Morton Hunt’s Book on Love and Marriage

Sun, 4 Dec 2011 10:28:48 -0600

I bought this book at a used bookstore in Saskatoon nearly 5 years ago, and didn’t read it until recently. Although I bought this book thinking that it would make a great gift for a friend of mine, I changed my mind and held on to it as I really liked what I saw in the first few pages. This book would sit on my bookshelf for another four years while I was busy with other books, and when I did finally come around to reading it, I regretted not having got to it sooner. By the way, I did my buy my friend another book in lieu of this book. ☺

This book attempts to cover nearly three thousand years of what love has meant primarily in the Western world. However, I do believe that this book should be a great read for people even in the rest of the world primarily for two reasons. The first reason is to understand the historical basis for the attitudes held by people living in the western world towards love and marriage. The second reason is that some of these ideas or attitudes are becoming increasingly universal. Here are some highlights for me as far as this book is concerned.

Greek Period
Hunt starts with the “Classical Period” of Greece (the time of Pericles, Socrates and Plato) focusing primarily on Athens when Greek society turned increasingly from a “Homeric” society with an emphasis on heroic poetry, philosophical inquiry, political diatribes and religious hymns to one that focused increasingly on abstract thinking, rhetoric, and ideals on physical beauty. Hunt describes this great age which featured many great leaders, philosophers and dramatists (such as Pericles, Socrates, Plato and Sophocles) as an age of contradiction especially when it came to attitudes towards love and marriage. The most bizarre life of Alcibiades, a stepson of Pericles, who was a great warrior and student of Socrates but would go on to betray Athens not once but twice is captured vividly in this book. The life of Alcibiades helps highlight the importance that the ancient Greeks gave to wisdom but also brings to light the historical irony in which many powerful and wise men and women were still easily seduced by bodily charm and make huge blunders as a result.

Next, Xeophon’s book “Oeconomicus” (considered by many as the first book in the field of economics) provides a perfect back drop to Hunt’s exploration of the duties expected of a man and his wife in regards to household management. Although women of higher classes enjoyed freedoms essentially unknown in the rest of the world, their responsibilities were still limited to household duties including the supervision of slaves and servants. Athenian women were also not permitted to wander in public unless accompanied by their servants. She was also totally dependent on her husband for support, but in case of divorce was permitted to retain her dowry that was offered by her family during the time of her marriage. She was also not entitled to any inheritance (it went only to male heirs); and if widowed, she was required to go back to her birth family. Hunt narrates the strong familial ties that a woman retained with her birth family even after her marriage as a result of these traditions, and the story of Intaphernes as narrated by the great historian Herodotus provides a fitting example.

The domestic life of the great philosopher of Athens, Socrates and his wife, Xanthippe and their many household quarrels are also covered in this book helping highlight the fact that no relationship is free from at least that occasional misunderstanding between spouses from time to time. Hunt also brings to light many anti-feministic attitudes that seemed prevalent at that time which are evident not only from the plays of great dramatists at the time such as Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes, but also from the books of the great philosophers of the time including Plato and Aristotle. Hunt provides an example by examining one of Plato’s books (Book Five of the “Republic”) where Plato describes a woman as essentially being inferior to that of man. Plato also argues for a communal marriage where women are to be treated no more than a common wealth by all men in the society strictly for increasing their progeny and for caring for their young. Hunt cites the great Aristotle, a student of Plato, who although disagreeing with his master on the need for a communal marriage still considered a woman to be inferior to man in mind and body in his book “Nichomachean Ethics”.

Despite Hunt’s brilliant exposition of these facts, my fondness of ancient Greek ideals and philosophy still remains undiminished. It is easy to criticize our ancestors looking back from the vantage point of increased knowledge and in light of the many equalitarian principles that that exist in many modern societies of today which have only been established after thousands of years of fighting social and religious dogma. However, I do like this book because it helps shed light on the fact that there was much confusion around the concept of love even during, what is considered by many as, one of man’s greatest periods of intellectual achievement.

Roman Period
The Romans had a more pragmatic outlook and expanded very little in many areas such as religion, philosophy, drama, poetry and architecture that had been advanced by the Greeks who preceded them, and who had helped lay the foundation for many civilizations that followed them. However, the Romans achieved monumental feats in the areas of engineering, civic administration and warfare techniques as they focused most of their efforts at empire building. Hunt focuses his attention on this extremely interesting period of human history by peeking into it from a standpoint of love and marriage. He provides a balanced view by covering not only the lives of emperors and senators who have been so featured so prominently in books, but also the lives of its middle class citizens.

During the early period of this civilization (7th to 1st century BC), Rome was a republic. It was primarily an agrarian society with an emphasis on strong familial ties, and was quite patriarchal in nature. Although Hunt does not cover this period, he does briefly describe the important role that women played during this time. These large hipped, sturdy and hard working women often managed their farm and raised their families by themselves while their men were away in distant lands for trade, conquest and empire building. However, as Rome grew in power, its citizens increasingly migrated to the capital leaving their farms to be assimilated by wealthy landowners who then relied increasingly on slaves for various chores. Rome also increasingly imported goods for consumption from distant lands (from far as far as China). The utilitarian value that the family and clan-ship ties had provided thus far slowly crumbled, and the need for a family slowly diminished as a result.

