tony conrad-pythagoras in the park

Fascinating discussion from one of the twentieth century's boldest gurus of sound....

The Incomparable Eddie Lang

The Krak Des Chevaliers

This castle, built in the Syrian heartland by medieval Frankish Crusaders, was thought by T.E. Lawrence to be the finest castle still standing. It was he said, "the castle of my boyhood dreams." I couldn't agree more.

Aleppo's Old City, Part 2

It's hard for me to fathom that two months ago, I was traveling across southern Turkey on my way to the Syrian border. Then it was three days in Aleppo's old city, a maze of spice alleys, ancient churches, and forgotten history. This was the Middle East as it largely once was, Christians and Muslims coexisting and doing business together, signs in Arabic, Greek, and Armenian, church bells fighting for aural space with the muezzin's wail. And all of this intoxicating variety held together by the distant but firm hand of dictatorship, the Baathist rule of the Assads, which for half a century had held this vast country together. It was repression to be sure, but you were as likely to be put in jail for espousing radical Islamism as mentioning visits to "occupied Palestine", and it's sad to say that the most colorful and hospitable patchwork culture in the Levant is one with no traces of democracy. In fact, democracy would most likely put an end to the coexistence here, much as Syria's next door neighbor Iraq has learned the harsh way in recent years.
Politics in this part of the world are troubling, and so I chose to pretend that I was a wanderer in this city, discovering its charms in a time unnamed, a year unknown. So little has changed to the rhythm of this place in hundreds of years that you could pretend to be a traveler in a time less troubled, less uncertain. On my first evening, drinking local Armenian wine and eating the famed Aleppan dish of lamb kebab sauteed in a thick cherry sauce, I watched the sun retreat beneath the stones of the plaza, families milling about eating ice cream, European tourists crowding the cafes, no sign of the 21st century in sight. That was, save for the large tv in a nearby hotel bar blaring the World Cup match between England and Algeria.
Next, I moved southward, deeper into the heartland and further into the dream world of this strange land.

The Baron Hotel, Aleppo

The Baron Hotel in Aleppo was the famed terminal point of interest on the old Orient Express route. T. E. Lawrence stayed here, Agatha Christie began writing "Murder on the Orient Express" here, and in seventy something years, little has changed. The decor is wondrously faded, the antique maps and advertisements plaster the walls, and the hotel bar is apparently a must for first time visitors. I had a couple of glasses of arak and was impressed at Mr Lawrence's formidable bar tab, framed on the wall and pointed out to me with a bit of pride by the bartender. Aleppo is a time capsule for sure, but the Baron is a capsule within a capsule. Marvelous.

scenes from the old city, aleppo 6/10

thessaloniki

I am going to be updating my site with more photos from my Middle Eastern travels. A lot of good ones from Syria and Beirut to come in the next few days!

John Archibald Wheeler

"Time is what prevents everything from happening all at once."
Probably the most famous quote by the late theoretical physicist and founder of the "black hole" concept.