The Yazidic Sun Temple in Aknalich (Armenia), which I haven't seen

 

What kind of travelogue is this? Talking about a place, the authors haven't seen?!

Let me first say a few words about this monstrous statement, because when I write after my travels, I hardly finish what I want to report about my travels before the next one starts. And I just realized by chance that I hadn't seen a place in Armenia that would have been important to me. I was traveling with a group at the time, and I had no idea that the Yazidis were represented in Armenia with such a large number and a large temple. I've always placed the Yazidis in Kurdistan. But this shows once again what it's like with places you haven't managed to see. This is at least an indication that one should visit a place again. But let's get to why I had and still have a special interest in this specific temple in Armenia.

Armenia was the first kingdom to adopt Christianity as its state religion, in 301 AD. Interestingly, it had its own scripture, and the Gospel was translated into Armenian very early on. This was unusual, as it took quite a long time for this to happen in the rest of the Christian world. And the translation was very important for Germany, for example. The Latin Bible (Vulgate) was translated into German by Martin Luther (and later Huldrych Zwingli into Swiss German), which thereby standardized high German. But let's stay with Armenia. Armenia experienced a conflict between Christianity and with influences from the Greek and Syrian cultures. There was the temple in Garni, which I haven't written about yet, but of which I have already posted a photograph; the picture here is from this blog post [1]. This temple was dedicated to Mithras. It is believed that Nero founded the temple; more concerning Mithras below. Today a reasonable number of Yazidis are found in Armenia, and this faith traces its roots back to Zoroastrianism, but also has elements from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Perhaps this is why the Yazidis are so persecuted in Iraq, where most Yazidis live. They live in parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran, with small numbers living in Armenia and Georgia. In the town of Aknalich (west of Yerevan) there is the Ziarat or Ziyarat temple ("Pilgrimage Temple"), which is the first Yazidi temple in Armenia. It literally means "Pilgrimage Temple." And then there is the world's largest Yazidi temple dedicated to the angel Melek Taus and the Seven Angels of Yazidi theology (Quba Mêrê Dîwanê temple) [2].

It's a shame, because from Yerevan to Aknalich it's only about 30 km, as far as from Cologne to Brühl, where my parents liked to take the tram when they were older, or from Boston to Salem, the distance is similarly far or close.

Most translations of the Bible tell of Mount Ararat, where Noah's Ark landed after the Flood [3]. One translation has "mountains of Armenia," but that is the exception. However, the translation from Aramaic (Peshitta Holy Bible Translated) states: "And the ark came to rest in the seventh month, in the seventeenth of the month, on the mountains of Qardu—Kurdish." This, however, refers to Mount Judi, and that is in Turkey [4]. "The identification of biblical Ararat with Mount Judi as the landing site of the ark persisted in Syriac and Armenian tradition throughout Late Antiquity." The mountain lies approximately halfway between Van and Mosul in the middle of Kurdistan. The Yazidis, however, are a religious group who speak Kurdish. [5]

Let's return to Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic Mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, which has its roots in Zoroastrianism but was a new religion centered around the god Mithras. This religion was popular in the Roman Empire from the 1st to 4th centuries, especially in the imperial army. [6]

The Yazidis also have elements of Zoroastrianism, but just as Zoroastrians are not fire worshippers, Yazidis are not sun worshippers. They worship God (monotheism!) facing the sun. Further elements of Judaism, the Church of the East, and Islam can be found. [7] The mythology is non-Islamic, but the religious terminology shows an influence from Sufism. [8] And before I go further into Sufism, there is a Sufi center here in the Eifel region two villages away [9], we should take a break here.

It's a shame that my trip through Armenia didn't even briefly touch on Aknalich, but I hope I'll have another chance to visit this place. There's a saying in German: "Knapp daneben ist auch vorbei!" [A miss is as good as a mile!]