Hunt first covers the story of Catullus and his extra-marital relationship with Clodia, a wife of a governor of a Roman province. The story set in the 1st century BC provides a good example of the moral decay and spiritual emptiness that most citizens faced during the time that many would consider to be the peak of the Roman civilization. Hunt then proceeds to cover the lives of Julius Ceaser, Octavian, Mark Anthony and Cleopatra providing some insight into the political reasons and power struggles that were driving reasons for the various relationships that were forged amongst these parties. The life of Octavian who would eventually be crowned “Augustus” by the senate, and would serve as the first emperor of Rome is covered really well. Although his reign is considered by many historians as prosperous and relatively peaceful, the great emperor had his own share of familial troubles including those from his very own daughter, Julia, who ignored a number of moral laws that her father attempted to enforce within his empire. Julia led a promiscuous life and her adulteries became so well known in Rome much to her father’s dismay who would eventually banish her to a remote island. Although I had heard about Ovid and some of his literary works, I didn’t know about much about the life of this poet. Hunt provides a some insight into Ovid’s life from his early years when he arrived in Rome to learn law and would later become well known for his love poetry. Ovid’s work Ars Amatori, a book on courtship with a number of references encouraging adultery would irk Augustus so much that he would banish the poet to live his last days in a desolate place near the Black Sea.

Hunt continues his coverage of Roman period by describing the increased freedoms that women enjoyed for a number of centuries following the rule of Augustus. Some coverage is also provided about life during the time of Emperor Tiberius, Emperor Hadrian and Emperor Marcus Aurelius as well. Hunt then concludes his coverage of latter period of Rome as primarily one that was filled with chaos and confusion, and weakened by frequent attacks by barbarian tribes. Hunt also makes the case that an increased disentanglement of sexual pleasure from considerations of parenthood among its citizens resulted in lower birth rates hastening the collapse of the empire even further.

Fall of Rome and Dark Ages
Hunt next tackles the period of nearly 700 years that followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Even during the second century AD, a number of Roman moralists and early practicians of the new faith of Christianity began to condemn the moral decline and the material excesses of the empire. The rich still lived very opulently, and there was still construction and expenditure throughout the empire on a grandiose scale. However, there were numerous signs of the empire’s imminent collapse. Hunt takes the reader through these tumultuous times which featured the breakdown of the family and kinship ties as well as ever decreasing loyalty to state. The rise of new religion of Christianity which in its early stages promoted a simple life, camaraderie and care for the helpless and the weak, and a humble attitude in life became increasingly appealing to many of its disillusioned citizens. Hunt traces the growth of this religion from its simple beginnings to its ascent as a state religion under Emperor Constantine. He then tackles the historical basis for the change in attitudes towards love and marriage that that is still felt even in the 21st century.

Hunt begins the exploration of this period by focusing on the the city of Alexandria in Egypt which was part of the Roman empire. This city was the lighthouse of intellectual progress after the fall of Athens. Its citizens enjoyed peace and prosperity unlike any other place on earth that lasted from the time of Alexander the Great till the end of the period of Roman occupation. Hunt covers an unusual ascetic tradition that involved married couples by citing the life story of Ammon, a young man from a wealthy family raised in Hellenic traditions. Although raised in a wealthy family, Ammon became increasingly attracted to the preachings of the new religion of christianity that was taking the world by storm. After being married of to another young woman through a traditional Hellenic ceremony as per wishes of his uncle, Ammon convinces his young wife on their wedding night to leave their city for rather rustic surroundings and to live the rest of their lives in a monastic fashion. This behaviour must have been quite unprecedented back then especially since the prevailing Hellenic and Roman traditions must have strongly favoured sexual pursuits for pleasure.

The next section of the book covers an equally bizarre tradition of “spiritual marriage” practiced by some members of the clergy. Hunt explores the lives of a number of clergymen who lived and slept with “virginal” women although they were sworn to strict celibacy. This custom apparently lasted hundreds of years, and was not banished until 1100 AD. Although some of these stories were quite funny to read, I could not help but admire the fortitude of the individuals who were able to successfully resist their biological desires. Hunt then covers the gradual development and spread of this ascetic tradition throughout the empire as well as its assimilation into the main fabric of this new religion. By citing several examples, he makes a case that this new fangled tradition led to an increasingly hostile and overly aggressive attitude towards women. The woman was beginning to be seen increasingly as someone who was able to corrupt and impede the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment. But the ascetic tradition however also resulted in a number of other changes for the society including a gradual ennoblement of the concept of marriage as the authorities realized that it was somewhat a “necessary evil” for producing progeny, and therefore potentially more adherents for their new faith. According to Hunt, as the benefits of marriage became increasingly obvious again, this custom then slowly began to seen as sacrosanct, a view that has lasted from this point on until modern times. Next, Hunt covers the lives of certain key figures of this religion including those of Tertullian and Saint Augustine, and how their doctrines and literature would go on to fundamentally shape and organize the fabric of its teachings. Saint Augustine has featured so prominently in many books on philosophy ( including many that I own), and Hunt’s coverage of the trials and tribulations of his life finally provided a good basis for understanding his works for me.

(TO BE CONTINUED...)

My Trip to Egypt

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 10:48:20 -0600

Egypt had always been a place I wanted to visit for many reasons. Its influence on world history, specially in the areas of mathematics, astronomy, arts and religious thought has always fascinated me since childhood. During my previous trips with my wife to some countries along the Mediterranean coast, I was also able to witness these influences firsthand, especially in areas such as Mycenae and Crete. So, when I got an opportunity to travel to Egypt with my parents, I accepted without any hesitation.

