The Basilica Cistern - Istanbul

Spooky and Surreal - The Basilica Cistern is the almost perfectly preserved Roman underground reservoir, where the water coming in from the aqeducts would have been deposited. The water was teeming with Coy Carp and I created a bit of a feeding frenzy when i crumbled a biscuit or two into the water.





These Two Medusa heads, one inverted and one on its side, with the weight of a column on top of them, would have been below water, I wonder how many people knew they were there.

When We Were Gods

When We Were Gods by Colin Falconer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a great choice of book to read while travelling through Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Turkey - so many places mentioned in the course of Cleopatra's life that I found myself in, sometimes at just the right spot in the book - for instance ancient Antioch where we were the other day - where Marc Antony sent for Cleopatra. I had no idea exactly how much she travelled in the region. A completely fascinating woman who very nearly managed to combine the Roman Empire with her own as co-regent, first with Ceasor then Antony, both of whom she had children with. In terms of factual content the author claims to have tried to get as close to the historical facts as he could. To a certain extent this seems plausible and her life as its known is fleshed out very well. There were a number of gratuitous sex scenes and filthy one liners that had me rolling about laughing thinking I cant believe he put that in - something along the lines of Cleopatra commenting that Antony appeared to have 'raised an obelisk' in her honour being one memorable classic. I would tend to side with one of the back cover reviewers describing the book as 'sensual and imaginative' emphasis on the imaginative - but definately a very entertaining novel.



Interestingly the author also states that he wanted to get away from the Liz Taylor / Richard Burton hollywood picture - and you would think from the cover art of a very Greek looking Queen that this would be the case, but in fact to me his characters were exactly as played by Taylor, Burton and a camp Roddy Macdowel and I have a new found appreciation of the accuracy of a certain ammount of the plot line of the movie now - all except the triumphal entrance to rome seated on the Sphinx which didnt appear to take place in quite that manner.



If your after a bit of history based around the life of a fascinating historical character, with a healthy dose of imagination and some hilarious gratuitous smut this could be the one for you.



By the way for more exclusively literary based blogging feel free to visit my book group at The Book Vine
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Roman Stuff - The Sequel

Palmyra

The City of Palmyra was at its heyday around 270 AD when Queen Zenobia (great name!), wrestled it from the Roman Empire and proceeded to build her own Palmyrian Empire which stretched as far as Egypt. Zenobia claimed desecent from Cleopatra and took the title of Queen of Egypt. The Empire was short lived and she was crushed by Emporer Aurelian at Antioch (where I am sitting here typing funnily enough) and then paraded through the streets of Rome in Chains.More info here

Set right out in the desert on the way to Iraq it was a very atmospheric place, and once again we got the benefit of a slighlty eccentric but very knowledegable local guide to give the full background.

Rome

Im feeling like that Comfortably numb song at the moment ... Hello... is there anybody out there.... Is it weird to be writing random stuff that probably nobody will have any interest in reading? And why would they? ...

Anywho.. check out some more fotos Mr or Mrs random cyberspace person. This was a few days in Rome a year or two ago. Id been there on a rail trip round Europe aged 17 or so but not since. The Vatican Museum was AMAZING, and the dimensions of the Pantheon pretty incredible. Nice place to have a good wander round.