Not knowing of what the future holds, a young lad walks the streets, jokes and talks with his friends, who make the little world around him. Fed with the belief since his birth to be the master of his self, to be able to control his surroundings, this young boy looks for nothing more than a peaceful life, a nice house, love and a cup of coffee by the fire, just before the final chapter of his life unfolds before his eyes. This young kid is no one else, but me. And this is my life, my world and my fate.
Such are the little worlds spread in every house, across every nation, everywhere on the planet. When I put the morning paper on the table and I see the after-math of the war of my age, I wonder, wonder about the lives of kids and families who are not different than me, nor different than anyone who resides on our planet. An attack on the WTC’s triggered a war, which according to the president of our current super-power was, War… for peace. I am unable to comprehend such statements; they make no sense to me. A nation which is unable to figure out a hi-jacked plane en-route to a major city puts a whole list of prime suspects out in less time than imaginable. Not only that, the nation goes to attack another country, a country which probably is not able to design a ball-bearing, let alone trigger such terrorist-acts.
Osama Bin Laden, a name that brings fear to a lot of the people in the world, why does it not bring out feelings of hate and fear in my mind? Probably because man is taught to hate, not by nature, not by instinct, but his own kind. The list of the prime-suspects had Osama’s name on top; I was not surprised when the US went on to attack Afghanistan, a whole nation of innocent people, which after years of war, was finally on the verge of industrial take-off. I’m still unable to understand the reasons behind the war, which is the war of our age, hundreds of thousands of people perished, for one prime-suspect. Why? I have no answer. But this did not affect much of my life, nor did it make any difference for the world I was a part of, except that it saddened me deeply. But I still joked with my friends; I still had dreams that needed fulfillment.
The war for peace had taken a new turn, and it was now looking straight in the eyes of the nation I called mine. Iraq! Like a hungry beast, that longs to feast on his prey, America was planting excuses to invade my nation. And alas, we heard it one day. Ah yes, you guessed it right, Weapons of Mass Destruction. My country, ruled by a dictator, who tortured those who were guilty, hanged those who murdered, maybe hanged a few innocent people, was now accused of making WMD’s. After all the explanations, the urge and hunger of oil got the better of US and the fateful month of March, 2003, US invaded. Again, hundreds of thousands of people were killed, the whole infrastructure destroyed, obviously, there were not WMD’s, so the accusation cleverly removed from the gullible mind of the rest of the world, who like the once me, maybe were saddened, but forgot the original reason of the invasion pretty easily. I not only lost my family, I lost my nation, my heritage, my world. Now I live as a refugee with all the hopes which are now faded memories, and a deep grief of my perished family.
To all those who talk on the evening family gathering, I still want to say only one thing, it was not WMD’s, it was not the dictatorship, it was and still is, a war.., for peace. Peace for certain sick individuals that control the lives of millions and use them for their inhumane acts. Saddam did wrong, the country was standing, and US brought peace, I, who was a proud citizen now live as a refugee. The country has crumbled and fallen to its knees. If that’s the definition of good and bad, then I beg to differ, and I must say; I have nothing to do with this world, anymore.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Ancient Egypt and The Pyramids at Giza
I wrote this some years back, I thought I'd share my love for the pyramids.
Two Great Forces - The Nile River and the Surrounding Desert shaped one of the world's most enduring civilizations. Each year the river over-flowed its banks and deposited a fresh layer of rich earth across its flood-plain, inspiring Egyptians to call this region, Kemit - The Black Land. This predictable cycle of renewal nourished farmer's fields, filled the royal granaries and supported the theocracy headed by a divinely connected King, or Pharaoh. Whose basic concepts held steady for more than three millennia. Khufu, who built the great pyramid was the son of the First King of the Old Kingdom, in 4th Dynasty (2950 - 2575bc) named, Snefru.
