Cultural enrichment

[obyknven]

Just my thread for interesting stuff.

 

Principality of Theodoro.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Theodoro

http://www.graal.org.ua/en/theodoro-principality/history-of-theodoro

http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5773/

 

Mostly interested because here survive traditions of Ancient world city building, quite different from tight and non-ecological "European" (after fall of Roman Empire) city building.

 

Capital of Theodoro is Mangup Kale.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangup

 

Other example of Byzantian city is Chersonesus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chersonesus

[Nonek]

I do agree that there is something to the argument for increased greenery and space in our cities, along with a little less uniformity and more artistic expression. The dour concrete jungles can be a little daunting, and even though at night they possess a certain neon lit beauty all of their own, they cannot compare to the green and growing splendour of say an idyllic English cottage, nestling in a bosom of organic splendour. To me at least.

[Shallow]

I do agree that there is something to the argument for increased greenery and space in our cities, along with a little less uniformity and more artistic expression. The dour concrete jungles can be a little daunting, and even though at night they possess a certain neon lit beauty all of their own, they cannot compare to the green and growing splendour of say an idyllic English cottage, nestling in a bosom of organic splendour. To me at least.

Concrete jungles can look really stunning provided they're built by people with the least bit of artistic sense, unfortunately that is essentially never the case, and even if it is there'll be preasure that looks standard, thankfully night removes the ugly detail and just leaves the lights. Any style can be great or horrid, depending on whether they got least bit of individuality.

[Gromnir]

Just my thread for interesting stuff.

 

Principality of Theodoro.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Theodoro

http://www.graal.org.ua/en/theodoro-principality/history-of-theodoro

http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5773/

 

Mostly interested because here survive traditions of Ancient world city building, quite different from tight and non-ecological "European" (after fall of Roman Empire) city building.

 

Capital of Theodoro is Mangup Kale.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangup

 

Other example of Byzantian city is Chersonesus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chersonesus

ignorance. geography and advances in warfare had as much to do with euro city planning as anything. notions o' ancient ecological awareness or consciousness is hokum... and long, largely indefensible walls/fortifications has always been of suspect value (e.g. great wall of china, maginot line.) similarly, the checkerboard or wheel and spoke layout o' streets you see in more modern planned european cities were largely due to the advent o' the cannon and firearms in general. conversely, the hanging gardens o' tenochtitlan   (http://www.history.com/videos/aztec-ingenuity#aztec-ingenuity) were the result o' incredible ingenuity and necessity rather than whimsical notions o' a pre-columbian aesthetic.  the mexico valley suffered from poor soil quality, frequent frosts and irregular rainfall. chinampas were a solution to these geographical/environmental limitations.

 

you like green? great, but toss the ecological nonsense as that is projecting modern values onto ancient examples that got nothing to do with your aesthetic.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Agiel]

Didn't really bother to read the topic, though I couldn't help but notice that oby tagged this topic with his own username.

[obyknven]

Let's continue our trip in Eastern culture. "Persian" (Midian, Parthian, Turanian, Aryan) heritage.

 

Fire temples.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sacred fortress

 

Sacred Town

 

Fire altars.

 

 

Altars of Mithra

 

 

[Nonek]

Striking, it gives one a certain sense of pride to note what ones fellow man can build, especially in times that we nowadays lazily condemn as backwards. This is one of the reason I am always somewhat uncomfortable with the conspiracy movement that argues aliens made any striking feature on Earth, it devalues us and takes no account of our sometimes ingenious, gifted and hardworking nature.

[Enoch]

Probably off-topic, but oby threads never have much of a topic focus anyway:

 

I've been spending a lot of time lately driving up and down Embassy Row in DC.  Given the frequency of stops due to traffic lights, bus stops, double-parked diplomats, etc., I've been appreciating the lovely variety of statuary along the route.  Besides the usual kind of thing you see in a capitol city-- war heroes on horses, important political leaders, an occasional scientist or clergyman, etc., the various embassies have put up a lot of really cool statues outside their buildings. 

 

There's a spot near the Naval Observatory where identical-scale bronzes of Churchill and Mandela essentially face each other from across the street, each with one arm raised into the air (Churchill: V for Victory; Mandela: Fist).  Makes you wonder about the kind of conversation those two might have.  The Indonesian embassy has a fantastic new statue of Suraswati.  If you peek through the fence into the courtyard of the Turkish embassy, you'll see a statue of Ataturk that is really well done-- with his chest forward and jacket un-buttoned and blowing open in the breeze, it's about as badass as you can make a sculpture of somebody wearing traditional Western business attire look. 

[Shallow]

You guys should check out berber architecture, it's some of the most amazing stuff you'll ever see.

[Walsingham]

I wonder how much of this grand architecture is down to less than democratic regimes trying to find legitimacy in public shows of power/taste/virtue?

[Nonek]

Probably quite a lot I would think, as well as insane amounts of ego and self belief, one merely has to behold what the Pharoah's left behind to see that sometimes art can come from extremely strange origins.

 

Edit: I beleive there was an architectural theory on the standing stones, dolmen, henges and menhirs of Europe and beyond, postulating that they were raised merely to state that this was the land of the builders, and that the remains so often found buried around them were further claims upon ownership of the land. Our dead lie here, sleeping and honoured, this is our land, indisputably kind of thing.