Links and Annotations:
[1] Medea, Jason and the Argonauts in Georgia
https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2024/12/medea-jason-and-argonauts-in-georgia.html
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Yazidi_holy_places
[3] https://biblehub.com/genesis/8-4.htm
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Judi
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yazidis
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithraism
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yazidism
[8] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufismus / https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufismus
[9] What's going on with the Ottoman hostel in Sötenich (Eifel)?
https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2025/07/was-ist-los-mit-der-osmanischen.html

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The Great Geysir in Iceland

 

The title “The Great Geysir in Iceland” is correct and at the same time a little incorrect [1], because on the one hand it is about the Great Geysir (Isl. Stóri Geysir), which gave its name to all geysers, and on the other hand the area of hot springs near Haukadalur in the area of the Icelandic municipality of Bláskógabyggð [2]. Other geysers are also active there, for example the Strokkur Geyser. But first things first.

In between the ferntree and the pandanustree
you may detect the geyser's fountain above the the roof [6]

I didn't see my first geysers in Iceland, but in New Zealand, and that's why I'm also posting two pictures from 1988. I arrived in Rotirua late in the afternoon and checked into the Geyserland Hotel. It was a bit of a climb up the hill and you couldn't see anything if you were busy searching and arriving. Then I got to my room and opened the door ... and left the door open. I rushed to the balcony because just as I had opened the door, a high fountain of a geyser shot up. Of course, I closed the door because it was already too dark to take photos, but I first gave myself over to the wonder of this natural spectacle. The next day I visited the geyser area of Roturua down below the hotel. Later, when I was back in Germany, a newspaper advertised the Geyserland Hotel for 3 million DM. I don't dare calculate how much that would be in today's money; in euros it's about 1.4 million. Well, that would have been far beyond my means, but I still found the offer surprising because Roturua had a lot of tourism. I assume that most guests found the sudden fountains and the smell of the fumaroles unpleasant. Enough of this digression!

I had been in Iceland a little over a year ago and visited the hot spring area of Haukadalur. I know that I admired the Great Geysir at that place, but I can no longer identify from my pictures which eruption, which fountain, which steam is associated with this great geyser. Geysir is derived from the Icelandic geysa "to spurt out, to pour out" and is in turn the frequentative of the verb gjósa "to bubble, to erupt". The Great Geysir was first mentioned in 1294. The sinter deposits around the geyser basin have been analyzed and it is estimated that its activity has been going on for about 10,000 years [3]. Earthquakes, which are more common in geothermally active areas, can lead to a cessation of activity or to renewed activity. The Great Geysir was temporarily inactive or only very sporadically active during the last century, but this has changed since an earthquake in the year 2000. Before the eruption and the water fountain shoots up with the steam and clouds, the water bubbles up and forms something like a bubbling bell; unfortunately I don't have a photo of this because I was too busy looking for fountains.

Now a few notes on what happens in a geyser and why; this is explained in more detail and more precisely on Wikipedia [4]. In principle, it is similar to making an espresso on the stove: water vapor pushes hot water through the coffee [5]. Seepage water reaches the depths, is heated by magma, while the pressure of the water column heats the water in the eruption channel to well over 100 °C without boiling. But then the pressure of the water vapor increases so much that it suddenly pushes the heated water upwards. We then enjoy the fountain.

I really enjoyed my stay there and you can watch geysers and other geothermal phenomena, such as mud pots or hot springs, fumaroles, deposits, algae growth, etc. I will come back to fumaroles separately later, as soon as I report on the north of Iceland.

Links and Annotations:
[1] I hate incorrectness, but I want to talk more about what I saw and thozght rather than write a treatsise on geysirs.
[2] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gro%C3%9Fer_Geysir and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geysir and https://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geysir
[3] It's an estimate and I should be happy with that. However, I wonder how they could incorporate periods of inactivity into this estimate.
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geyser and https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geysir
[5] In Roturua for instance the hot springs were used to cook.
[6] I forgot, where I found the add in 1988, but the hotel had been operational afterwards.
PS. Use the links, it's complicated, but each is an article of the own.

