 Flying the Flags
The Jersey flag flies high over Elizabeth Castle, while the Union Jack presides over the courtyard. Jersey, the southern-most of the Channel Islands, packs a lot of history into a tiny space.
Much of this history is because of the island’s strategic location: only 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) from France. Functionally part of the United Kingdom since the Norman conquest of England under William the Conqueror in 1066, this little island in the English Channel has been an integral player in the ongoing European border disputes since that time.
Elizabeth Castle, built in the late 1500s to protect the island against the threat of French invasion, is a good example. The castle’s pedigree is like something out of a Masterpiece Theatre Historical Drama: the fortification was named for the Tudor English Queen, Elizabeth I, by the infamous explorer and courtier, Sir Walter Raleigh, who was Governor of Jersey from 1600 until 1603.
Elizabeth Castle was built on a rocky, tidal islet in St Aubin’s Bay – the same islet that was reputedly once home to the sixth century hermit and martyr, St Helier. The castle replaced Jersey’s original principal defensive structure, Mont Orgueil Castle, which had been built high over the harbour of Gorey in the early 1200s. That castle became indefensible, however, with the development of gunpowder and the possibility of ships with cannons attacking the growing city of St Helier.
King Charles II took refuge in the Governor’s House at Elizabeth Castle during the English Civil War; French prisoners were kept on the island during the Seven Years’ War; and the German occupying forces re-fortified the bunkers during the World War II.
 Causeway to Elizabeth Castle
At low tide you can walk from St Helier, Jersey’s capital, to the rocky islet in St Aubin’s Bay – or you can make a crossing in one of the amphibious ferries at any tide.  Cobbled Slipway
A steep slipway climbs up to the main gate, Elizabeth Castle.  Hospital Building
A two-story barracks hospital building, constructed in the early 19th century, stands outside the main bastion. Crests on the Wall
The battlements around the castle date back to the 1590s. Flowers on the Corner Through the Arch to St Aubin’s Bay Guard Turret Elizabeth Castle, the Cannon Battery, and the Barracks Rocky Shore
The hill over the Grand Battery affords views back to St Helier. Visitor Resting in the Grand Battery Cannons along the Grand Battery
Some of the old cannons in the castle are maintained and are still in use; there is a demonstration of the firing daily. Cannon Insignia
Elizabeth Castle was built at a time when cannon fire was the main threat during warfare. View from Below
Looking up to the top of the castle where the Jersey flag flies against a rainy sky. Parade Ground
The old barracks, first built in the mid-1600s, now house museums on War and Peace; Granite and Gunpowder; and Militia. “Invaded”
Inside one of the exhibits, a 2012 Jersey Heritage ‘newspaper’ is displayed. It is written as if it were a contemporaneous account (6 January 1781) of the Battle of Jersey. The French invading force was attempting to remove the British threat to French shipping during the American Revolutionary War. Weeds on the Roof
The old buildings host some wonderful colours and textures. Window in the Wall
Looking back towards the city of St Helier. Grated Window
Looking towards St Helier’s Hermitage. View from the Castle
It’s an impressive – if breezy – view over St. Aubin’s Bay from the top of the castle. Buildings at the Back
Behind the barracks, the stairs in the wall lead down to the hermitage and the breakwater. Weeds on the Wall The Hermitage Rock
The back of St Helier’s Hermitage and Elizabeth Castle can be viewed from the breakwater. The Hermitage
The steps up to “St. Helier’s Bed”, the hollow in the rock where the ascetic hermit Helier sheltered, are steep and slippery. Helier was martyred in 555 AD, and the stone medieval chapel was built soon afterward. Pilgrims still visit annually on July 16. Elizabeth Castle from the Back Captains Quarters
Working our way back through the barracks, we go through re-constructed residences… Sergeant at Arms
… arriving at the Parade Ground in time for a fire-arm talk and demonstration by a “Sergeant at Arms”. Jersey Cow
The island’s eponymous cow is well represented in the gift shop… Main Gate and Ticket Office
… which we check out quickly … “Charming Nancy”
… before we catch one of the amphibious ferries back to the city. 
That’s how I like my history: in a form I can wander around, climb over, and poke into.
It’s like a ramble into the past – and Jersey sure has a fascinating past.