The 10 day tour offered by Trafalgar Tours called “Egyptian Voyageur” started and ended in Cairo. In between, we visited numerous places of archaeological significance within the country including Abu Simbel, Aswan, Luxor, Kom-Ombo, Edfu and Alexandria. We were accompanied by other tourists from Australia, New Zealand and the United States. During the tour, we also managed to take in the full “Egyptian experience” by travelling on the Nile for nearly 5 days as well. After the tour, we spent a few extra days in Cairo before my parents departed back to India, and I flew home to Canada.

It was early July when I flew to Egypt from Canada via Toronto, and then through Frankfurt. I had bought a book on Egyptian history titled “A History of Egypt: From Earliest Times to the Present” written by Jason Thompson in preparation for this trip. However, my plans to read this book before the trip never materialized as I had absolutely no leisure time during the few weeks leading up to the trip. So, I had to start the book on the plane. This is a well written book, and covers the history of Egypt right from Palaeolithic times to the present. The 15-hour journey allowed me to read and absorb nearly half of the book by the time I had reached Cairo.

As our plane neared Egypt, we could see the Nile Delta dotted with a mix of sandy as well as green islets. On both sides of the Delta is a nearly endless ocean of sand bounded only on its northern edge by the blue Mediterranean sea. After the plane landed, and as I walked on the tarmac, the hot, dry and biting wind reminded me that I was in a completely different climatic region of the world; one that was very different from the prairie region of Saskatchewan that is home for me these days.

Due to a small mix up, I would miss my pick up at the airport and instead cab it to the hotel where my parents and other travellers in the tour were staying (“Ramses Hilton”). There, I would find out much to my dismay that I had paid nearly three times the normal cab fare for my ride. :-) This incident was only the beginning of some bitter experiences that my fellow travellers and I would go through during the course of the trip. Egypt has some of the most friendliest people in the world, and yet the economic conditions that its people are forced to live in everyday also make it one of the most stressful places for the tourists who are nagged almost constantly to buy things or give unnecessary tips. I really hope that the uprising that occurred that started only a few months after I was there, as well as the subsequent change in leadership, brings more peace and prosperity to this beautiful country. My parents arrived in Cairo a few hours later, and we spent the evening chatting and catching up. We knew our first day was packed, and so retired to bed early to ensure we were well rested for it.

The next morning, after some briefing by our tour guide as well as some paperwork, we boarded the bus to visit the Egyptian Museum. Although not a huge museum by world standards, this museum houses some of the most priceless treasures of Egyptian archaeology including artifacts discovered from King Tutankhamen’s tomb as well as artifacts collected from nearly every part of Egypt. Our tour guide did a great job of explaining the differences in styles of the various sarcophaguses (or “sarcophagi”) that were displayed here as well as on other burial customs/habits ranging from the time of the first pharaohs of the Old Kingdom right up to the time of the last pharaohs from the Ptolemaic dynasty.

There were many other highlights for me at this museum. We saw mummified remains of numerous animals that the ancient Egyptians held as sacred including large Nile crocodiles and baboons. There were also numerous artifacts belonging to the common citizen of ancient Egypt. These included furniture, cooking utensils, clothing as well as fishing and agricultural tools. Unfortunately, no photography was permitted inside the museum, and so, I couldn’t bring any of these memories back home except for those in my head.

After a tour of the museum, and later a short break at the adjacent cafeteria, we boarded the bus and proceeded towards one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Great Pyramids at Giza. Even from Cairo, one can see these pyramids towering over the adjacent landscape. Our tour guide mentioned that there were over a hundred pyramids that have been discovered in Egypt alone. Most of these were constructed during the early period of the pharaohs. Pyramid construction stopped during the New Kingdom period predominantly for two reasons: costs involved as well as due to frequent looting as they were highly visible targets. The great statue of the Sphinx stands at the entrance of the pyramid complex, and it was a towering sight. Standing up close, I could finally understand why it has been featured some prominently in popular imagination. There is a temple complex around the Sphinx, and my tour group wandered around here taking pictures before heading to see the pyramids.

There were three large pyramids at Giza (the largest called the “Pyramid of Khufu” or the “Pyramid of Cheops”). Taking our guide’s suggestion, few other tour members and I chose to go inside the second pyramid (called the “Pyramid of Khafre”). Being inside the pyramids was very claustrophobic indeed. The pyramids are estimated to weigh in the millions of tons, and I couldn’t help think about this fact as I walked through an extremely narrow tunnel with almost no ventilation or light inside. We were only inside for about 15 minutes. Since we were not allowed to take any pictures inside, I took in whatever sights I could and came back outside with the others. Outside, there was very little shade anywhere. Temperatures had soared to nearly 44 degree celsius that day, and I was constantly drinking water every 20 minutes or so. From Giza, we made our way back to our hotel by 5 pm. We had to catch a plane the next morning, and so, I was off to bed early but not before I watched a really cool Egyptian action movie on the television in my hotel room. ☺

As our plane approached Aswan, we could see the famous Aswan Dam (also known as the “High Dam”) from the air. Built from the 60s through the 70s, this dam plays a key role in both farming as well as energy requirements for the country. The construction of this dam effectively discontinued the type of farming which relied on the annual flooding of the Nile. Although some argue that the newer farming practices use intensive fertilizers leading to more pollution, the availability of water year around has helped Egypt increased its agricultural output many fold. We stopped half way across the dam, and stopped to take photographs of the dam as well as hydroelectric plant adjacent to it.

