Cappadocia Views - "At Peace" at Last

After the "shock and awe" of my previous video blog titles "For No One" I think it would be appropriate for a little peace. This contains photos I've taken of Cappadocia, the volcanic region of Turkey, over a few visits. The first part consists of aerial views then we come down to ground somewhat although it's hard to really come down to ground in Cappadocia.

The name Cappadocia comes from the Latin for hose and region as it was once very wooded and fertile area for horses before the trees were cut down and over cultivation took place. It is still a very fertile region requiering only a little water to make crops explode into growth as it is predominately volcanic ash which itself is extremely fertile. At one time the solidified volcanic ash called tufa was carved out to form dwellings and churches. Some cave houses are still lived in and some cave churches are still in use.

Music is by Jade Warrior titles At Peace from the album of the same name.

We Are Alive

We are waves whose stillness is non-being.
We are alive because of this, that we have no rest.

Abu-Talib Kalim

The Eyes of Heisenberg

This was actually a reply to Dave Mason's Blogged article FIRST THOUGHT - First Toughts but, I felt it should go here as well.

* * *

Let there be Light...and when that first photon emerged from the churning chaos of the sub-quantum world that Dr. Werner Heisenberg called the potentia it emerged into Now, not some hypothetical time of the big bang countless billion years ago, but, Now. It emerged as the smallest possible particle that can exist in our universe approx. 10^-33 cm. At that size particles are constantly popping in and out of existence via the potentia. So this first photon popped out of the potentia, slowed its spin, got larger, did its thing in this new universe, sped up its spin, grew smaller and became so small it disappeared out of this universe into the potentia only to emerge again in another time and space. It kept repeating this for that first photon is eternal and soon space/time started seeing more and more of this lonely photon.

In due time, or should I say in due permutation, complex systems came into existence due to this first photon, the God Particle, being attracted to other manifestations of itself, orbiting itself in more and more complex patterns. Strange communications occurred with it's different separate selves over time and space in a non local fashion. Eventually systems came into existence that could sustain thought and fabricate conceptual universes. One such system that another system labelled Werner Heisenberg looked upon these photons and wondered why he could either observe them or measure them, but, not both. He also wondered what sort of force or energy there could be that could cause these photons once they had been in contact with each other to have an effect on each other in a non local manner, irrespective to time and space. He had not realised that he was not observing photons, but, he was just observing one photon that exista in all places at all times including making up every part of the system that he was. The God Particle.

Easter & Sham El Nessim

A few years back I was lucky to manage to get to Egypt for Easter. Not only is Spring such a beautiful time of year there as one can comfortably wander for miles without getting overheated, but, I had been wanting to attend a Coptic Christian service for some time. It's not that I'm overly religious, in fact those that know me would go as far as to say I'm a bit of an heretic, but, my motive was that I knew that certain Coptic rites were very close to the Ancient Egyptian religious rites and I wanted to experience one so Coptic Easter was perfect as there was a tradition at this time of year going back thousands of years.

In the West the origin of the name Easter almost definitely comes from the West Germanic Goddess Eostre, in High German Ostara (shades of Astara). She was the Goddess of fertility and the month of the Spring Equinox in Anglo Saxon was named after her - Eostur-monath. Her name is derived from the Proto Germanic root aew-s, "illuminate, especially of daybreak" and closely related to (a)wes-ter- "dawn servant", the dawn star Venus. Throughout the world though this time of the year, the spring equinox, is celebrated as a time of renewal, fertility and rebirth.

So on that particular Easter in Cairo a treat had been prepared for me. A dear friend in Cairo, Leila, had arranged for me to meet a Coptic gentleman who would escort me to St. Mary's Church known as The Hanging Church or al-Muallaqah in Arabic situated in the old part of Cairo known as Mari Girgis which in turn was once the ancient Roman citadel known as Babylon in Egypt. It is called the Hanging Church due to it being built upon old Roman pillars. Legend has it that originally the underground vault below the church was where the Holy Family of Jesus took refuge when fleeing the persecution of Herod. The rites in this church are reputed to be the oldest in the Coptic Church and from all accounts the closest to the Ancient Egyptian religious rites.

