News at the World Travel Market. UK visitors to Egypt are increasing and in addition to the pyramids the GEM museum is huge with stunning new exhibits being added. To house a huge ancient Egyptian boat, the boat was kept intact, installed in its new home and the museum was built around it.
I researched left, right and centre, as the saying goes for the answer. North, South, East and West. I thought I read on Wikipedia or somewhere else about the man I had never heard of who established north on maps in Europe. My second search showed that Ptolemy has north on maps in ancient times, and European maps put north in all sorts of places until am copied the older system from elsewhere and much later his version was copied onto printed maps in Europe.
Then I discovered something fascinating. Ptolemy, a Greek astronomer living in Egypt, put north at the top because he started writing at the top. But also from the top left.
But why north? Because of the north star - but that was done by people living in the south, down under. Maps were printed with the west at the top by another culture which made their city the most important place in the universe - but why put north at the top and not in the centre.
China
The Chinese call their country centre, a square with a line through it. I learned that from looking at signposts in Hong Kong.
Sailors, North and South
Another theory goes that sailors were following the stars.
Or South was at the top of the page, because in Egypt the Nile flows north to the Mediterranean sea.
Mecca and Jerusalem
Then the Arabs lived north of Mecca which was in the south. (But graves of Muslims and Jews in Europe face East towards the holy lands and places, Jerusalem and Mecca.)
Vienna, Austria
We drove around Vienna in Austria arguing about whether to go left or right because my husband was driving, watching the signposts, but I was reading the nap which had south at the bottom of the page following ...
The north pole is at the north. But ...
"You could turn the piece of paper round," my husband suggested.
I retorted, "But then the writing is upside down. I could stand on my hands and read it that way. Or place a book on a lazy Susan."
It is a convention. Sometimes. But not always.
The English write North, South, East and West starting with capital letters.
Swedish North is north
The Swedish language does not use capital letters. You just have to go with the flow.
Australia
And don't get me started on the way the water runs down the plughole in the bath in Australia.
Or Christmas in June.
Useful Websites
https://www.geospatialworld.net/blogs/why-maps-point-north-on-top/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North
https://thepointsguy.com/2017/07/travel-myths-backwards-water/
El Alamein in Egypt
Curiosity Satisfied
El Alamein like so many battlefields is a mixture of facts, sadness and happiness. The facts are how the place operated before during and after battles. Facts - The big things such as the tanks. The small things such as the badges.
Emotional Experience
Sadness - people who died. Especially in tragic circumstances. Or if they were your family members.
Happiness, satisfaction, the safety precautions, the ingenuity, that a victory brought an end to the conflict, in that place, for the living, and the dead, on both sides.
Sometimes, reconciliation, between descendants on both sides, or veterans - especially between those who really did not want to be there! Some did not want to kill, some did not want to be killed, some did not understand what they were fighting for, some were homesick.
Sources Of Stories And Quotations
Wikipedia is a wonderful source, a wonderful resource. It started out using and combining the out of date Encyclopedias such as Brittanica, and the Catholic Encyclopaedia and Jewish Encyclopaedia, for all the historical stuff, and early science and culture, gradually adding updates from experts and individuals.
Photo sources
Plus the photos. Now Flickr is just one source of photos. More photos are added directly to Wikipedia by authorities and by members of the public.El Alamein's Pivotal Part in WW2My Interest
Wikipedia gave me a succinct guide to El Alamein, updated from when I last looked, with links to all sorts of outside sources. My late mother's first husband was killed at El Alamein which is what sparked my interest in a place I have not yet visited. However, I have visited many WWI and WW2 sites in Europe and the USA's civil war sites. Stalin said, one death is a tragedy, many is a statistic. Often one family member's involvement can inspire a lifelong fascination with everything to do with the whole of WWI, WW2 and wars any time and everywhere. As if somehow, some clue as to how those involved lived and died, how others traced ancestors, it all adds up. We cannot turn back the clock. But we can turn on the clock and create memorials and solve puzzles and mysteries. The past is a jigsaw. Sometimes one piece in the jigsaw is a date, death certificate, or photo, which sends you on a quest to find more pieces to create the full picture.The two exciting revelations on El Alamein - it was a turning point in the tide of WW2.Churchill said, 'Before El Alamein, we never had a victory. After El Alamein, we never had a loss.'Listen to the language. What makes it so memorable. Firstly the positive message. Secondly the actual language. Contrast, 'before, after'. Contrast, 'victory, loss'. Repetition, 'El Alamein, we never had'.
| Description |
English: Glass High Heel Church in Budai Township, Chiayi County
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| Date | 8 February 2017, 15:31:49 |
| Source | Own work |
| Author | Accord14 |
Interior of Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland, CA
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| Date | 11/05/2008 |
| Source | Own work |
| Author | Skier Dude |