Photos: 31August2013
Posted in Architecture,History,Jersey,TravelTags: architecture,blog,defence,history,Jersey,museum,Photo Blog,travel,Travel Blog,Ursula Wall,war
Cliff Dwelling
Visitors to the Frijoles Canyon in Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico, explore the cavates: cliff rooms that were dug out of volcanic tuff some time during the Ancestral Pueblo Period. . . .
There is something intriguing about walking in the footsteps of prehistoric people – people who have left no written records and whose lives we can only pretend to reconstruct from the buildings and artefacts they left behind.
I had read about the Cliff Palace, a complex of cliff dwellings built by the ancient Anasazi – more properly called the Ancestral Pueblo People (APP) – in what is now the Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. I had been hoping to visit the complex on our last driving trip across the United States, but the site was too far off the route we needed to follow. Fortunately for us, archaeological remains and monuments can be found all across Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico.
Bandelier National Monument is just an hours’ drive out of Santa Fe, which made it accessible to us. Managed by the US National Parks Service, the 33,000 acre reserve protects the remains of an ancestral settlement that was occupied between 1150 and 1550 CE. The park was named for a self-taught anthropologist and historian: Adolph FA Badelier, who was introduced to the settlement in the Frijoles Canyon in 1880, and whose pioneering work helped establish the foundation for southwestern archeology.
Native American Pueblo people say that their ancestors have always lived in the arid “Four Corners” region of the Southwestern United States. Modern archeologists, however, think that nomadic hunter-gatherers migrated into the region some 10,000 years ago.
Wherever they originated, sometime before 1200 CE, the Ancestral Pueblo People built their homes into the canyon walls and floor. They began to practice agriculture up on the Pajarito Plateau and in Frijoles Canyon, cultivating corn, beans, and squash. They domesticated turkeys for food and feathers, and dogs to help hunt and for companionship. Like their hunter-gatherer fore bearers, they hunted deer, rabbit, and squirrel, and supplemented their diet with native plants.
New Mexico Vista
The landscape around Santa Fe is typical of the area: dry mesa and green river canyons. Sides of the Frijoles Canyon
The geology here in the Pajarito Plateau is the result of two massive eruptions of the Jemez Volcano, fourteen miles to the northwest, over a million years ago. The pink walls of the canyon are not sandstone, but compacted volcanic ash. Mule Deer Hiding
We walked along the Nature Trail, which follows the Frijoles Creek, through a forest that hides animals … American Robin (Turdus migratorius) in a Gambel Oak Tree (Quercus gambelii)
… and bird life. Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) Bark Look Up!
The Ancestral Pueblo people used the wood from the tall, straight, ponderosa pine trees as roof beams for their homes. The Ladder
Soon we come to the first … Up the Ladder
… of four wooden ladders … On the Ladder
… that lead 140 feet (42.7 metres) up the canyon wall to Alcove House, a circular ceremonial chamber or kiva. Access to the most interesting part of the site was fenced off when we were there, but at least we had the view over the canyon before heading back down the way we had come. Frijole Canyon Floor
Once we are away from the creek, the landscape changers dramatically. Cane Cholla (Cylindropuntia Imbricata)
Although considered “famine food” in modern times, it is thought that the Ancestral Pueblo People (APP) made good use of the yellowish-green fruit of the Walking Stick cactus. It could be eaten fresh or dried for winter. Pictograph
This painted design (now covered in perspex for protection) would have been part of a back wall. The viga holes in the cliff-face, which once held rafters, give an indication of how wide and high this multi-story long-house was. Walkway
The evidence of housing stretches along the south-facing wall of the canyon, where occupants would have benefited from the afternoon sun, especially in winter. Back Walls
In addition to the painted designs and the viga holes, we can see niches and carved patterns and drawings, which probably held some special significance. Textured Walls
Tuff, the compacted volcanic ash, has a gritty texture and is easily eroded by wind and rain.. Erosion Cave Kiva
Traditionally, a kiva is a room used by Puebloans for religious rituals. This one is reconstructed based on the assumption that it was used for sacred weaving. Through the Canyon
Navigating the narrow pathways can be as challenging as climbing the steep ladders. Cliff House
Families explore nooks and crannies in the “cavates”, or cave rooms. Tyuonyi
The stone outlines of the village Tyuonyi can be seen on the Frijoles Canyon floor. Tyuonyi, probably built around 1380 C.E., was home to about a hundred people until the area was abandoned about 1550. Rock Sculpture ~ Volcanic Tuff Talus Houses
These buildings were reconstructed in 1920 to give visitors an idea of how cliff houses may have looked. However, it is now thought that entry would have most likely been through doorways in the roof, not in the walls. Through the Housing
At the side of the path, you can see the stone walls that once formed part of the oval plaza of Tyuonyi. The circular city-complex was three stories high in some places. American Kestrel (Falco Sparverius)
Back at the Visitor Center, we meet a rehabilitating kestrel. Feathered Head Gourd Mask
In the giftshop, modern renditions of traditional art forms bring the past into the present. The Pueblo people stopped living at this site over 450 years ago – and no one is quite sure why. But, from the beginning of the 1500s, they moved away from the Pajarito Plateau – many think they migrated to the expanding economies along the Rio Grande – and left the the Frijoles Canyon empty…
… empty – except for the Ancestral spirits who are still thought to reside there.