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Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík

 

The Hallgrímskirkja is a landmark with an almost 75 m high tower; in addition, the building stands on a hill. It is an Evangelical Lutheran parish church. The Byzantine-like depictions of the archangels Gabriel and Michael by Kirstin Gunnlaugsdottir and a stained glass window in which Mary and child are worshipped provide a Roman Catholic counterpoint that is to be welcomed in times of ecumenism. Looking back, it somehow reminded me of the Lord Jesus Christ's Resurrection Basilica (Lithuanian: Kauno mūsų Viešpaties Jėzaus Kristaus Prisikėlimo bazilika) [2] in Kaunas, Lithuania. This church initially seemed Protestant to me due to its architecture and interior. Its architecture belongs to the Kaunas architecture of the interwar period [3], which reminds me of the expressionist style of the Hallgrímskirkja. In both churches you can climb the tower or take an elevator up, and in both cases you get a magnificent view.

The planning for Hallgrímskirkja dates back to 1929, but construction only began after World War II and was not finished until 1986. Guðjón Samúelsson (1887–1950) [4] designed the church. The name of the church goes back to Hallgrímur Pétursson [5] and the church was consecrated on the 312th anniversary of his death; it was also the 200th anniversary of the city of Reykjavik. Hallgrímur lived in the 17th century and is today one of the most famous Icelandic poets. Although he dropped out of theology, he became an Evangelical Lutheran pastor. He is known for his psalm poetry and his songs are still sung today. He is often compared to Paul Gerhardt, about whose song “O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden” I wrote somethig just yesterday [6].

Hallgrímskirkja is a hall church with a dominant nave and two side aisles. It has hardly any stained glass and is perhaps therefore very bright, which can be an advantage in the winter months, but could be the opposite in the summer months. I visited the church during November and it was pleasantly bright. The church is not east-facing; the entrance to the church faces southwest.

Since December 1992, the church has had a concert organ made by the Johannes Klais Orgelbau company in Bonn - I have already admired several of their organs. The company operates worldwide. The organ has four manuals and pedals as well as 5275 pipes and 72 registers. The organ is about 15 meters high and weighs 25 tons. It is by far the largest organ in Iceland. Unfortunately, I can't say anything about the sound, because work was being done in the church and the shrill sounds of the drill still echo in my ears.

The three bells are called Hallgrímur, Guðríður and Steinunn. Guðríður was the name of Hallgrímur's wife. Steinunn was the name of the couple's daughter, who died at the age of four. The bells also include a 29-bell carillon.

The church is worth a visit, but that's why there are so many tourists there.

Links and Annotations:
[1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallgr%C3%ADmskirkja and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallgr%C3%ADmskirkja  also https://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallgr%C3%ADmskirkja but the text in Icelandic is very short.
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ%27s_Resurrection_Church,_Kaunas and https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christi_Auferstehung_(Kaunas) I still haven't written about this basilica.
[3] https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kauno_modernizmo_architekt%C5%ABra
[4] Guðjón Samúelsson (16 April 1887 – 25 April 1950) was a State Architect of Iceland, who also planned the Akureyrarkirkja in the north Icelandic town of Akureyri. His work is said to be influenced by Icelandic geology, like the Svartifoss basalt columns. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gu%C3%B0j%C3%B3n_Sam%C3%BAelsson and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gu%C3%B0j%C3%B3n_Sam%C3%BAelsson 
[5] Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614-1674): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallgr%C3%ADmur_P%C3%A9tursson
[6] LYRIK-Taschenkalender 2014 04./05. KW 08.01.2024
https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2025/01/lyrik-taschenkalender-2014-0405-kw.html  
More About Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Gerhardt  

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Sortland or Blåbyen or Blue City

Sortland is a municipality in the Norwegian north (Nordland) and includes the islands of Langøya and Hinnøya in the Vesterålen archipelago [1]. The municipality has between 10,000 and 11,000 inhabitants. And I want to tell you why it is also called Blåbyen or Blue City.

The idea of a blue city is not new, but it was revolutionary for Sortland. I still remember the old town of Jodhpur in Rajasthan (India), which also has many blue houses [2]. This was probably not the decisive factor in the idea of providing the city of Sortland with blue houses. The project developed from an idea by the artist Bjørn Elvenes [3].