After we checked our belongings into our cruise ship which would be our home for the next 5 days, we took a motorboat to the visit the famous temple of Isis located on the island of Agilkia. This beautiful temple was one of the many built during the rule of the Ptolemic dynasty. Although of Greek and Macedonian in ancestry, the Ptolemies adopted the Egyptian religion and became big patrons of many temples in order to garner support from the powerful priests and the Egyptian population. This temple also received support from many emperors during Roman rule but was finally closed on the order of Emperor Justinian in the 5th century AD. Apparently, this is the last place where the ancient hieroglyphic script was used before its use was discontinued. Walking through the temple complex, it was hard for me to believe that this entire temple complex which once stood on the now submerged island of Philae was dismantled and later reassembled on higher ground during the construction of the high dam. We spent a number of hours touring the beautiful temple complex before we made our way back to the cruise ship for lunch.

After lunch, some of the tour members including my parents and I took the optional tour on the Nile felucca as well as visited a Nubian village. A felucca is a wooden sailboat that has been in use along the Nile since the time of the Pharaohs. Although slowly being replaced by motorboats, it is still quite popular among locals as well as tourists. The breeze along the river was refreshing, and I couldn’t help but think about the all the traffic that must have flowed along this river since the ancient times. We transferred to a small motorboat after the sail, and visited a small Nubian village about 5 miles from Aswan.

The Nubians were once part of a rich and powerful kingdom which was both culturally and militarily significant in Africa. Being rich in natural resources such as gold, ivory, copper, frankincense and ebony meant that this land was much sought after and fought over almost continually throughout history. Although the majority of Nubians live in Sudan, many live in Egypt. Nearly 100,000 Nubians had to be resettled by the Egyptian government further to the flooding of the Nile valley to create lake Nasser during the construction of the high dam. After the tour of this village and buying some small handicraft created by some of the villagers, we made our way back to the cruise ship.

That evening, my parents and I sat in the company of some avid history lovers and had some very interesting conversations. However, I also had to get up very early the next day in order to leave with just a few other tour members to fly to Abu Simbel, and so, I was off to bed a little earlier than I liked to.

Next morning, we flew from Aswan about two hundred kilometres south to Abu Simbel. This region is very close to the border of Sudan, and is famous for its two very large rock temples. This temple complex was also relocated from a different site that was to be submerged under water due to the construction of the High Dam thanks to the efforts of UNESCO. They were built during the reign of a mighty Pharaoh called Ramesses II in order to commemorate his victory over the Hittites. The large temple is dedicated to the great Pharaoh, and small one was dedicated to his wife and queen, Nefertari.

There are colossal statues in front of the large temple featuring the Pharaoh, his wife as well as his sons. Inside, there were incredible rock carvings depicting various scenes from the battle. Even at ten o’clock in the morning, the temperatures had soared to nearly forty degrees Celsius, and it was quite warm inside. So, I couldn’t stay inside too long. After touring the inside of both temples, we took in a quick tour of other parts of the temple complex which included a nice garden with a winding walk way. We then made our way back to the shade of the shopping tents and the many mist fans inside which helped provide a much needed relief from the heat. I spent about an hour here chatting with a pair of friendly Australians who were touring Egypt. When other members of my tour had all reunited in this tent, we then made our way back to the airport to return to Aswan. A great buffet lunch that awaited us at the cruise ship, and I enjoyed narrating the details of this optional trip to other members of my tour group who had opted not to go.

Later that afternoon, we sailed further to dock near the temple of Kom-Ombo dedicated to the Crocodile God, Sobek. This temple is very beautiful in architecture, and was built during the reign of the Ptolemic dynasty, and is adjacent to the Nile river. Although this temple had lay in ruins due to being flooded and partly due to vandalism, it has been restored to a moderate extent. Huge crocodiles once lived in specially constructed water tanks within this temple complex, and according to the tour guide (seen on the left here). many large animals routinely became sacrificial offerings to these crocodiles here. After a tour of this temple complex, we made our way back to the ship for another great evening which included a sumptuous meal and some entertainment after which featured local musicians as well as many Nubian dancers.

The next morning, we made our way to Edfu, one of the largest (second only to the temple at Karnak) and the most well preserved Egyptian temples dating back to the Ptolemic dynasty. Even from a distance, you could see the towering walls that surrounded the vast temple complex. Much like the temple of Philae, this temple also was abandoned during Roman rule. The orders for the closure came during the reign of Emperor Theodosius who banned all non-Christian worship within his empire. The inscriptions on the walls and pillars are well preserved. This temple has numerous chambers dedicated to the pantheon of gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt, and is a must see for anyone visiting Egypt.

Two fascinating facts for me about Edfu were: 1) the presence of special escape tunnels for the priests which would enable them to escape in the case of an attack, and 2) the special effects that are created by the innovative use of sunlight inside the chambers to create a sense of awe and mystery for the pilgrims who came to pray here. As we toured the outside of the temple, our tour guide also pointed out numerous heaps of pottery shards which were apparently left behind by pilgrims who had come to pray here.

After we returned to the ship, we cruised farther along the river to reach Luxor. This temple is close to the Nile and was built by King Amenhotep III and is dedicated it to Amon-Re, his wife Mut, and their son Khons. Many Pharaohs contributed to the extension and development of this temple complex, notably Tutankhamen and Ramses II. There is also a shrine here dedicated to the Macedonian king, Alexander the Great. Besides the giant pillars in this temple complex, one cannot miss the giant red granite obelisk which towers over the rest of the temple complex. Apparently, there were two of these until the 18th century when one of them was gifted to France by the ruling Egyptian sultan. The tip of the obelisk was once covered with a sheet of gold, and caused a brilliant reflection of the sun light.