“Movement is life. Movement is seen everywhere… Movement was characteristic of our ancestors, who moved across the landscape like the clouds across the sky.”
 — Tessy Naranjo, Santa Clara Pueblo
Pictures: 20May2013
Posted in America,Nature,pre-history,USATags: ancient,architecture,blog,National Park,nature,Photo Blog,ruins,Travel Blog,Ursula Wall,USA
Carnival Sensation
Our ship is tied up at Prince George Wharf, across from Festival Place, Nassau, the Bahamas. This time a year ago, my husband and I were on a big boat, on a very short trip from Port Canaveral (Orlando) Florida, to Nassau, capital of the Bahamas.
You might ask why we were on what can only be described as a floating resort-cassino in the North Atlantic Ocean.
That’s a very good question, one we would struggle to answer without a very lengthy explanation. Suffice it to say, my husband is a glass-half-full kind of guy, the sort of person who doesn’t look a gift-horse in the mouth – and therefore doesn’t tend to look for attached strings or hidden Trojan soldiers.
Anyway… Never mind how we came to be there; never mind that our planned shore-trip had been washed out by recent flooding; never mind that it was still raining: we had only a few hours in Nassau, and we were going to make the most of it!
Paradise Island Lighthouse
It’s not exactly beach weather, but looking across Nassau Harbour from the deck of our boat, we can see the Paradise Island Lighthouse sitting at the end of Colonial Beach. Family in the Rain
It rained off and on as people made their way off the large cruise boats docked on Prince George Wharf. Atlantis Paradise Island Resort
A sprawling resort complex on Paradise Island, Atlantis includes accommodation complexes and water-park attractions. The Bridge Suite, in the Royal Towers, is listed at US $25,000 a night; apparently the 10th most expensive hotel suite in the world (2012), and – according to our guide – booked solid for months in advance. Festival Place
Our entry into Nassau is through Festival Place, where we go through the usual customs and immigration rigamarole, and run the gamut of small shops before exiting out the other side. Guide James
James, our Bahamian guide to Nassau points out the sights as he drives us through the wet cobbled streets… Bay Street
… filled with cars, buses, pony traps and pedestrians. Queen’s Staircase
Our first stop is at the bottom of the Queen’s Staircase. Queen’s Staircase
Between 1793 and 1794, 66 steps were cut into the limestone and bricked up by slaves. The stairs, which lead up to Fort Finlay, were named for Queen Victoria who was the long-standing monarch of Britain – and therefore ruler of the Bahamas, which was not an independent nation until July 10, 1973. Fort Fincastle Prow
Built on Bennett’s Hill by Governor Lord Dunmore around 1793, Fort Fincastle is shaped like a paddle-steamer. Fort Fincastle Cannon
The fort overlooks the city of Nassau, Paradise Island, and the eastern approaches to New Providence. Our ship might be one of those in the water, in the cannon’s sights. Banana Rock Cafe
Today, the fort is flanked by coffee shops, … A Boy and a Puppy
… private homes, … Saleslady with Attitude
… and tourist shops. Braids in the Shops
Young women examine the goods on sale… Crowding Shoppers
… while others watch and wait. Plants on the Fort Guardhouse
Sitting like the pooch from His Master’s Voice (HMV), a dog guards the guardhouse. Columbus – Government House
After our visit to the fort, we take a short drive around the city, slowing down for sights of interest, including Columbus’ statue in front of Government House. Columbus’ first landfall in the New World in 1492 was in the Bahamas, so he is honoured all around the city. Guide with the Seaworld Explorer
We get onto a boat with another guide, for a scenic trip through the waters around Paradise Island. Ophah’s Homes
A number of celebrities own expensive properties in the Bahamas. These two belong to Oprah Winfrey. Family
At the underwater marine park near Athol Island, we board a semi-submarine, and watch the sea life outside the windows. Under Water
I always forget how little light penetrates the water. The fish are hazy through the thick perspex. Upper Deck
Before long, we’re back aboard our boat, ready to head north. 