There are obvious differences between the rites in this church compared to Western Christian rites. The first major difference you are aware of is that there is no music. The priest chant, call out things and all to the clashing of cymbals. Then you notice that unlike in Western services they do not stand behind an altar and preach to you, they face away from you in the direction of the inner sanctuary or else you can just see them in the inner sanctuary. They perform the rites, you watch. At one time Western Christianity was like this, the priest was part of the congregation leading them in prayer facing the altar, then a change took place and the priest placed himself behind the altar, faced toward the congregation, raised himself up above than and took on the part of someone holy. The Coptic rite here though is very reminiscent of the Pharaohnic rites where the priest faces the holy of holies, the God performs the rites and the people are allowed to watch on special occasions.

After what seemed a lifetime the perambulation took place. This is where the icon of Christ is taken out of the inner sanctuary and paraded around the church so that blessing can be bestowed. In Ancient Egypt it was the God that was removed from the sanctuary inside a container. The container, the Barq of Ra was shaped something like a boat and carried suspended between two long poles attached to the Barq through metal rings and carried around the temple for all to see and be blessed by.

The next day was a holliday celebrated by Christians and Muslims alike, it was Sham El Nessim or the Sniffing (or tasting) of the Breeze or Zephir. The name of the holiday is actually derived from the ancient Egyptian harvest season that was called "Shamo", which means a day of creation. Plutarch's annals say, the ancient Egyptians used to offer salted fish, lettuce and onions to their deities on this day. The ancients imagined that that day represented the beginning of creation. The date of Sham El Nessim was not fixed. Rather, it was announced every year on the night before the feast at the foot of the Great Pyramid. The feast of 'Shamo,' means 'renewal of life' which was later corrupted during the Coptic age to 'shamm' (smelling or breathing) and the word 'nessim' (breeze) was added. The ancient Egyptians first celebrated the feast of Shamo in 2700 BC.

So, on what to us is Easter Monday we celebrated Sham El Nessim the traditional way that all Egyptians have done for thousands of years, we went on a picnic. Sitting in the quiet shade of a temple in the Giza Pyramid field (see picture above which is the precise spot) we tucked into out very salty dried fish, the most gigantic spring onions you've ever seen and of course...the painted boiled eggs. Yes, this is where the true origin of the Easter Egg comes from. It was tradition at Sham El Nessim to boil and paint eggs to take on the picnic. Not only was the egg a symbol of fertility and apt for this festival, but, the egg was also the hieroglyphic determinative for the Priestess of the Temple of Isis and this was the time of the Priestesses as they were central to the festivities.

So, a happy Easter to all and I hope you will join me in Sniffing the Breeze if not in person in spirit.

Song of Solomon

Following on from the Sufi Poem in my previous post and as I suggested reading the Song of Solomon to see how the tradition of encoding works I reproduce below the Song of Solomon from the King James Version of the Bible. The linked words should take you to explanatory notes on the Sacred Texts site

Chapter 1

1 The song of songs, which is Solomon's.

2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.

3 Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.

4 Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.

5 I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.

6 Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.

7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?

8 If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents.

9 I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots.

10 Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.

11 We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.

12 While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.

13 A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.

14 My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi.

15 Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes.

16 Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green.

17 The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.

Chapter 2

1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.

2 As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

5 Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.

6 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.

7 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

8 The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.

9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.

10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

14 O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.

15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.

16 My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.

17 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

Chapter 3

1 By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

2 I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

3 The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?

4 It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.

5 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

6 Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?

7 Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.

8 They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.

9 King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.

10 He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.

11 Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.

Chapter 4

1 Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.

2 Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.

3 Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.

4 Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.

5 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.

6 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.

7 Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.

8 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.

9 Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.

10 How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!

11 Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.

12 A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

13 Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,

14 Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:

15 A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

16 Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

Chapter 5

1 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.

2 I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.

3 I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?

4 My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.

5 I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.

6 I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

7 The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.

8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.

9 What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?

10 My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.

11 His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.

12 His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set.

13 His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.

14 His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.

15 His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.

16 His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

Chapter 6

1 Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.

2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

3 I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.

4 Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.

5 Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.

6 Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them.

7 As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks.

8 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.

9 My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.

10 Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?