At night, a special light show accompanied by ancient Pharaonic chants and other Egyptian music is organized for the tourists at this temple. But, my tour group and I missed seeing it as the show was cancelled that evening due to technical difficulties. We returned to the ship that evening, and after supper spent nearly four hours chatting with some tour members on the deck. It was a full moon that night, and it ended up being a memorable evening as we chatted on a range of historical topics which covered the Middle East, India and China. This is one of the main reasons why touring with others has been so rewarding for me.

The next morning, we had breakfast very early in the morning, and said good bye to the ship’s crew as it was the end of our 5 day Nile cruise. We left for the famous temple of Karnak first. Once, the temple of Luxor and the temple of Karnak were selected by a pedway hundreds of metres long, lined on both sides by statues. But the pedway and most of the statues are all gone. We had a group photo at the entrance to the temple, and later entered the temple complex. This temple complex is considered the second most famous tourist site in Egypt, and I would quickly find out why.

This temple was constantly renovated and expanded during the reign of the Pharaohs, and according to our tour guide, nearly all Egyptian pharaohs had contributed to the renovations here. Besides being architecturally significant, it also provides a great insight into ancient Egyptian beliefs as one could see a progression of religious beliefs through the figures of gods and goddesses depicted here. The hypostyle hall was a major highlight for me which featured hundreds of huge pillars and the beams erected on these pillars. I stared in disbelief at the thought of all the manpower and the engineering that must have been required to erect these structures thousands of years ago. One of tallest Egyptian obelisks is also situated here, and apparently it was transported here from a quarry some distance away using boats on the Nile.

From Karnak, we then headed to the famous Valley of the Kings by bus. This is a special valley in Egypt where tombs were constructed for the kings of the New Kingdom. This entire area has become very famous due to the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen and the accompanying rumours of the “Curse of the Pharaohs” that were brought into the popular imagination by Hollywood. This site was declared as a World Heritage Site in the 70’s.

On the way to the Valley of the Kings, we stopped briefly a the Colossi of Memnon. Although mistaken for most of history as a dedication to one of the heroes of the mythical Trojan wars, these two giant statues towering some twenty metres were in fact dedicated to Amenhotep III. There was once a huge temple complex here that stretched nearly 40 hectares, but these two statues are all that remain now.

From here, we made our way to Deir el-Bahri. This is the site of Queen Hatshepsut’s very majestic temple. This is a beautiful temple, and was constructed during the reign of a lady Pharoah near the Valley of the Kings. Hatshepsut reign was during the New Kingdom period of the Egyptian history, and was succeeded by her nephew/stepson Thutmosis III. Hatshepsut commissioned many works during her reign, and the architect of most of these works was her lover, Senenmut. When Thutmose III ascended the throne, he had all her images chiseled off throughout the temple. Almost all record of her reign were lost until recent discoveries by archaeologists.

After a tour of this temple, we made our way to the Valley of the Kings. During the later period of Egyptian Pharaohs, the tradition of pyramid construction for burial of Pharaohs ceased almost completely as they became highly visible/easy targets for tomb robbers. A number of famous Pharaohs are buried at the Valley of the Kings including Ramses I and II, Thutmose III and IV as well as Tutankhamen. There was very little breeze here making the temperatures around the region extremely hot during the day. After a tour of a number of tombs including that of Ramses II and Tutankhamen, we made our way back to the bus. From here, we left for Cairo on a plane.

I spent the remainder of the day in Cairo with my parents in our hotel rooms watching TV and chatting. We went to a nice Indian restaurant situated within the hotel, and had a great supper. I returned to my room after and watched an Egyptian movie before going to bed. The next morning, we had breakfast and headed to Alexandria. On the way, we stopped at a market to buy water, fruits and nuts to snack on during the rest of the trip.

Alexandria is a famous city founded along the Mediterranean sea by Alexander the Great, and has played a significant role in the areas of international trade, astronomy, mathematics, science, arts, philosophy and religious thinking. It shined a lighthouse of intellectual thought and scientific progress for nearly seven hundred years until it was eclipsed by Constantinople (now “Istanbul”). This was the place that had captured my imagination the most among all places I knew in Egypt, and had been most eager to visit this great city. It did not disappoint even a tiny bit. We visited numerous places here including the Kom Elshokafa Catacomb, the National Museum, El Morsi Abu El Abbas Mosque and a had a tour of downtown Alexandria as well.

The Alexandria National Museum is a must-see for any tourist interested in history. It contained thousands of artifacts ranging from Pharaonic, Roman and Islamic periods. The highlights for me were the mummies displayed underground in specially lit chambers as well as the numerous artifacts recovered from underwater near Alexandria belonging to the Greco-Roman period.. Although I wanted to visit the famous library of Alexandria, we simply ran out of time.

We stayed at the famous Montazah Palace and Gardens which was one of the former homes of the Royal family when Egypt was still ruled by a monarchy. We had a group supper at a nice restaurant which overlooked the sea. That night, I sat out in the balcony and finished the last chapter of the book that I had brought with me. I felt more connected with Egypt as a result of reading this book as I could appreciate what I was seeing even better. I also made a commitment to myself that I would repeat the same pattern of taking a history book with me if I toured any other place from this point on.

Next morning, we drove back to Cairo. On the way, we stopped at a Coptic Monastery at Wadi El Natrun. This monastery has been in existence for nearly fifteen hundred years. The monastery has been continuous use throughout this period although it had suffered repeated attacks from the Bedouin and the Berber people. The monks here were extremely friendly, and were very happy to show us around this monastery. Although I am not religious myself, I could not help but feel a sense of tranquility while we were here.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Coptic religion is that their language is a direct descendent of the language of the Pharaohs. I asked one of the monks if he could read one of their holy books to get a sense of what ancient Pharaonic must have sounded like, and felt transported back in time listening to this ancient language. We spent about three hours here, and after a tour of the many churches inside, we made our way back to the bus and headed to Cairo.