Edited October 17, 2014 by Nonek

[obyknven]

It's fashion time now. Fashion of Achaemenid Empire.

Men

 

women

 

Fasion of Eastern part of Empire - Afghanistan

 

Color scheme's

 

 

 

[Valsuelm]

[Guard Dog]

Probably off-topic, but oby threads never have much of a topic focus anyway:

 

I've been spending a lot of time lately driving up and down Embassy Row in DC.  Given the frequency of stops due to traffic lights, bus stops, double-parked diplomats, etc., I've been appreciating the lovely variety of statuary along the route.  Besides the usual kind of thing you see in a capitol city-- war heroes on horses, important political leaders, an occasional scientist or clergyman, etc., the various embassies have put up a lot of really cool statues outside their buildings. 

 

There's a spot near the Naval Observatory where identical-scale bronzes of Churchill and Mandela essentially face each other from across the street, each with one arm raised into the air (Churchill: V for Victory; Mandela: Fist).  Makes you wonder about the kind of conversation those two might have.  The Indonesian embassy has a fantastic new statue of Suraswati.  If you peek through the fence into the courtyard of the Turkish embassy, you'll see a statue of Ataturk that is really well done-- with his chest forward and jacket un-buttoned and blowing open in the breeze, it's about as badass as you can make a sculpture of somebody wearing traditional Western business attire look. 

One of these days I'd like to take a week or so to visit DC and just walk all around the Capital district. I've been there a few times (mainly when I was working at Pax River) but I've never had time to really take it all in.

[obyknven]

Fashion of Sassanid's.

 

 

 

 

Fashion of archaic European Scythians (before VI BCE)

 

 

 

 

fashion of new European "Scythians" (Scolotoi) after sucessful invansion from Central Asia (after VI - V BCE)

men

 

 

 

women

 

 

Fortifications of  Later Scythians in Crimea (new wave of invaders from Central Asia  in III BCE pushed out Scolotoi  to this peninsula).

 

 

 

 

[Longknife]

I was expecting an indoctrination program where we all learn why Russia is best country.

[obyknven]

I was expecting an indoctrination program where we all learn why Russia is best country.

ok, totalitarian musical pause now

http://youtu.be/6SZXH9RmW-4

 

http://youtu.be/IMqF24Ui_SI

[Valsuelm]

I was expecting an indoctrination program where we all learn why Russia is best country.

 

Most people are far too indoctrinated in other thinking to see the light.

 

But this is amusing:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHh6N0dMKtU

[obyknven]

Continue our trip to Aryan  Indoiranian heritage.

Central Asia. Khwarezm. VI-II BCE.

 

 

 

 

[Namutree]

Well, this is a neat thread.

[Valsuelm]

It's very strange.

[obyknven]

Yuezhi, Eastern "Iranian" people from Tibet region.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuezhi

 

 

 

Later they create mighty Buddhist Kushan Empire and cause significant Influence to Gandhara Civilization (and whole Buddhism).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buddist stupa's are reshaped steppe kurgans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[obyknven]

Later Kushan Empire has been conquered by White Huns - Central Asian peoples of Xionites and Hephthalites. In result Kushan Empire has been replaced by new Hephthalite Empire, though culturally almost nothing changed (except religion probably).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[obyknven]

Hephthalites or White Huns actually live in the towns.

 

in fortified houses

 
and castles near of towns

 

 They has very advanced and fashionable culture ( for comparison - in this time ancestors of Modern Europeans yet stay a half-naked barbarians lived in primitive huts).

 

 

Their perfectly armed army consisted from cavalry and infantry. They won battles against Sassanid Empire and as result their expeditionary forces break forth to North Caucasus and Black Sea region... How it's ended everyone is known.

 

Later in VI-VII centuries their Empire has been fallen upon joint strikes of Sassanid Empire and mighty Turkic Khaganate. Remnants of Huns flee into India where has been assimilated by locals. From this period  dominance of Turkic people in Central Asian region has been beginned.

[obyknven]

More ancient Aryans now. Adronovo culture  2000 BCE.


 

 

 

They are inventors of chariots and superior warfare methods.

Their furious expansion happened in 2000 - 1500 BCE, nobody can resist to them, even such powerful civilisations as Ancient Egypt, Ancient India and Schumer fall upon them.

 

They're builders of  kurgans.

http://pochit.ru/pars_docs/refs/14/13672/13672_html_m265e2408.png

 
These "nomads" live in towns also.

http://rudocs.exdat.com/pars_docs/tw_refs/170/169341/169341_html_5ac1befd.png

http://cat.convdocs.org/pars_docs/refs/123/122289/122289_html_4e7fe4ec.png

 

 

They build sacred circular cities also. Such Aryan cities can be found in Asia Minor, Middle East, Ural and Central Asia and other places.

 

 

Actually all Indo-Iranian people continue build such circular cities much later - in times of Achaemenid Empire (VI-V BCE) or even in times of Kushan Empire (as this sacred castle of kings in Central Asia).

 

hall of kings in this castle.