Photo Trip Around The World

German's Neuschwanstein Castle

Edge of Glacier

Disney Castle

The Thar

Previously, one only chewed over and thought of such far away places, or read about Thar's unusual life, of people, who sang and danced with exciting rhythm and melody, radiant colours in dress, Manik Chowkri, a beautiful and intricate design on ajraks and chadars and colours of rolling miles of desert sand. The remote area on the Southern edge of Pakistan, which is devoid of the basic infrastructure necessary for life or development, is a tourists' attraction.Antiquity is the first message. The scenery is attractive in its own way. Goths (villages) and hills quaintly intersect the desert soil, open all around. The roads, wherever they are, swings and curves up and down. The vehicles bump up and down the roads and sandy track, giving fleeting glimpses of a rougher, more elemental existence. Villages pass by, with trees surrounding them and beautiful birds swashbuckling on the branches, like crows on a rainy day. The vegetation is reduced to the undergrowth and thorny shrubs. Cows move silently, hordes and hordes of them, jingling cowbells around their necks, and doves flutter in front of the moving vehicles, which may be struggling in the fourth gears. Fine waves of sand with bright silvery particles sparkle in the sunlight.British functionary Parker did so well in south-east Sindh that the district of Thar was renamed Thar Parker. But the things have not changed much since then in Thar region. The refusal can be felt everywhere. Whatever development has occurred in the other parts of the country, has bypassed Thar? The round mud dwellings with thatched conical roofs look good in photographs but may not be as comfortable to live in. Thar is supposed to be one of the most densely populated deserts in the world. If nothing else, one should remember how certain parts of the Thar had become the scene of battle during the previous wars with India. Once again it has become a political battleground these days.

Major attraction and one of the claims of the Sindh folklore to fame is the village Bhalwa where my curious sense was at its peak. Marvi -- Sindhi heroin famous for her chastity and patriotism -–lived in village. Just on the periphery of the village is a shed where it appeared that a tea stall had been set up during Marvi's melo (festival of Marvi). A few steps away is the "Marvi jo Khooh" (the well of Marvi) from where she used to provide water to her goats and sheep and where Umar Soomra had caught a glimpse of Marvi and had become so head-over-heels that he held the girl against her wishes. Lost in the magnificent stronghold, Marvi's longing for her native terrain gave birth to one of the most moving folklore of Sindh. Her tale has been immortalized by great Sindhi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. It is an integral part of our oral and folk heritage. Most Sindhi girls know all about Marvi. Ironically, Marvi is credited only with a dilapidated and poorly written sign in Sindhi and English languages.Marvi has been treated in a manner as any other national legendary character. There is nothing inspiring about the village these days. The physical venue -- old well -- had been plastered over and totally replaced by an unmarked cemented structure, an absolutely uninspiring job. At the moment, the well is dry and no Marvi can come there and have her pitcher filled. All that is seen left of Marvi is her undying desire and ache for what is no longer there.A mela organized here in her name has become one of the biggest social and business events in the Thar area. Local cultural committee organises the annual mela of one of the celebrated figures of Thar, with traditional zeal and enthusiasm. But the committee has no resources. Thousands of Tharis participate in the two-day mela. Scores of camels and horses are brought to the mela from various villages to take part in races. Malakhro (wrestling) also is held on the occasion. The stalls under shamyanas or in huts made of straw are set to do the business. One resident of Bhalwa said, "We Tharis realize that a nation which loses its connection with history soon loses its identity. Hence, we gather here to pay glowing tributes to Marvi, the legendary woman." Sadiq Faqir, Karim Faqir, Ustad Hussain Faqir, Yousuf Faqir, and Jeendo Khaskheli among other vocalists of Thar mesmerize the fans of the mela with their folk songs.Further on the way from district headquarters Mithi to Nagar Parkar, Virawah is another important historic town. It used to be a seaport in the past. Remains and relics are scattered in and around this sleepy little town. But one notices the town afterwards. It begins just like any other typical dust and flies town on the roadside anywhere in remote Sindh, and it ends just as abruptly too. Before one could decide if this is the best place to explore, one is almost out of the village. The abrupt change in the landscape tells that village is left behind. Climb the nearby Karunjhar Hill and you can see landscape intersected by conical huts. At night I saw a series of lights from the hillock. Haloes of iridescent lights glowed in conical huts all around. This would be the place to come and take a look on Diwali nights when Hindu living in the area lit earthen lamps to mark the festival of lights I thought.A segment of a wall existing there in the form of mountain of debris and some engraved stones give an ancient look in town that I photographed though the veracity of the wall's association with the past is yet to be discovered. But the site does give evidence of its distant past.How do you people survive?" asked one of my more urban companions. "The greatest contribution of us Tharis is that against all odds we have kept the place inhabited for Pakistan," the answers came from one of the locals.If those who are at the helm of affairs in the government have taken for granted that Thar does not occupy a significant place in the geography (and history) of the country, then they should read the Sur Marvi of the Risalo of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. For the record sack!