Bjørn Elvenes studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, Poland, in the 1990s. When he returned to Norway, he was of course not yet able to make a living from his art, he was already making unique pieces of furniture - to be honest, one of my brothers still does that - and then he had the idea of turning the city into a work of art. He wanted to make the city a blue city by painting the houses blue and so make an artistical statement. Interestingly, the residents were not at all convinced by this project, because they thought blue was an unnatural, cold and horrible color. But the mayor and the city council were very impressed by the project, probably because they recognized its touristic potential. As is often the case with artists, a dispute arose over rights and who was in charge of the artistic orientation. Bjørn Elvenes probably saw the conversion of his art project into an urban development concept as a kind of profanation of his idea. But the project had already been launched and was being continued by other projects, so that today Sortland appears as Blåbyen.

Bjørn Elvenes has an art gallery in the shopping centre “Skibsgården” [4], which is opposite the Kulturfabrikken [5]. I think that this project has made the town of Sortkand, far up in the north, more colorful and is also an investment in more culture. But culture is what makes life worth living.

 

Links and Annotations:
[1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortland
[2] More on Jodhpur: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodhpur I promise to look through my pictures from Jodhpur and write a blogpost about the blue city.
[3] https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Den_bl%C3%A5_byen_ved_sundet and
https://www.norwegenstube.de/bjorn-elvenes  
[4] Galleri Bjørn Elvenes, Skibsgården, Strandgata 12; https://www.instagram.com/bjornelvenes/?hl=de
[5] Kulturfabrikken Sortland KF is a municipal enterprise and operates the „cultural center "Kulturfabrikken", a diverse meeting place that seethes and boils with creativity and activity.“ https://www.kulturfabrikkensortland.no/nyttig-info/gavekort/#general
 
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Street Art inside the Arctic Circle

 

Inside the Arctic Circle you have lots of sun hours during summer and lots of darkness during winter. I've seen nice libraries full of light and illumination, also by the books you may read there. And I've found at least a few pieces of street art during my short visit to the north of Norway / Lofoten. Colorful walls, light, and street art may help to cope or even prevent the winter depression due to the lack or better the absence of sunlight. During summer the bright pictures may even attract more views. The first picture has been near a supermarket on the left side. „Ikke glem å pust!“ mean: Don't forget to breathe!“

I'll put more notes underneath the pictures.

 

Near the Polarmuseet Tromsø -
Roald Amundsen behind a large heap of snow

I guess the artist had been invited

This is uninvited near the art of the upper picture

The next three pictures are from Sortland, which has an art project
called Blåbyen, which means blue city,
and besides this street art you find houses painted blue

This is most probably a door that isn't used anymore,
it is opposite of a kindergarden.

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Medea, Jason and the Argonauts in Georgia

 

If you are travelling in Georgia and especially if you go to Batumi on the Black Sea or to Kutaisi, the old capital of Colchis, then you cannot avoid Medea, Jason and the Argonauts. It is a very old story that does not necessarily correspond entirely to the legend. With the tragedy Medea by Euripides, Medea became notorious as a child murderer, but we do not know whether that was the case, after all the possible crime took place 3300 years ago.

For those who want to know the official version nowadays, I have quoted some Wikipedia articles in which you can find out more. But I have an old lexicon of symbols in which the story is told [1]. I will extract some parts from it and retell them, and there is also the book: Medea - Voices by Christa Wolf in German. She tells a completely different story, namely a Medea who did not kill her children, but this Medea also remains a child murderer for posterity. I want to address that too.

