the problems, find a solution and only then start the leather copy. But time was pressing  and I made the prototype right away with all its consequences. But it looks good and holds 6 cards!

LoveLea's special card wallet outer side.


LoveLea's special card wallet, inner side.




I'll have to make another card wallet and do some  more thinking how to make it safe.

LoveLea's pink leather bracelet with snake head clasp.


This pink bracelet looks good. If you"re still tan from the summer, it will look even better. Will look nice to a party or if  you wear something with 3/4 sleeves.

Next post, I hope to show you some black leather jewels, good for the coming festivities! And tell me about your mother-daughter feelings.

2 comments:

  1. Lis Vaessen-ÖzönderSunday, December 24, 2017

    I’m indeed a mother of a daughter. And of course I am a daughter of my mother. Actually I am THE daughter in question here... 😁
    I indeed tell my daughter regularly that she is beautiful, sweet, smart and funny. I know she knows. But still I repeat it time and again, you never know she might forget. Because unfortunately I sometimes make myself angry for things she did or did not (I know I shouldn’t but sometimes I do have a temper!) or when I’m moody I tend to overreact. Then I apologize to my children and explain that I was in a bad mood or that I was stressed or afraid. My children understand and they forgive me. They know I am not angry at them but there’s something within me that triggered the (over)reaction.
    Anyway, I think it’s important to tell your kids they’re wonderful and of course correct them when necessary. And apologize to them when something went wrong. They can take it, they’re stronger and smarter than you think they are!
    Thank you mother, for being there for me.
    Kiss from
    Lis

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you my beautiful daughter for your addition to the blog! My mother was always there for me, even when I was too rebellious when I was a teenager, or did things she didn't approve of, she was patient and continued to accept me and love me. I learned from her to be there for my kids and I guess I transferred it to you and you transfer it to your daughter, my beloved grandchild.

    ReplyDelete

The event of the year (in my town), Pro's of having a dog, How I excorcise inspiration; My revamped quote!

The event of the year Last Friday it was my daughter's birthday and it was the first day of Suikerrock, a 3 day rock festival in our...

The event of the year (in my town), Pro's of having a dog, How I excorcise inspiration; My revamped