Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace by Tony Madrid

Whether it is the occasion for national rejoice or moaning; British people flock to Buckingham Palace; it is here the national icon of Great Britain; the queen resides and standing on the Palace balcony she addresses the Public. British monarchy is the only one on earth that has been consistently loved by its people. The Buckingham Palace is not just the house of the royal family; it is a complex structure of many offices, administrative offices of monarchy, residences of staff, galleries, guest rooms, reception halls etc. The palace has a considerable portion left for the public to visit. In the course of 4 centuries this palace has been subjected to many expansions and modifications.

 A real mansion

This grand palace is 24 meters in height; 108 meters long and 120 meters in depth and has 775 rooms in total! These include 19 State Rooms, 52Royal and Guest-rooms, 188 bed rooms, two throne rooms and 92 offices. State Rooms are offices for executing the official duties of the monarch. More than 50,000 people visit this palace every year as guests (this number does not include the tourists who flock to the palace for sight- seeing) for banquets, lunches and other ceremonies like the Royal Garden party. The artifacts that decorate the walls and rooms of this palace is enough to enthrall any museums in the world; the portraits arranged are in the same order as Queen Victoria set them at her reign.

Buckingham Palace Guard by Márcio Cabral de Moura

History

 Buckingham Palace is not just a big mansion; it is history on brick and mortar; a symbol of an only monarchy; for ever loved by its people. The original structure of this palace was built by the Duke of Buckingham in 1705 for residence in the manor of Ebury known as Eia; a marshy place watered by River Tyburn (This River was later made to flow through submerged tunnel beneath the palace yard; the submerged River Tyburn quietly flows unseen and unknown!.



This mansion remained a private property for about 150 years until got acquired by King George III in 1761 for his Queen consort Charlotte to reside; (14 of the George III’s 15 children were born in this house) thus this mansion got yet another synonym; the’ Queen’s House’. King George III remodeled it as per the design of William Chambers in 1762.

Queens Carraige at the Royal Mews in London by Michael McDonough

(Queen Charlotte (1761 to 1818); who became the owner of the mansion (Mecklenburg- Strelitz was her full name) was a lover of arts and an amateur botanist; it was she who founded the Royal Botanical Gardens – the largest garden in London;  a World Heritage Site. She was Electress Consort of Hanover (who had the voting right to elect the Roman King). The Palace got yet another name as ‘Queen’s House due to the residence of Queen Charlotte.

Later King George IV started some remodeling works that lasted 47 years and was completed in 1827 under Nash (the over-shoot of budget cost Nash his job). During World War II the palace cruelly bombed by the Germans; a chapel attached to the palace was damaged; it was at that site the present gallery was built.

Every palace has its day

Buckingham Palace Guard by Márcio Cabral de Moura

The king who repaired it for half a century never moved in to it! A fire that broke out did extensive damage in 1834; however with the fire the bad-time of the mansion expired and fortune started to shine upon it in the shape of Queen Victoria who moved in and made the building her residential and administrative office.   It was in 1837 the mansion got readied to become the Royal Palace to accommodate Queen Victoria on her accession.

A Guinness-book record

Queen Victoria who ruled Britain for 63 years and 7 months holds the un broken record as the only woman who ruled a land for such a long period; she was nicknamed as the Grandmother of Europe as her 9 children as well as 26 out of 42 grand children were married to various royalties of Europe!). The chapel situated in the compound was flattened by German Bombers during WWII; and at that site the ‘Queens’s Gallery was built; where royal exhibits of the palace are displayed.

Queen Elizabeth (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary)

Victoria Memorial from Buckingham Palace by H M Cotterill

The present incumbent of the Palace is Queen Elizabeth II; she is second only to Queen Victoria for the title of being the longest ruler of England (from 6 Feb 1952 to present). The queen was born in April 21, 1926, daughter to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Bowes Lyon. Queen Elizabeth is mother to four children (Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward). As the monarch to British Crown she holds many titles; she is Constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states like Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica etc, head of 54 member Common-wealth nations including India and she is Supreme Governor of the Church of England. British people are eager to celebrate her diamond jubilee in 2012 (on completion of 60 years of reign on June 2012).

Blame it on Buckingham!

The current Royal Family consists of The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The history of this monarchy begins from 400 AD when the Scottish Monarchy was established; that lasted till 1603 giving way to the present incumbents. Centuries go by; still people are left with only two choices; either hate to love this centuries old legacy or love to hate it; but no one can afford to ignore it. When a member of the royal family sneezes; the whole world catches cold; can the media stay behind; they also start squeezing and pulling their elaborate noses spread world- wide! Blame it on Buckingham the exquisite palace and the legacy attached to it.

Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa

Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa

Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa image courtsey: touregypt.net

An underground city for the dead

As deep as the netherworld

Egypt is famous not only for its Pyramids which are tombs for the dead and rise to tremendous heights so as to kiss the heaven, but these tombs of Kom el Shoqafa or Mound of Shards (Lofus Kiramaikos in Greek) do just the opposite; they go deep in to the grounds to embrace the netherworld. The Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa may not be as famous or visible as the pyramids but they are equally astonishing and perhaps more intriguing than the Pyramids –the mother of all wonders. No wonder they are listed as one among the Seven Medieval Wonders of the World.

What are these catacombs?

Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa image courtsey: touregypt.net

These Catacombs are subterranean funeral halls; cut in rock; with galleries for the dead one’s coffins, places for conducting last rites; staircases and dining halls for the ritual feasts to be held associated with the funeral etc all carved in rock. In olden days Christians of the Roman empires also were resorted to bury their dead in subterranean catacombs to evade desecration by the oppressive regimes. Kom el Shoqafa structures were of Pagan sects. The Pharaoh-Cult members believed in rebirths of the dead; hence placed the bodies of the dead intact in sub terrene caves cut in rocks.

A fusion of three great civilizations,

Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa image courtsey: touregypt.net

The Catacombs are located in a fishing village of Rhakolis; the old part of City of Alexandria in Egypt (Alexandria is known as the Paris of antiquity) where Influence of Greek culture is still very much visible in architecture and artworks scattered throughout the city. The historical turmoil taken place during the past centuries have either eliminated or shattered much of the rich monuments those were standing on the ground (Pyramids though battered to great extents withstood all adversities). The ‘necropolis’ (meaning the city of the dead) by which such sites are called are underground cemeteries could escape damage because of their advantageous location. The Kom el Shoqafa Cemetery is the most beautiful as well as one among all the catacombs.

Tunnels of the 20^th century bow your heads in shame!

Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa image courtsey: touregypt.net

The Kom el Shoqafa; though not a big ‘city’ is big enough to house as much dead as they required and enough space was provided to conduct the last rites of the dead as per their existing customs, staircases and tunnels to connect all these together. As dead ones need no recreational facilities; so many facilities can be supposed to be more than enough for them. The construction can easily equal the modern-day subways and tunnel in the technology adopted for its construction but as far as aesthetics are concerned it was far superior to our 20^th century subways and monotonous tunnels!

A virtual museum!

Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa image courtsey: touregypt.net

This underground cemetery is believed to have built in the 1^st century at the time of the Antonine Emperors are also known as Mound of Shards meaning a mound of broken materials like glass stones etc. Members of the ‘Pharaonic cult’ were following Pagan rites as the organized religions were not in vogue two statues one of a man and the other a woman, the Sun God with wings flanked by two falcons, gods of the Roman and ancient Egyptian order like Sobek (the crocodile tailed god), Anubis (the god with head of dog) and the likes. The fusion of the arts and architecture of Imperial Roman Empire, Hellenistic (Greek origin) as well as the Egyptian styles is the main importance this site is that it is a typical case-study for the students of archeology, in that aspect itself it surpasses the Pyramids and remains one of the most memorable monuments of Egypt.

The discovery,

The strange thing is that the whole site was lying unknown till until one Friday 28the September, 1900 though there were excavations going on here for ancient monuments for several decades. It is said that a donkey that happened to fall in to a pit! Yes; no joke; a donkey accidentally fell in to a deep pit in the ground and the donkey’s trail led to discovery of this site! This story is contradicted by more reliable sources as while excavating land for stones; one Alexandrian by name Monsieur Es Sayed Aly Gibarah happened find the extraordinary things and he informed the Alexandria Museum authorities and it was thus the secret of an ancient cemetery was discovered by the world. The credit is shared by one Betti on the museum.

The complex,

Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa image courtsey: touregypt.net

It was a virtual treasure that was unfolded before the authorities who came hearing the news; something the authorities could not find for decades straightly came before them to be ‘discovered’; all filled with mud and water. When the dirt was pumped out and washed there gradually appeared a funeral complex with all paraphernalia. In the beginning a deep stairway with 99 steps that led them to a vestibule in the ground level which had two opposed niches (recess in the walls) well paved with alabaster (a type of marble used in classical works) believed to be resting place for the visitors.

In the first stage include a platform for funeral rituals, a vestibule with double exedra (arcade for assembly), a rotunda (hall with a dome), a Roman style triclinium (a big dining-table with chairs at three sides) and what else?