Jason's uncle Pelias ascends the throne after the death of King Aison, and in order to prevent Jason's inheritance claims, Pelias demands that he conquer the golden fleece, which is hung on an oak tree in Colchis and guarded by a fire-breathing dragon. The Argonauts set off with Jason and after numerous adventures they manage to reach Colchis. Jason is given another task, namely to plow the field of Ares with two bulls that have bronze legs and breathe fire, and to sow dragon's teeth. Numerous warriors emerge from the dragon teeth seeds. They are giants. But Medea gives him a miracle ointment that makes him safe from fire and iron. And he should immediately hurl rocks at them when the dragon's teeth turn into warriors. After these tasks, he returns, marries Medea and is able to obtain the Golden Fleece with her help. He returns to Greece. Jason later banishes Medea and she is said to have killed her children in her anger.

Let us return to a few details
The Golden Fleece
The Golden Fleece (Ancient Greek: Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας) is, according to legend, the fleece of the golden-wooled winged ram named Chrysomallos [2]. It came into the possession of King Aeëtes, who was Medea's father. The golden fleece was a symbol of power and royalty. However, it is possible that fleece was previously used to wash gold, or fleece was used so that gold would get caught in it.
Colchis
Colchis (Ancient Greek: Κολχίς) was a term used by ancient Greeks and Romans for the area that today corresponds to western Georgia [3]. The people spoke a Kartvelian language.
The Argonauts
The Argonauts [4] accompanied Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece. Wikipedia lists 49 and indicates which sources provide the names in detail, as there is no definitive list. The action takes place before the Trojan War, which is historically documented, so that the time period "about 3300 years ago" comes from this. The name Argonauts comes from their ship, the Argo. This was named after the shipbuilder Argus. This Argus should not be confused with Argus Panoptes (Ancient Greek: Ἄργος Πανόπτης) [5], which has come down to  the present day through the meaning of Panoptes "all-seeing" and the term "with Argus eyes".
Medea
Medea [6] is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, who falls in love with Jason, helps him to get the Golden Fleece, marries him, flees with him, kills her brother on the run, and after Jason leaves her for Glauke, the daughter of Kreon, kills her opponent Glauke with a robe that goes up in flames. This motif was taken up in the film Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time [7]. In the tragedy Medea by Euripides (premiered in 431 BC) [8], Medea kills Glauke with the robe, which also kills Kreon, and then her two sons. In Christa Wolf's Medea [9] Medea is the victim of an intrigue and did not kill her children. Her opponents in Corinth have Jason's children commemorated every seven years in the Temple of Hera, and thus also Medea as a child murderer. Is history boring?

Picture from "Lexikon der Symbole -
here Medea looks more like an Indian goddess.

You can probably discover a lot more if you travel just with Medea in mind, but I am happy with what I have seen and read up. Visiting museums is worthwhile.

This temple is from Armenia, however.

Links and Annotations:
[1] Wolfgang Bauer, Irmtraud Dümotz und Sergius Golowin:Lexikon der Symbole. Fourier, Wiesbaden 1994. ISBN 13: 9783921695548. The picture is from page 169.
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Fleece
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colchis   
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argonauts  
[5] Argus or Argos Panoptes is a many-eyed giant in Greek mythology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argus_Panoptes
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea
[7] „At their celebratory banquet, Tus has Dastan give their father an embroidered robe. However, the robe is poisoned, fatally burning Sharaman.“ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Persia:_The_Sands_of_Time_(film)
[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_(play)
[9] Christa Wolf: Medea. Stimmen. dtv, München 1998. ISBN: 9783423124447. There is an Enlish translation by John Cullen with an introduction by Margareth Atwood. First Trade Paperback Edition 1998. ISBN: 9780385518574.

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Street Art in Tallinn

 

One of my brothers and sister-in-law had visited Tallinn a year ago and raved about the street art there [1]. Actually, I only came back with one important photo of street art and when I showed it to them, they said, oh, we didn't see that one. But I missed the spontaneous strett art. Actions where artists really put art on the walls without completely having planned it for a client, like the example I'm showing here. Anyway, the picture itself on the wall is beautiful and I hope it stays there for a long time. And what else? I took a few more photos, which I'll come to in a moment.