As we pulled into Cairo, we stopped at a perfume factory in Giza. Egypt exports flower extracts worldwide to be used in the manufacture of perfume. This stop provided an opportunity to sample a rich variety of these flower extracts. We also stopped at a papyrus factory after, and were shown the process of manufacturing papyrus which has featured so prominently in the cultural history of ancient Egypt. We also were shown a very impressive collection of paintings, and I picked up a couple of small pieces as souvenirs. From here, we made our way back to the hotel.

This was to be the last leg of our journey, and I was somewhat sad that this stimulating trip had come to an end. Hotel Concorde, where we stayed, is situated relatively close to the Cairo airport, was a great relaxing place to stay even if it was only for two nights. The tour group and I said our good byes as we got off the tour bus. I had some laughs with our tour guide, Muhammed, who had kept us all entertained throughout the trip. We talked about other places to visit if I ever made it to Egypt again in the future. Most of my tour group flew back to their respective countries the next morning. However, my parents and I stayed an extra day to allow us to spend time with each other. We also spent some time doing some last minute shopping for souvenirs to bring back to our homes.

Overall, I loved almost every aspect of this trip from the type of accommodation we had, the choice of places we visited as well as the knowledge and temperament of our tour guide. The highlights of the trip for me were visiting the Great Pyramids at Giza, Abu Simbel, Edfu and Luxor. My only disappointments were not being to visit the famous library at Alexandria as well as not finding the time to visit the pyramid at Saqqara otherwise known as the “Pyramid of Djoser” (this is reportedly the first true step pyramid). I highly recommend this tour to anyone seeking to take in the big picture of the rich cultural and religious history of Egypt. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me.

Jacob Bronowski’s Book The Ascent of Man

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:42:39 -0600

After seeing this book repeatedly quoted and referred to in a number of other great books that I had read in the past one year, I finally managed to track it down at an used bookstore in Vancouver recently. I managed to read this in a week as I devoted almost all of my leisure totally absorbed in what I consider as a must-read book for all humans.

I can’t even come close to describing the exhilaration I felt after reading what is essentially a grand outline of human thought and progress over nearly 4 million years. When the last chapter, the last page and the last word of this gem of a book had come and gone, I felt rather sad than happy because of the quick realization that the author is no longer around to guide us with his deep insights on human nature (he died in 1974, just two years after I was born). Bronowski was a brilliant man, and articulates his encyclopedic knowledge of arts, science and philosophy very beautifully in this book.

I loved this book primarily for three reasons. The first reason is that Bronowski treats all forms of human knowledge to be equally interesting, and considers them to be very valuable for the continued success of the human civilization. This also happens to be one of my own recent personal revelations as I increasingly see the importance of a well-rounded education to be effective in the workplace and elsewhere . For example, reading calculus or geometry without understanding the historical events leading to their inventions hundreds of years ago deprives the students of the many interesting details of the events leading to the formulation of these concepts in the first place. Besides allowing one to have a better grasp on these topics, this approach should spark our creativity to help build/enhance these ideas even further. The proof of the success this approach brings seems to be all around us: namely, the greatest minds in our societies co-incidentally also happen to be people who have a deep knowledge on the historical development of a number of seemingly unrelated areas. My guess is that this allows them to see the “big picture” rather easily, and carry and “cross-pollinate” ideas across different domains.

The second reason why I loved this book is because it captures the lives (and the tribulations) of many great minds that have helped advance a number of branches of human knowledge. Bronowski covers the lives of all kinds of thinkers, ranging from mathematicians, artists, astronomers to philosophers who have lived and died on this planet since the dawn of the first civilization to the twentieth century. Some of the people covered include Pythagorus, Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Wallace, Mendel and Einstein,. I was particularly inspired by the story of Alfred Russel Wallace (who co-founded the theory on evolution with Charles Darwin, and yet seems to be relatively unknown to many people, including me). Wallace’s life is beautifully captured in this book. His passion for the outdoors and nature, the adventures of his travel along with his beautiful optimism for life despite the many setbacks he suffers will leave any reader with an increased zest for living, and should make the reader to deeply appreciate the beautiful planet that we live in.

Finally, the third reason is because Bronowski emphasizes the importance of scientific awareness even for the layperson. In one of the last chapters of the book, he states "Science is a tribute to what we can know although we are fallible", and he stresses the fact that all information that humans have managed to gather over many millennia is still imperfect, and that we have to treat this fact with humility, and must work on clarifying them further to help expand the possibilities for us as well as other life on this planet. His narration of the holocaust, and of the dogma and hatred that seems to haunt humankind to this day is also beautifully captured.

This book apparently grew out of a BBC TV series that I am yet to watch. But, if the video is even half as good as the book, it will should be an incredible treat. I had a strong temptation to read this book all over again, but decided not to as I have a number of other great books still waiting to be read. And so, it will be many months at least (or maybe years) before I come back for a second reading of this beautiful book. I hope you read this book too. If you do, I would love to hear what you thought of it as well. Happy Reading!!!

The Big Picture Universe, Life, DNA and Other Things

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:15:02 -0600

I was recently reading a news article about the collision that is expected to occur between the Andromeda galaxy and the Milky Way (our galaxy) roughly 5 billion years from now. After reading this article, I spent some time reflecting about the origins of the Universe, the Solar System, our planet and the origins of life on it. While doing this, I was humbled thinking about the events that occurred on a bewilderingly immense scale in the distant past that would eventually lead to life on Earth, and even to me sitting here in my study, contemplating and attempting to write my thoughts about it.