In the second stage there were the main accessible from the rotunda through staircase tombs Hundreds of chambers and numerous sarcophagus tombs (‘sarcophagi’ literally means body eater as these types of rocks absorb body matter they are called so), and what else? Magnificent statues, decorations on all proper places, images, ornate carvings and practically everything needed for a funeral hall.

A perfect creation!

The whole complex is nothing short of a complete funeral complex; all cut in a rock with a depth equal to the height of a five storied building a shaft of six meter in diameter provided to let light and fresh-air in. This shaft had holes with the stairways to light up the stairs. The real delight for the archeologists is the names provided on the tombs of the dead. The scripts written, the motif, the engravings, statues and even the coffins are all treasures not only to the archeologists but all who love their heritage and history.

Millenniums never end!

In a sense catacombs were escape roots to the oppressed and the hunted to preserve their rituals and heritage, and at the same time it has become a medium for them to communicate with people who happened to see it after twenty long centuries. A tale of oppression suffered by some people and their brave survival strategies; along with expression of creative talents in the middle of sufferings. When the people of the 21^st century see and appreciate their culture the souls of these people even heave a sigh of relief, let us hope these people rest in their tombs in eternal peace for far more millenniums to come!.

Colosseum

The Colosseum Rome, Italy

The Colosseum at dusk

Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre)

The Iconic Symbol of the Imperial Rome.

Built “between” 70 – 80 AD; for fulfilling the sadistic pleasure of the rulers of the Erstwhile Roman Empire; the Colosseum is the biggest structure (it is an amphitheatre) built in the Roman Empire. The size of Colosseum was such (165feet in height and 200 feet in length) that it could easily accommodate 50,000 spectators; all well segregated based on their status. The emperor was seated in separate cabin while Senators and people of high social status occupied the front rows. Ordinary men (who formed the majority) sat behind them and women just behind them.

Colossus with Nero’s head!

Nero - Roman Emperor image courtsey: pictopia.com

It was Vespacin the Roman Emperor who constructed this elliptical (with perfect oval shape) theatre. Titus Flavius Vespacianus, (69-79) was the founder of the Flavian dynasty the theatre is named as Flavian Amphitheatre after his family name. A giant bronze statue of Colossus was there on the front of the theatre, later Emperor Nero (none other than that gentleman who fiddled when Rome burnt!) replaced its head and with a replica of his own head! It remains as a strange fact that the theatre later came to be known by the name of the statue of Colossus, and later got corrupt to become Colosseum! Eventually this statue was taken away to be melted.

That outlived the Empire.

Map of medieval Rome depicting the Colosseum

The Colosseum is not just a colossal structure situated at the heart of Rome; it was companion to the history of the great Roman Empire which boldly outlived the Empire facing all strives and tribulations associated with the fall of the Empire. As a venue for some of the most brutal events ever taken place in the history of the world and as a structure standing witness for about twenty centuries; the Colosseum has got a lot of stories to tell, the, existence and fall of the great Roman Empire is just one among them, how many emperors have ruled over it; how many perished, how many executions, how many duels, and how many people were thrown before lions for entertaining the spectators? All stories of extreme power sheer greed.

Commodes the butcher-emperor!

The ‘Shows’ held in this amphitheatre were astoundingly real, duels were fought either to kill or die; most often rivals were not matching; when one was trained and armed gladiator his opponents may either a prisoner of war or a convicted person without any arms. Programs are all prearranged and begin when the Emperor takes his seat; various items are performed as if in a circus. Rich and noble people had trained slaves by name ‘gladiators’ who had to fight duels with those of other owners (a trained gladiator being an asset often he is not let to die; for the pleasure of audience some helpless man is left before him to be cut in to pieces). Emperor Commodes was not satisfied by just seeing it, he took part in fights. For him to fight some wounded convicts or invalids may be sent unarmed to the stage and the armed king enjoyed the pleasure of cutting him in to pieces, the king was always victorious; what a show!

Entertainment unleashed!

The Colosseum

The Main and final show may be between two gladiators armed with short swords but Convicted persons and prisoners of war were also forced to ‘fight’ well trained and armed gladiators killing them were just a warm up exercise to the gladiators and a time pass to the viewers. Terror on the face of the victim and his helpless gesticulations when seeing death face to face with death were feast to the sadistic crowd. The stage made of wooden planks had underground chambers from where at times wild animals were unleashed all on a sudden there will be applause when wild animals tore the victims in to pieces! Those gladiators who fought valiantly at times gained applause and request from crowd for his release were sometimes admitted by the emperor, and then the gladiator may be given a wooden sword as a mark of release.