But first I'd like to talk a little about Tallinn itself. Tallinn is the capital of Estonia [2] and thus also the most populous city in the country. Tallinn used to be called Reval. We'll look at Reval and Tallinn etymologically in a jiffy. For me as a child and teenager, Reval was more the name of a cigarette brand [3]. The Reval brand and the Roth Händle brand were considered strong, but I can't find out how strong, because the half-hearted conscience of industry and politics agreed on upper limits for tar content and nicotine levels instead of banning cigarettes altogether. There was a joke: "Anyone who smokes Reval will eat small children too." I think that all cigarette brands, no matter how "light", or smoking products in general are detrimental to health. I have just revived an old article about ginseng cigarettes, because the writing on the pack simultaneously lists health risks and makes claims about how much these cigarettes are good for your health [4]. In 1976 a Reval cigarette cost around €0.06 in Germany, now a cigarette costs €0.45 - still too cheap!

Tallinn means Danish castle. And that goes back to Danish rule after the Battle of Lyndanisse [5] in 1219. Reval comes from the Estonian Rafala. The German form Reval was used internationally (adapted in each case), because Tallinn received city and trading rights from Lübeck and the Hanseatic League in 1248. The place itself has certainly been inhabited for 5000 years.

And what else am I showing? A painting on the wall of a church; would you call anything but street art?! And historical at that! On my last trips I saw a lot of anti-Russian street art, i.e. politically motivated street art, which I did not see in Tallinn. The embassy and the outside walls are free of it, although the railings in front of the Russian Embassy are used for protests. And I took photos from the old pharmacy [6] looking outside through a fishbowl [7], the water was colored blue.

Links and Annotations:
[1] Here are some example from the net: https://www.visittallinn.ee/eng/visitor/ideas-tips/tips-and-guides/street-art-in-tallinn and https://streetartmap.com/tallinn/ ... as my article isn't about street art in sensu strictu.
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallinn
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reval_(cigarette)
[4] Ginseng Cigarettes https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2024/12/ginseng-cigarettes.html
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lyndanisse
[6] I'll write later about the old pharmacy, which has been operating since 1582.
[7] And yes, I thought of Pink Floyd's „Wish You Were Here“, too.

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Hill of Crosses near Šiauliai, Lithuania

 

Last week I've read Wickman's Pupils [1] by Jaan Kross [2]. The book is about life, attending Wickman's private school, graduating from high school and growing up, and even though there are a lot of funny parts in the book at first, the end is as sobering as adulthood. For example, it reports on deportations. The book is set largely in Tallinn, i.e. Estonia and not Lithuania, but all three Baltic republics have suffered a similar fate: centuries of foreign rule and then, especially under Stalinism, deportations and interference in the religious and national feelings of their inhabitants.

In Lithuania there is the Hill of Crosses (Lithuanian: Kryžių kalnas) [3], a national memorial site that is covered with crosses. The place is about 12 km north of the city of Šiauliai [4]. These crosses commemorate deportees, deceased or missing persons. Interestingly, this is not a new project, but began about two centuries ago. But more on that in a moment. When we got there, I was surprised that you had to go under a road from a parking lot and that was the first time I saw a sign prohibiting begging. Apparently the pilgrims were harassed so much on their way to the memorial that one had to stop it.

The German Wikipedia article tells of a legend: A father fell asleep at his daughter's sickbed. A white female figure appeared to him and told him to put up a cross on the hill. The man did as he was told and put up a cross there. When he returned home, his daughter had recovered.

After the uprising of 1831, the first crosses were put up, but statues of the Virgin Mary, rosaries and other devotional items were also brought there. It is believed that there are more than 200,000 crosses there, a more modest estimate for 2006 was more than 100,000 crosses. Let us remember that the majority of Lithuanians are Roman Catholic [5]. In 1961 and 1975, during the Soviet era, many of the old crosses were destroyed. In the Wikipedia article you can see what the KGB and Soviet Army did against this hill, the faith and the people, laymen and priests alike, to prevent the erection of crosses.

Pope John Paul II visited the place in 1993 and a stone with an inscription commemorates this. UNESCO named Lithuanian cross-crafting in the lists of good safeguarding practices and intangible cultural heritage. A little away from the hill there is a church with a monastery on a hill. One can easily walk there. And now to something completely different, one could see storks in the surrounding meadows.