11 I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished and the pomegranates budded.

12 Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib.

13 Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.

Chapter 7

1 How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.

2 Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.

3 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.

4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.

5 Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.

6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!

7 This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.

8 I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;

9 And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.

10 I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me.

11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.

12 Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.

13 The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

Chapter 8

1 O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.

2 I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.

3 His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.

4 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.

5 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee.

6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

8 We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?

9 If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.

10 I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.

11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.

12 My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.

13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it.

14 Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.

Sufi Poem (With Notes)

Yesterday, half inebriated, I passed by the quarters where the wine-sellers dwell,
To seek out the daughter of an infidel, who is a vendor of wine.
At the end of the street, a damsel, with a fairy's cheek, advanced before me.
Who, pagan-like, wore her tresses dishevelled over her shoulder like the sacerdotal thread.
I said, "O thou, to the arch of whose eyebrows the new moon is a shame!
What quarter is this, and where is thy place of abode?"

"Cast," she replied, "thy rosary on the ground, and lay the thread of paganism thy shoulder upon;
Cast stones at the glass of piety; and from an overflowing goblet quaff the wine.
After that draw near me, that I may whisper one word in thy ear;
For thou wilt accomplish the journey, if thou harken to my words."

Abandoning my heart altogether, and in ecstasy rapt, I followed her,
Till I came to a place where, alike, reason and religion forsook me.
At a distance, I beheld a Company all inebriated and beside themselves,
Who came all frenzied, and baiting with ardour from wine of love;
Without lutes, cymbals, or viols; yet all full of mirth and melody -
Without wine, or goblet, or flask; yet all drinking unceasingly.

When the thread of restraint slipped away from my hand,
I desired to ask her one question, but she said unto me, "Silence."
This is no square temple whose gates thou canst precipitately attain;
This is no mosque which thou canst reach with tumult, but without knowledge.
This is the banquet-house of infidels, and all within are intoxicated;
All, from eternity's dawn to the day of doom, in astonishment lost!
Depart, then, from the cloisters and toward the tavern bend thy steps.
Cast away the cloak of the Dervish, and don thou the libertine's robe."

I obeyed: and if thou desire with me the same hue and colour to acquire,
Imitate me, and both this and the next world sell for a drop of pure wine.

* * *

Notes

All is not as it first seems, this is Sufi poetry and codified. Words take on different meanings known to initiates, some phrases are opposite in meaning to what they appear to be. The following is an interpretation of some of the words and concepts:

Wine = Devotion.
Sleep = Meditation upon Divine Perfection.
Perfume = Hope of the Divine Afflatus (poetic inspiration).
Zephyrs (the gentle western breeze) = The gift of Godly Grace.
Kisses = Transports of Devotion and Piety.

Inverted meanings:

Idolaters, free thinkers, revellers = Those whose faith is of the purest description.
The Idol they adore = The Creator Himself.
The tavern = The place of prayer.
The wine drunk therein = The Holy Beverage of Love.
The keeper of the tavern = The Hierophant or spiritual teacher.
Beauty = The perfection of God.
Love-locks or tresses = The infinitude of His glory.
Down on the cheeks = The multitudinous Spirits which serve Him.
Inebriation and dalliance = The obstruction of the Soul which shows contempt of mundane affairs.

Now have a go at re-reading "The Song of Songs" and "The Song of Solomon", you will most definitely see them in a new light.

IAO 93

Twinkle twinkle little star
Oh how beautiful you are
Shining bright within my eye
Without colour or symmetry.
Mystics search you far and wide
Across the Gulf, the Dark Divide
Never knowing that they keep
The Pearl of Wisdom hidden deep
Within their Soul, the hidden house of IAO.

And from the spheres arise again
The Songs of Love of Ancient Friends
Renewed again by death and birth
Until all those who hear them know
The wondrous music in their Soul,
The hidden house of IAO.

Friends and lovers meet once more,
Their meeting opens up the door
To memories of forgotten lives
We lived in love of IAO.

The books we left behind are clues
To those we know and those we knew,
To those who know the 93,
The perfect love, agapé
Shimmering deep within your Soul
The hidden house of IAO.

© R Poland 24 Dec. 1995