Last year, I had the pleasure of reading a number of books on astronomy and cosmology. As I read these books, I couldn’t help but wonder how often I really stop to think about the scale of things that I am ultimately part of; a 13 billion year old Universe which still continues to expand to this day, with an estimated 100 billion galaxies, each with at least a 100 billion stars and their accompanying planetary systems. From a philosophical and scientific perspective, the most fascinating aspect for me has to be its profound influence in shaping human evolution and thinking through the last four millions of years.

Every major invention of the humankind such as mathematics, science, philosophy and religion seem to have had their origins due to man’s desire to look at the sky to understand and explain what he /she was part of. Scientific evidence, especially in the last four hundred years, has provided humans with extremely high understanding of the many aspects of nature which were considered to be unfathomable mysteries in the past. As you begin to assimilate the facts from these findings, one cannot help but be humbled from the realization that we are the way we are because the Universe is the way it is, and not vice versa. The story of all life on the planet, including those of humans, is intimately linked to the origins of the Universe and our planetary system billions of years ago.

For life to emerge on Earth, a number of incredible things had to happen. Some nebular material was needed to create a planetary system including a star. This material formed as a result of a supernova explosion from an earlier stellar creation*. Then, from this material, a star had to rise that had to be of the right size. Had a star too large emerged from this gaseous cloud, it would have exhausted its nuclear fuel too quickly, and would have collapsed onto itself within a few million years leaving no time for evolution of life to occur. Only a star of a medium size, with the right gravitational mass like the Sun, would be able to sustain itself for the timescales needed for our case. There also had to be enough residual material left over from the star’s creation to form the eight planets (for those not keeping up with astronomical news, I hate to break the sad news that Pluto is not officially recognized as a planet anymore).

Among the planets that formed around the young star, our planet exhibits more potential to support life than any others. It is neither too close nor too far from the Sun. Plus, it suffers a spectacular collision with another planetary mass (called “Theia”) roughly 4.5 billion years ago. As a result of this collision, the two planets fuse into one. Earth inherits a molten iron core as a result, which would later cool to form two layers: a solid core surrounding an inner molten core (a small satellite, namely, the Moon, also emerged from the remnants of some of the material left over from this collision). The unique arrangement on the inside of our planet helped form an electro-magnetic shield which would protect it from ultra-violet and other harmful radiation from the Sun. The Moon, with the help of its gravitational pull, would help decrease the wobble that Earth experienced after the collision, and also help slow down the axial rotation speed of our planet from what was then a four hour day to a twenty-four hour day.

The magnetic shield that shielded our planet from the solar and other harmful radiation still needed to be sufficiently weak to permit some radiation to reach the planetary surface to help initiate atmospheric phenomena (such as lightning and thunderstorms). These phenomena were necessary for the organic compounds to aggregate and form the first living things on earth, simple single celled organisms that learnt to replicate themselves. Continued cosmic radiation was also necessary for genetic mutations to occur to enable these organisms to evolve into large, spectacular and highly intelligent creatures. As a result of slow mutations, cyanobacteria evolved from the earlier, more simpler, organisms. These bacteria would release oxygen as a residue/by-product from their metabolism over hundreds of millions of years. This residual gas would form the future foundation for all life on land, including humans like you and me. Life on earth started within a few hundred million years of the creation of our planet, and it is still evolving today. Isn’t that incredible?

Thinking about the origins of the Universe and life can make anyone extremely philosophical. Long time ago, I read an excellent book called “The Ancestor’s Tale” written by the brilliant British scientist, Richard Dawkins. I came away with increased respect for all living creatures as the book helped highlight the fact that every living being (both plants and animals) on this planet share a single, common ancestor that evolved billions of years ago. The record of these origins are left in our own DNA as it is for every other living being. This information is also being continuously passed onto future generations. In a way, we could think of it as “genetic immortality”. By the way of genetic material passed along from one generation to the next over nearly 4 billion years, our ancestors still live through us, and we will live through our descendants for as long they procreate, and live in a safe and responsible manner without destroying themselves through war and other means, or by being wiped out by a freak cosmic incident such as an inter-galactic collision.

*-The Sun is thought to be a second or third generation star as heavier elements such as carbon and iron could have only formed as a result of the fusion from an earlier supernova explosion.

On the Origins of Language...(Part I)

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 21:18:43 -0600

A few weeks ago, I watched Mr. Barack Obama being sworn in as the forty-fourth president of the United States. At the conclusion of his inauguration speech, I reflected on the events leading up to his election. For me, what stood out very clearly during his campaign was the show casing of his incredible oratorial powers, a skill that seemed to neutralize whatever strengths his opponents had, as well as down play his weaknesses*. I was also very impressed by the communication skills displayed by his campaign committee through the media to help mobilize millions of Americans, especially their younger generation, to raise funds for his campaign, as well as inspire them to go and vote at both the party as well as presidential polls. The combined power of his speeches along with his campaign advertising galvanized people not only in the United States, but across the entire globe as well. I could not recall a single time in the last few decades when a politician spoke in such a inspirational and invigorating manner, and rallied his people towards change. For me, his election also helped confirm that oratory skills are a valuable asset to hone and develop even in these times. Also, the timing of this swear-in ceremony could not have been any better as I had just read a number of books regarding the origins and the development of language which would help humans emerge as the most dominant species on the planet.