A dream turn nightmare,

At times for a joke the emperor will point a spectator -who was enjoying the show- to his guards; that unfortunate spectator will be forced in to the stage to ‘fight’ a gladiator armed with sword! At times may got gorged by a hungry wild lion released before him all on a sudden, there will be suspense what will be taking place. These are just comedies for the spectators who were not ‘invited’ to the stage! Wild animals like lion, tiger, rhinoceros, hippo etc were imported from as far as Africa and India for the ‘show’ and they were starved for days before the show!

Though mock; what a thrill!

A map of central Rome during the Roman Empire, with the Colosseum at the upper right corner

This amphitheatre; the biggest structure built by the erstwhile Roman Empire was a mute witness of all these dramas unfolded within its walls and outside; spanning a period of 20 long centuries. If these real events were more dramatic than drama itself; Colosseum was venue for real dramas in the medieval period. After the fall of the Empire there were no slaves to be thrown to the lions, no gladiators for duels; Romans got bored and looked to the Colosseum for some entertainment; Colosseum had answers let there be real dramas! Mock- wars, sea-battles, ‘executions’, reenactments of fearsome historical events and what else? Bored Romans sighed in relief; those who (may be their great grand children) so far applauded at real events seeing real blood; got at least some mock events to cheer! The walls of Colosseum began to reverberate with the war cries of gladiators and wails of their victims, though mock; what a thrill!

From work-shop to shrine!

Later this structure had the fortunes and misfortunes to be venue for different ball games; far more different roles! It was used as quarters for the members of some religious sects, as fortress, workshop, as a Christian Shrine (it still has its umbilical chord with the Roman Catholic Church) and what else. The early stages of the consumer culture haunted the Colosseum in form of stone robbers who did not spare this invaluable treasure of a structure; for them it was a mass of stones to be robbed! Its walls still bear the gaping holes from where exquisite brass fittings were plucked off.

Doggy days!

Even nature did not leave it unscathed; several earth quakes, lightning fire; all rocked and ruined this unfortunate building. The scars we now see on the structure are the result of collective work of nature and the stone robbers. Colosseum got robbed, bruised, dismembered, down but not out as it was made of sterner stuff. It though bruised is still capable of attracting more tourists and travelers than anything else in Italy, it should be read along with the lines that Italy is the home of most of the classical works among which the bruised structure stands tall as a challenge.

An end to the nightmares,

The whole world has recognized the value of the Roman city and its pride the Colosseum and the Romans will never let anybody loot or tarnish it anymore. The archeological dept of Italy has been good enough to prevent further damages and for the fortunes of the world the present Colosseum is one of the best preserved World Heritage Site in the world.

Missed the bus!

Original façade of the Colosseum

The Colosseum was built in 70 – 80 AD about 300 years after the original list of the Seven Wonders of the World was compiled (in about 3^rd century BC) and by a narrow margin Colosseum missed the bus to get a seat in the list. Had Colosseum existed at that time it sure would have declared one as its architecture and prominence taken in to account. George

Who lives if Rome and Colosseum die?

English poet George Gordon Lord Byron has sung,

While stands the Colosseum,

Rome shall stand,

When falls the Colosseum,

Rome shall fall;

And when Rome falls

-the whole world.

The above lines show the affection people had towards the holy city of Rome and the Colosseum in particular. please remember that Lord Byron mentioned Colosseum neglecting Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica, what else is required for the popularity of this towering and enchanting colossus; the Colosseum!.

The Ashoka Pillar of Delhi

The Ashoka Pillar of Delhi

The iron pillar of Delhi

Delhi’s Iron Pillar

Thy riddle is hard to read!

One thousand and six hundred years old, made of pure wrought iron, weighs six tons, 7.375 meters high, standing bare for all these years in the scorching climate of Delhi, no fungus, no rust, no corrosion, nothing could scar even the inscriptions made on it; this pillar literally stands tall as a wonder for the modern man to witness the greatness of his ancestors; who could do what the space-age scientists not. The Iron Pillar of Delhi (also known as Ashoka Iron Pillar) belongs to the ‘Chandragupta 11 –Vikramaditya’ (between 3^rd and 4the century AD) period remains as a riddle even to the modern metallurgists who rack their brains to find out the secret behind the eternal youth of this wrought iron pillar.