If you are travelling via Šiauliai on the E12 towards Riga (Latvia), you can easily make a detour on road 4033. This site shouldn't be missed.

Links and Annotations:
[1] Jaan Kross: The Wikman Boys (Original title: Wikmani poisid; 1988). I've read: Wikmans Zöglinge. Aus dem Estnischen von Irja Grönholm. Mit einem Nachwort von Cornelius Hasselblatt. Osburg, Hamburg 2017. ISBN: 9783955101299.
[2] Jaan Kross (1920-2007) was an Estonian writer. He won the 1995 International Nonino Prize in Italy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaan_Kross
[3] Hill of Crosses: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_of_Crosses and https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berg_der_Kreuze  
[4] Šiauliai: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%A0iauliai
[5] More on this topic: Religious Affiliation in the recently visited States of the Baltic Sea https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2024/09/religious-affiliation-in-recently.html "According to a census of 2021, 74.2% were Catholics, 4.4% Orthodox, 0.6% Lutherans and those without a religious affiliation made up 13.7%." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Lithuania
 
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Barnehage and other Brighterners in Henningsvaer

In Henningsvær the sun broke through the clouds now and then, but the village has to manage the brightening in other ways. The more conservative or official methods are paint and artificial light. But there are others, too. Football fans and others leave stickers in certain places. The football field is on a separate island. But I was even more fascinated by a child's drawing, in scrawled letters it says: småtrollan barnehage and that means: small kindergarten.

Henningsvær became better known through the football field and you can find out a lot about it in the English Wikipedia article [1]. Henningsvær is a fishing village; the name says it all, because vær means fishing village and Henning is a common first name. So it is Henning's fishing village; Henning is also a common first name in Germany, by the way. In 1934 a pier was built that connected two islands (Heimøya and Hellandsøya) and the road connection to Svolvær has improved. The most comprehensive article is the one in Bokmal [2]. The article on Nynorsk is rather modest in scope. The history of the village goes back to 1567, in 1769 the number of residents was given as four. Currently around 500 people live in Henningsvær, but the location and the beautiful views attract tourists, like me, for example.

Links and Annotations:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henningsv%C3%A6r Of course there is more in this article than football! The German Wikipedia article is not much different. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henningsv%C3%A6r
[2] But this is the most comprehensive source on Henningsvær:
https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henningsv%C3%A6r
 

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Abanotubani or the Ancient Bath District of Tbilisi

 

Abanotubani is an old district of Tbilisi and is located at the eastern bank of the Mtkvari River at the foot of Narikala fort across Metekhisubani (Church) [1]. Now a little more precisely: Abanotubani (Georgian აბანოთუბანი) comes from abano "bath" and ubani "district", the term refers to the bath district in the old town of the Georgian capital Tbilisi. And since I want to know everything even more precisely, I looked at the etymology of abano (აბანო) [2]: “From Old Georgian აბანოჲ (abanoy), from Proto-Georgian-Zan *ban- (whence also ბანაობს (banaobs), ბანა (bana) and their derivatives). Cognate with Mingrelian ბონუა (bonua, “to wash oneself”), აბანა (abana) and Laz ობონუ (obonu, “to wash oneself”).” Old Georgian (ႤႬႠჂ ႵႠႰႧႭჃႪႨ) is a literary language, which has been known from the 5th century AD onwards. I noticed that abano is phonetically identical to the Italian Abano. But Abano is a famous thermal spa in Italy [3]. The area was settled in the 9th century BC (Wiki in German). From the 6th century BC, Abano is known as a thermal spa (Wiki in Italian). The origin of Abano may be derived from Aponus, the god of thermal waters, which may be dated back the to the Indo-European root *ap, which means water. Now I ask myself if Abanotubani has been derived from the Abano Terme? Keep in mind that Georgian belongs to the Kartvelian languages and not the Indo-European languages.