As kings strengthened their control and organized the administration of their territory which stretched south to Nubia. The increasingly channeled the country's resources into the preparation of their tombs. Early architects worked in mud-bricks but in the 3rd Dynasty they began to engineer ever-larger pyramids, in stone. Only royals were buried in these tombs inside pyramids. But wealthy noblemen constructed their own elaborate tombs. They inscribed the walls with hieroglyphics that depicted the bounty they hoped the afterlife would hold. Grave goods included papyrus writing material and items made from gold and lapis-lazuli.
Much of the building took place during the month when the Nile flooded the cultivated fields and the King could put the idled farmers to work on construction crews. For King Khufu's great Pyramid at Giza plateau workers prepared and set in place some 2.3 million stone blocks weighing 2 and a half tons each. Khufu's authority was absolute, but by the 6th Dynasty regional administrators had begun to usurp royal authority. Eventually sever kings competed for control and Egypt endured a time of internal conflict, poverty and famine; the first intermediate period.
The Great Pyramid of Khufu was 481 feet high and was the tallest monument in the world until the 19th Century. There are three pyramids in line, facing West, the left most is of Menkaure (grand-son of the grand-son of Khufu), the middle pyramid is of, Khafre (grand-son of Khufu) and the right most is the Great Pyramid, built by, Khufu.
Giza is the name of the plateau where the great pyramid is situated, it was made some 4,500 years from now. There are two main chambers in the Pyramid of Khufu. Namely, the King's Chamber and the Queen's Chamber. Some 25,000 workers worked for years to make the 481 feet high monument. Some of the mysteries about the great pyramid is, that how did they managed to take those 2.5 ton heavy stone blocks up at the height of 481 feet? Or how did they squared the circle (golden ratio, math). Well maybe that’s why they called him, The Pharaoh.
Two Great Forces - The Nile River and the Surrounding Desert shaped one of the world's most enduring civilizations. Each year the river over-flowed its banks and deposited a fresh layer of rich earth across its flood-plain, inspiring Egyptians to call this region, Kemit - The Black Land. This predictable cycle of renewal nourished farmer's fields, filled the royal granaries and supported the theocracy headed by a divinely connected King, or Pharaoh. Whose basic concepts held steady for more than three millennia. Khufu, who built the great pyramid was the son of the First King of the Old Kingdom, in 4th Dynasty (2950 - 2575bc) named, Snefru.
As kings strengthened their control and organized the administration of their territory which stretched south to Nubia. The increasingly channeled the country's resources into the preparation of their tombs. Early architects worked in mud-bricks but in the 3rd Dynasty they began to engineer ever-larger pyramids, in stone. Only royals were buried in these tombs inside pyramids. But wealthy noblemen constructed their own elaborate tombs. They inscribed the walls with hieroglyphics that depicted the bounty they hoped the afterlife would hold. Grave goods included papyrus writing material and items made from gold and lapis-lazuli.
Much of the building took place during the month when the Nile flooded the cultivated fields and the King could put the idled farmers to work on construction crews. For King Khufu's great Pyramid at Giza plateau workers prepared and set in place some 2.3 million stone blocks weighing 2 and a half tons each. Khufu's authority was absolute, but by the 6th Dynasty regional administrators had begun to usurp royal authority. Eventually sever kings competed for control and Egypt endured a time of internal conflict, poverty and famine; the first intermediate period.
The Great Pyramid of Khufu was 481 feet high and was the tallest monument in the world until the 19th Century. There are three pyramids in line, facing West, the left most is of Menkaure (grand-son of the grand-son of Khufu), the middle pyramid is of, Khafre (grand-son of Khufu) and the right most is the Great Pyramid, built by, Khufu.
Giza is the name of the plateau where the great pyramid is situated, it was made some 4,500 years from now. There are two main chambers in the Pyramid of Khufu. Namely, the King's Chamber and the Queen's Chamber. Some 25,000 workers worked for years to make the 481 feet high monument. Some of the mysteries about the great pyramid is, that how did they managed to take those 2.5 ton heavy stone blocks up at the height of 481 feet? Or how did they squared the circle (golden ratio, math). Well maybe that’s why they called him, The Pharaoh.
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