I’d definitely go back – but the next time it will be on our own terms, with fewer strings.
I’d also opt for more time being there, rather than so much time getting on and off boats!
And, I’d prefer if it wasn’t raining.
Happy Sailing!
Photographs: 31May2013
Posted in Bahamas,History,Nature,TravelTags: architecture,blog,boats,environmental portraits,Photo Blog,The Bahamas,travel,Travel Blog,Ursula Wall
Four Novices
In the beautifully lit, covered south-entrance causeway leading to Shwezigon Pagoda, four young novices walk with their begging bowls. Bagan, in Central Myanmar, is known for its temples.
Not all its temples, however, are ruined relics of the Pagan Empire (9th to 13th Century). Others – like the beautiful Shwezigon Pagoda – are still living, breathing places.
Shwezigon was Pagan’s first Buddhist temple. It was started by King Anawrahta after he took the throne by force in 1044, unified the country, and introduced Theravada Buddhism to the people. Most accounts agree he died in 1077 or 1078: before the elaborate pagoda was completed. One story says he was killed by a wild buffalo; others mention only the phase of the moon at the time of his death. The Shwezigon complex, somewhat modified from Anawrahta’s original plans, was completed in 1102, under his son, King Kyanzittha.
The symmetrical pagoda is 160 feet high and 160 feet square at the base. It sits in a square compound, where it is surrounded by smaller temples and shrines – and flanked by typical burmese markets, crowded full of people.
Women in the Market Burmese Child Smoking Woman Mother and Child
Everyone in the market is wearing their protective thanaka powder. Burmese Child
Children learn the “V” sign early. Saleswoman in Pink Mother and Baby Baby in the Market Shwezigon Pagoda
The prototypical circular Burmese stupa: the gold-leaf gilded Shwezigon Pagoda sits in at the centre of a square compound. Golden Lion
Stylised lions guard the pagoda. Plaque in Marble and Gold
Richly decorated Burmese prayers punctuate the courtyard. Brass Flower Trees, Stone Almes Bowls, and Incense Burners Nun Praying
In pavilions around the pagoda, there are plenty of peaceful places to sit. Nun with a Book of Prayer Book of Burmese Prayer Barefoot
Pilgrims and visitors carry their shoes through the covered causeway leading to the pagoda. Three Novices Novice Running Novices
Our photo-group leader Karl Grobl and local guide Mr MM have persuaded the Abbot to let us “borrow” a few novices – Jumping Novice
– and we encourage them to engage in some un-novice-like behaviour. Running Novice
The novices clearly enjoy the task that has been set for them – Running Novice
– flying down the sedate, grand, covered causeway at Shwezigon’s South Entrance – Running Novice
– with great enthusiasm. 
With roots in Bagan’s rich history, Shwezigon is a beautiful temple to visit.
My visit was only made better by the novices, the nuns, and the other people who comprise the life within the compound perimeters.
Keep Smiling!
Pictures: 18September2012
Posted in Architecture,Myanmar,Religious Practice,TravelTags: architecture,blog,buddhism,buddhist,children,environmental portrait,environmental portraits,Myanmar,Photo Blog,temple,travel,Travel Blog,Ursula Wall
Taj Mahal Morning
The classic view of an Indian icon. “Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are,
but the proud passion of an emperor’s love wrought in living stones.”
– Sir Edwin Arnold
We all know the story: the Taj Mahal, considered the epitome of Mughal art and architecture, was built by emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved third wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
Prince Khurram, the son of Jehangir, the fourth Mughal emperor of India and the favourite grandson of Akbar the Great, was born in 1592. According to popular story, in 1607 he was wandering through Meena Bazaar when he spotted a girl selling silk and glass beads. She was the daughter of a noble Persian family and it was love at first sight. They became engaged, but were not married for five years – during which time, the prince married two other women and had two children.
He and Arjumand Banu Begum were finally married in 1612, when the prince was 20 and she was 21. In 1627, after the death of his father and a bitter power struggle with his brothers, he became the Emperor of Agra, and his favourite wife became known as Mumtaz Mahal, Persian for “the chosen one of the Palace”. She died in 1631, aged 40, giving birth to their 14th child.