In Great Company,

Inscriptions on the iron pillar

The Ashoka Pillar is a plain vertical cylinder like structure up to its 90% of the height, then an inverted bell with flattened pot-like engravings on its top, to crown it all is a platform with Ashoka Chakra Emblem, only that much and no over doings. This pillar is at present placed on a recently built cement platform with iron fencing. The location of the pillar is among the famous Qutub Minar Complex in Mehruli in Delhi. This complex a UNESCO accredited World Heritage Site that houses an array of monuments and buildings built by Qutub din Ayback (the first ruler of the Slave Dynasty) and his following rulers including the British. Along with Qutub Minar and the Ashoka Pillar, there are the Alai Minar, Quwwat ul Islam Mosque, Ala I Darwaza and other numerous archeologically prominent structures. The Ashoka Iron Pillar is not as big as Qutub Minar in size but perhaps more wonderful for its inborn chemistry and history.

Smaller only in size,

The soaring tower of Qutub Minar built in the 12^th century is 72.5 meters tall; it is the tallest brick Minaret in the world. Qutub Minar is 14.3 meters wide in the base and 2.7 meters at the top. Its enormous sand stone walls, projecting balconies and inscriptions have made it India’s pride and it remains as a hot tourist destination. The Ashoka Pillar was brought to Delhi from its original destination in the 13^th century and installed literally in the shades of Qutub Minar. This in no sense makes this pillar in any way ‘smaller’ than the giant Qutub Minar. The Ashoka Pillar is senior to the Minar by ten centuries and bears inscriptions far more valuable to history about the emperors existed thousand years before the makers of the wonderful creations of the Qutub Complex. These inscriptions hail the greatness and valor of one ‘Chandra’ of the Gupta Empire (believed to be Chandagupta Vikramaditya -2; who ruled India between 3^rd and 4^th centuries AD.

The Chemistry,

Why this wrought iron pillar is not affected by rust; when in the extreme climate of Delhi even painted and well sheltered iron materials rust quick? For centuries this question has haunted scientists and metallurgists of the whole world. Chemical analyses of its parts have revealed that the iron that makes it; is of very pure quality with less quantity of carbon. It is high in phosphorus and low in sulfur and manganese. They say that the phosphate form a film that is inert to chemicals and protects the pillar from rusting. If so why all other iron structures need painting and preservation; why they do not form a phosphate film? The iron lost by rusting costs several billions to the world and no scientist has any solution other than galvanizing (zinc coating) and painting that needs periodical doings and not 100% effective at all.

One more riddle,

Translation of the inscription in English.

This Pillar was originally located at the Udayagiri (original name Vishnu pada giri) Cave Complex in Saanchi about 50 km from Bhopal (the city where the great gas leak occurred in December 3, 1984 from the Union Carbide plant that killed about five thousand people). Its original location (Udayagiri) was exactly at the tropic of cancer and some astrological reasons are attributed to be there regarding its installation. In the summer solstice day (when the sun reaches its peak) alone the shadow of the pillar fell directly at the feet of the idol of the temple that existed there. It is yet another riddle like the secret of its non-rusting quality one for astronomers and the other for metallurgists!

Ahoka Chakra –a place in the sun,

The pillar bears the Ashoka Chakra Emblem at its top; which has been adopted by the Government of India when its Tricolor National flag was shaped. The ‘Tricolor’ National flag which bears horizontally placed Orange, White and Green, and Chakra Emblem is in the middle of the white band the Chakra (a blue wheel with 24 spokes) represents movement and vitality; Orange; dedication, White; peace and Green prosperity). A nation with Ashoka Chakra on its national flag means a nation on the rolls and by the great fortune of Indians this biggest democracy has always been on the move ever since.

An old Romeo haunted by lovers!

Somehow centuries back; a rumor spread that hugging and spreading hands around the pillar was auspicious and that would fulfill the wish of the hugger. As the news spread; tourists from around the world who visited the site began to hug this pillar, there were scramble to hug this old pillar! The frenzy reached in such a level that people even began to visit this site to hug this pillar alone and such a violent love affair with the pillar grew to create law and order problems forcing the Archaeological Department to ban hugging the pillar (even this iron pillar began to wear and tear due to persistent hugging; now a steel fence guards this pillar from violent huggers!

Statutory Warning ‘Hugging is injurious to health’!

Fortunately the authorities have not still placed a board nearby stating ‘hugging is injurious to health’ as smoking and drinking are! Bureaucrats if have any ideas of placing such a board beware; they should show the model as stopping hugging altogether not just the Romeo-pillar! This pillar is very old and if its gets some comfort by hugging of beautiful Juliets why ban it? The author rightly think the secret of longevity of this pillar is not phosphate and magnesium but the hugging it got from enchanting womenfolk (serotonin produced during love is help for longevity –a fact even scientists agree!) A request to the visitors if authorities prevent you from hugging; do it each other and make the pillar a happy witness and you a more refreshed tourist as well! Wishing a longer and happier life to the pillar!