As early as the 13th century, around 65 baths used the hot sulphur springs beneath the city, or the water at up to 46.5 °C that bubbles from a spring on Mtabori Mountain. Today, around 10% are still used. But at least you can still bathe there. Most tourists, including me, look at the domes of the baths from the outside, so there is plenty of activity there. Alexandre Dumas and Alexander Pushkin (Александр Серге́евич Пу́шкин) visited the baths. It is not known whether Alexander the Great was there [4]. If you want to read a detailed report about the baths, you have to translate a text from German, but Ingrid has written a nice travelogue [5].

It may look like a Madrasa, but it's a bath

Links and Annotations:
[1] In English there isn't much on the English page of Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abanotubani. You may look at the German page, which has an elaborated text: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abanotubani
[2] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E1%83%90%E1%83%91%E1%83%90%E1%83%9C%E1%83%9D
[3] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abano_Terme https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abano_Terme https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abano_Terme
[4] This is of course nonsense on my part, since he passed by to the south and did not come close to the Caucasus.
[5] https://www.ingrids-welt.de/reise/geo/html/tb-baederviertel.htm I guess my text is a pretext to text something on linguistics rather than to inform on the baths – well, at least there are some pictures.
PS. You may have noticed that Abanotubani contains twice Proto-Georgian-Zan *ban-.
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The Baana and Lapinlahti in Helsinki

Can you imagine what the title "The Baana and Lapinlahti in Helsinki" means? Well, before this visit to Helsinki I had no idea what it could mean. But now I can report on it and there are plenty of surprises in stock. The Baana is a disused freight railway line that can now be used by cyclists and pedestrians. Lapinlahti is a western district of Helsinki.

Baana is a term that is now also used in Finland for other bicycle rapid transit lines [1]. The original, however, refers to a popular bicycle and pedestrian route from Helsinki Central Station, which can be reached through a tunnel, and the Lapinlahti district. The route runs in a trench of the Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu, which is the street that runs past the Helsinki Art Museum HAM, for example. The route is 1.3 to 1.5 km (approximately one mile) long and has no intersections. This is not only an advantage for cyclists, pedestrians in particular run into red lights much more often, so maybe we change run for stroll. The trees, bushes and flowers planted in the ditch make you feel detached from the hustle and bustle of the big city. In the wider parts of the ditch there are places to sit or pingpong tables, even tennis and boule are possible. You can also rent bikes there. Wikipedia gives the number of annual bike users as 700,000.

The Lapinlahti district (Swedish: Lappviken) [2] is interesting not only because of the cemeteries, which I would like to make an own topic later. I had walked through the cemeteries as dusk fell and came to the bay, where young people also like to spend the evening. You can sit on benches or on the cliffs that jut out into the bay. There the city has a very beautiful evening atmosphere. I also found a table decorated with craftwork and poems. It was in a small forest and you can see gardens right next to it. I walked further and then looked at the Lapinlahden sairaala, and that has nothing to do with a seraglio (Serail). It is the former or rather the first psychiatric hospital in Finland [3], but it is no longer in operation because it was closed in December 2008 despite opposition from the citizens of Helsinki. The third head doctor of the clinic, from 1904 to 1922, was Christian Sibelius - you guessed it - the brother of Jean Sibelius.

Baana is a beautiful route if you are in a hurry, but also if you want to take your time.

Links and Annotations:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baana I also used German texts: https://www.dfg-ev.de/news/3048/helsinki-quotbaana-von-der-bahntrasse-zum-fahrradweg and https://rad-spannerei.de/2012/06/20/baana-in-helsinki-fahrradweg-unter-der-stadt/ as well as https://finland.fi/de/leben-amp-gesellschaft/gut-in-fahrt-helsinki-baut-das-radwegenetz-weiter-aus/
[2] Forget the English Wikipedia article as a source of information. However, you don't have to use the Finnish (Suomi) article as there is a good French one: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapinlahti_(Helsinki)
[3] There ist also a very good aricle in French on Wikipedia: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4pital_de_Lapinlahti     

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