South Aral Sea shrinking but North Aral Sea expanding

Figures 1 and 2 depict the Aral Sea in October 2003 and in September 2006 to October 2007. The Aral Sea has continued to shrink since the 1960s. If you compare Figs. 1 and 2, you will find that the South Aral Sea shrank after dividing into east and west areas, but the North Aral Sea expanded. Aral'sk (Aralsk), formerly a port town facing the Aral Sea, is in the top right corner of the figures, and Muynoq (Muinak), also a former port town, is in the lower left. The distance from Muinak to the nearest coastline was 50km in Fig. 1 but increased to 77km in Fig. 2. In contrast, the distance from Aralsk to the nearest coastline was 35km in Fig. 1 but decreased to 25km in Fig. 2.The reduction of the South Aral Sea is remarkable, especially on the east side. In Fig. 2, the coastline retreated on a large scale, leaving a trace that can be seen as a striped pattern like tree rings. Additionally, the emerald-green sea surface suggests shallow water, so the rapid reduction is expected to continue in the future.The expansion of the North Aral Sea indicates that the water level is recovering since the Kazakhstan government completed the partially concrete Kok-Aral Dam in August 2005, as a 86 million dollar project including financing from the World Bank. Since completing the dam, Kazakhstan has been able to keep the water in the North Aral Sea. They also increased the irrigation system efficiency by improving the agricultural water routes, and increased the quantity of the water pouring into the North Aral Sea from the Syr Dar'ya (Darya) River.It was not so new concept that Kazakhstan would give up the South Aral Sea, which does not receive water from the Amu Darya River, and that they would rescue only the North Aral Sea, which still receives some water from the Syr Darya River, by constructing a dam. The Kazakhstan government, which has been controlling the northern half of the Aral Sea since the former USSR collapsed at the end of 1991, constructed an earthen dam in 1996, but it was destroyed by high waves due to a storm in 1999.

Figure 3 is an expanded image around the Kok-Aral Dam acquired in October 2006. The 13km-long Kok-Aral Dam forms a wide V-like character. The lock is the part where the dam looks to break off, and small, white splashes of drained water can be seen. The northeastern side of the dam is the North Aral Sea, and the mouth of the Syr Darya River is near.This dam was designed to raise the water level of the North Aral Sea from 38m to 42m above sea level. The water level of the North Aral Sea is estimated to have reached very near the planned 42m because the inclination on the northeastern side of the dam is fairly gentle, *1 and the water in the North Aral Sea has approached the top of the dam.News reports say that sometimes it rained in Aralsk, the climate became quiet, the frequency of sandstorms decreased, and the fish and wild fowl returned as the water level recovered. Reports also say that fishermen are returning to the city and are planning to stock millions of young fish and to re-introduce the sturgeon to revive fishery.

The Aral Sea spreads over portions of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in Central Asia and was the fourth largest lake in the world. However, its level began dropping in the 1960s as more and more irrigation water was extracted from the Syr Darya and Amu Darya Rivers that flow into the Aral Sea to grow cotton and cereal, with a subsequent reduction in surface area. Salt, sand, and agricultural chemicals stirred up from the parched bottom of the sea created a serious health hazard for the surrounding residents, and the increased salinity of the water remaining in the Aral Sea killed fish and ruined fisheries. The climate became harsher because the water mitigating the environment of this area disappeared and the growth season for cotton and cereal shortened. As illustrated in Fig. 4, the Aral Sea separated into north and south areas in the second half of the 1980s. The South Aral Sea subsequently separated into east and west areas around the year 2000 and is continuing to shrink. However, the North Aral Sea has been recovering since the Kok-Aral Dam was completed in August 2005. Table 1 indicates the sea-surface areas measured based on Fig. 4.

The first-stage project was to complete construction of the Kok-Aral Dam. The second-stage of the $126 million project is planned to be started in 2009. The project includes constructing a 20km-long second dam to further raise the water level of the North Aral Sea and constructing a canal that will have a water level of 46m above sea level, which is higher than the second dam, and will extend from the Syr Darya River, bringing water to the harbor in Aralsk again. The water level of the Aral Sea was 53.41m*2 in 1960.The Amu Darya River disappears before it can pour into the South Aral Sea due to the extraction of water for irrigation. At present, millions of people depend on the cereal grown by the irrigation system supported by the river. Thus, restoring the South Aral Sea will probably be very difficult.

World Unique Village

In the province of Iran; Azerbaijan (East), on northern slope of extinct volcano, the artful Azerbaijanians once have constructed unique village. The matter is that houses in village Kandovan are cut directly in rocks, in each rock on the house. The age of some of them exceeds 700 years. The nature has grown up these sharp as canines of a rock, people needed to chisel through only in them rooms and to insert windows and doors. Some doors conduct small twisting ladders. The court yard have also additional economic constructions. Owners decorate the ancient dwellings with modern openwork lattices. In due course inhabitants of these freakish rocks have expanded the houses with stone extensions. Balconies and bridges also increase inhabited space and do its more convenient. In the center of village there is a five-stars hotel. It also has been cut from rocks and is unique similar hotel of Iran. Cost of number from a jacuzzi of 200 dollars.

The Hill of Crosses

The Hill of Crosses is a site of pilgrimage in northern Lithuania. The crosses were first time placed on the former hill fort in the 14th century. Over the centuries, not only crosses, but giant crucifixes, carvings of Lithuanian patriots, statues of the Virgin Mary and thousands of tiny effigies and rosaries have been brought here by Catholic pilgrims.

Most recently, the site took on a special significance during the years 1944-1990, when Lithuania was occupied by the USSR. Continuing to travel to the Hill and leave their tributes, Lithuanians used it to demonstrate their allegiance to their original identity, religion and heritage. Although the Soviets worked hard to remove new crosses, and bulldozed the site at least three times, the new crosses continued to appear and by 1985 the authorities had given up.

The main reason for the Hill's existence lies buried in Lithuania's history. Over the centuries, the place has come to signify the peaceful endurance of Lithuanian Catholicism despite the threats it has faced throughout history. Invaded by Russia during the 1795 partition of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth Lithuania disappeared altogether from the map of Europe. When the old political structure of Eastern Europe fell apart in 1918, Lithuania once again declared its independence. Throughout this time, the Hill of Crosses was used as a place for Lithuanians to pray for peace, for their country, and for the loved ones they had lost.