Shah Jahan was heartbroken by his wife’s death, ordering the court into mourning for two years, and commencing construction of the Taj Mahal, the magnificent mausoleum to house her body, in 1632.
I was thrilled to be visiting the Taj Mahal for sunrise.
I had been in Agra once before: in 2008 with my husband. We had tried to book an early start to visit this designated UNESCO World Heritage site; our guide had told us the gates didn’t open until 9am – and then arrived an hour later than the time we had arranged with him. This time, however, I was on a photo-tour organised for me and my companions by photographer Karl Grobl and local guide DV Singh. So, we were at the gates early – very early – and still we weren’t the first! A group of American women had beat us to the front of the queue.
Morning Guard
A young guard keeps an eye on the visitors as we queue up in the cold of pre-dawn. Spruiker
As we drink hot chai from the street vendors to keep warm, an agent offers visitors local guides. Morning Guard
It is a long wait for 6am when the gates will open, and the light rises slowly. Taj Entry (2013)
Once the south gates open … Taj Entry (2008)
… people make their way into the gardens… Taj Mahal and the Reflecting Pool
… and there it is! That most perfect of buildings! Sunrise
We arrived on the grounds early enough to watch the sun rise over the mausoleum. Taj Morning
Moment by moment, the white marble changes colour, along with the sky behind it. Pilgrims on the Stairs
Wooden steps lead up to mausoleum platform. Dome and Finial
Unlike his father and grandfather who were rather liberal, Shah Jahan was a pious Muslim. The mausoleum is built in a style that combines Islamic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish and Indian architectural elements. Marble Carving and Inlay (2008)
The mausoleum is beautifully constructed of carved white marble, inlaid with semi-precious stones including jade, crystal, lapis lazuli, amethyst and turquoise. Taj Mahal Mosque
As the sun rises, it angles over the mosque. Sunrise over the Mosque
… silhouetting the minarets against the morning sky. Yamuna River
It seems very quiet at the back of the mausoleum, where the morning mists roll over the river. Mausoleum Marble
As the day lightens, the inlaid marble starts to gleam against the blue sky. Visitors to the Mausoleum
No photography inside! Visitor to the Taj
Rugged-up against the cold of Autumn, many Indians are determined to visit their heritage sites. Visitors
Around 3 million people a year visit the Taj Mahal. Scalloped View
Back at the main gate, the archways frame the Taj Mahal beautifully. The story has a bitter-sweet ending. Shah Jahan became ill in 1658, and his descendants fought for rule of the empire. Aurangzeb, his third son, was the eventual winner. When Shah Jahan recovered, Aurangzeb declared him incompetent to rule and placed him under house arrest in Agra Fort. He lived out his days in a room there – able to see the Taj Mahal, the tomb of his love, but not able to leave – until his death in 1666. Then, he was reunited with his wife: interred next to her in the mausoleum he had built.
From Agra Fort (2008)
A view over the river flood-plains to the Taj Mahal from Agra Fort to the east. The Back of the Taj
The evening before our visit to the Taj Mahal, we took advantage of the view from across the Yamuna River. Recognised by UNESCO as “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage”, the beauty of Taj Mahal has been threatened by air pollution. The structural integrity is threatened by dropping water levels and by water pollution from the Yamuna River, which reaches Agra heavily contaminated with chemical and human waste from upstream.
Sadhu
A Sadhu from a nearby camp tells us off if we venture too close to the fencing… Razor Wire at the Back of the Taj
… but the razor-wire fencing is convincing enough on it’s own! It is a shame that such an iconic site is so at risk. It also seems ironic, somehow, to see a tribute to love wrapped up in razor wire.
But that is India – Incredible India.
And I am thrilled to have seen it at all –
 Twice!
That is pretty special.
Pictures: 21April2008 and 16-17November2013
Posted in Architecture,India,Portraits,TravelTags: architecture,blog,environmental portrait,India,Photo Blog,travel,Travel Blog,UNESCO,Ursula Wall
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It was a great day out and yes very breezy. Very interesting place for anyone to visit.
[…] the development of gunpowder and cannon-shot made it’s position untenable. In the 1500s, Elizabeth Castle, built on Jersey’s south coast, replaced Gorey Castle in strategic importance (see: […]