The essence of the few books that I had read was that around 6-8 million years ago, the climate of Earth started getting colder as it headed for another ice age. The forests of Africa were increasingly turning into an open savannah forcing some species of primates to come down from the trees and walk upright (also known as “bipedalism”) in search for food. Bipedalism offered many advantages to these animals, such as being able to easily spot any predators waiting to ambush them as well as appear more threatening to them if they did have an unfortunate encounter. Walking upright also helped free the hands of these proto-humans, permitting them to carry more food as well as dabble with their hands. Later, when the adaptation of the opposing thumb occurred, this allowed them to hurl projectiles during hunting. The increased success in hunting as a result of these adaptations enabled these ancient homonids to eat a more calorie-rich carnivorous diet. This would lead to an increased brain mass for individuals in this species. Yet another advantage of walking upright was that the larynx of the members of the species would descend lower. This change enabled these early humans to handle vowels and consonants better. The increase in brain mass was followed by the emergence of an area of the part of the brain called “Broca’s area”, which is thought to be the main area responsible for speech and communicative gestures in humans. These developments would result in the formation of a primitive language among early humans. Although the use of past and future tenses in speech (as well as other more complex forms of grammar) still lay in the distant future, this rudimentary language still greatly helped to improve the communication and co-ordination needed by our ancestors, especially when they hunted in groups for large prey.

There is also speculation among scientists that eating meat (greatly aided by the discovery and control of fire later) allowed a number of finer jaw muscles to develop (as opposed to having to chew tough vegetation which requires strong jaw muscles). This in turn could have permitted early humans to achieve subtler movements of the tongue required for speaking a complex language.. Another extremely interesting adaptation that also occurred as a result of bipedalism was that the pelvis structure of our ancestors got smaller, enabling them to walk or run on two legs more efficiently. However, a smaller pelvic bone also meant that the female members of the species gave birth to babies that had smaller heads, and therefore smaller brain sizes. This meant that the young needed more rearing, and therefore, a social system began to emerge within the members of the species in which males would perform dangerous and more mobile duties such as hunting while females took care of the young as well as foraged for fruits and vegetables at safer locations. As humans began to live in larger groups in increasingly complex social structures, over time, the many interactions that occurred while attempting to maintain peace and co-operation among the members of these groups as well as the emergence of ritualistic traditions such as religion, arts, singing and dancing within the community enabled even more advancements, thus giving rise to the many modern languages that we know of today.

*-There were numerous other reasons for the downfall of his opponents, but we won’t go there for the sake of this discussion.

The Joy of Reading

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 10:39:49 -0600

Recently, I found some leisure time to read two great books, namely, “Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence” written by the late Dr. Carl Sagan, and “A History of Knowledge: Past, Present and Future” written by Charles Van Doren. I was so thrilled by the experience that I had to blog my thoughts about one of my most favourite hobbies, namely, reading.

My love affair with reading began a long long time ago when I was growing up in India. My parents were constantly on the move due to occupational requirements (my dad worked for the Indian Railways), and since I did not have any siblings, books became my faithful companions wherever we went. They helped especially during the transition time that I often needed to get settled into a new and unfamiliar neighbourhood, and make new friends. Although I came from a middle class family, my parents never hesitated to buy good books for me when I asked them to. My earliest memories of absorbed reading are on a train when we traveled to visit my grand parents. The first thing we often did when we entered the Madras (now “Chennai”) railway station was to drag my parents to the Higginbothams bookstore there. I was allowed to buy one book only, and so, had to carefully choose a book that would last the length of entire trip. With a book at hand, I did not find the long train ride from Madras to Erode boring at all. In addition to reading books, my dad and mom also encouraged me to read the newspaper with them especially on the weekends, and later, we would have discussions on a wide variety of topics, ranging from politics to movies. My dad also had a small library of books on his bookshelf, with books ranging from electrical engineering, mathematics, management and science. He has always been a great inspiration for me through my entire life on this hobby as well as many other aspects on my life. Reading a good book always left me in a trance-like state, and I became increasingly addicted to reading over time, and sometimes even reading books on unrelated topics the day before an important exam much to my parent’s dismay.

My fondest reading experience has to be when my parents purchased a book for me at a science exhibition in Madras when I was only nine years old. The book narrated tales of explorers who captured and catalogued some of most of wonderful, bizarre and dangerous animals during their daring voyages to distant and exotic lands. Combined with these were also many fictional stories from the past involving fire-breathing dragons to large and impossible sea creatures. When I look back and reflect on my life, that one book may have single-handedly helped jump-start my interest in natural sciences as well as science in general.

Another benefit that I received from reading was an escape from any monotony that surrounded me from time to time. Opportunities for travel were very limited for my family especially during the early years when my dad was just getting started with his career. So, reading books allowed me to peek into other worlds and live vicariously through adventures of others. However, the biggest benefit has been that reading has helped me to relate to other cultures better, and has proven to be extremely beneficial after I moved to live in Canada.

These days, I read on many different topics, but my favourites are always books that deal with history and science. I rarely read any fiction as I find that there is so much beauty and wonder to explore in the real world that surrounds me. However, I do enjoy reading some fiction in the form of folk tales as well as stories from mythology from many different cultures. These stories help remind me of how similar we humans are in terms of what makes us happy and unhappy no matter where we live.

As I have gotten older, opportunities for travel have also increased some more for me. When I travel these days, I always make sure to drop by a few bookstores wherever I go. I also seem to have a strange fascination with used bookstores, perhaps because glancing though old and used books and the many scribbled notes left by their previous owners helps me take in their views as well as reminds me that life on this beautiful planet is limited, and that I should never take it for granted.