Lapis Lazuli

Lapis Lazuli is a blue Gemstone mined since Antiquity from as early as 7,000 BCE.
It came from Mines in Northeastern Afghanistan, which are still the main producers today.

History

Lapis Lazuli beads have been found in Pakistan dating from c.6,000 BCE, in Mesopotamia dating from c.3,000 BCE, and in the Royal Tombs of Ur dating from c.2,000 BCE.
Lapis Lazuli was used to make amulets shaped as Scarabs in Ancient Egypt,and as Cylinder Seals in Mesopotamia.
Queen Cleopatra VII (51-30 BCE) used powdered Lapis Lazuli as blue eyeshadow.
Other sources today are Mines in the Andes in Chile, Russia, Italy, USA and Canada.

Afghanistan

Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest inland Sea and is fed by the River Volga and the River Ural.
It was known to the Greeks and Romans as the Hyrcanian Sea, and the area around modern Baku was known as Caucasian Albania, which was on the Silk Road to China.

Roman influence in Caucasian Albania

The Romans attempted to control the Trade Route through the Caspian Sea by making Caucasian Albania a Roman Client Kingdom. But the Parthian Empire had similar plans so that Roman influence waxed and waned over the centuries.
In 65 BCE Pompey arrived with an army in Caucasian Albania.
In 36 BCE Mark Anthony sent an Army to bring Albania back to Rome from Persian influence.
Between 30 BCE and 14 CE Augustus is reported to have received Ambassadors from Albania.
In 35 CE, King Pharasmanes was supported by Rome against Parthia.
In 67 CE Nero planned to conquer the northern Black Sea kingdoms but died before his plans could be put into effect.
69-79 CE Vespasian again extended Roman influence as far as the Caspian Sea.
114 CE Trajan invaded the region as part of his invasion of Parthia.

The Caspian Sea

Riddle of the Sphinx

In Greek Legend, the Sphinx was a female being who guarded the entrance to Thebes in Greece.
She strangled all the unfortunate souls who failed to give the correct answer to her famous Riddle.

The Sphinx

The Sphinx had the head of a human, the body of a lion and sometimes the wings of a bird.
In Greek mythology the Sphinx was a woman, and considered to be ruthless.
In Egyptian mythology the Sphinx was a man, and considered to be benevolent.

The Myth

In Greek Mythology, Hesiod in the Theogony, describes how Hera sent the Sphinx from Ethiopia to Thebes in Greece.
The Sphinx sat on the Acropolis, and brought Drought and Famine.
The Sphinx would only leave if the Thebans could answer her riddle. Those who failed to answer correctly were strangled (in the same way that a lion kills its’ prey by biting its neck and eating it).

The Riddle

The Riddle according to Apollodorus of Athens (born c. 180 BCE): ‘Library and Epitome’ Book 3, Chapter 5, Section 8:
- ‘What creature speaks with one voice, yet walks first on four legs, then two legs then three legs?’.
Prince Oedipus, the son of the King and Queen of Thebes, gave the correct answer:
- ‘A Man: he walks on four legs as a baby, on two legs as a man, and with a walking stick, three legs in old age’.
The Sphinx then destroyed herself by leaping off the Acropolis.

Oedipus

On his way to Thebes, Prince Oedipus got into an argument over who had the right of way with a man in a chariot. In the ensuing fight, Oedipus killed the man.
After the Sphinx destroyed itself, the Thebans invited Oedipus to become King, and he married the Queen.
What he didn’t know was that the man in the chariot was his father, and the Queen he had married was his Mother.

The Second Riddle

Legend tells of a second Riddle:
- ‘There are two sisters. The second sister is born by the first, then the first is born by the second. Who are they?’
Answer:
- ‘Day and night.’

Source

Apollodorus of Athens (born c. 180 BCE): ‘Library and Epitome’ Book 3, Chapter 5, Section 8.

Thebes, Greece

Great Sphinx

The Great Sphinx, also known as the Great Sphinx of Giza, is the largest Sphinx in the world and is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
It is located to the east of the Pyramids in Giza, Egypt, and faces due East.

Description

The Sphinx is a mythological creature having the body of a Lion and the head of a Man.
Pharaoh Khafre (c. 2,558-2,532 BCE) is thought to have built the Great Sphinx around the same time as he built the second largest Pyramid, the Pyramid of Khafre.
The face of the Sphinx is thought to be that of Khafre, also known as Cephren, who was the son of Khufu, builder of the Great Pyramid. The head of the Sphinx wears the headdress of the Pharaoh.
Its Egyptian name in the Old Kingdom is unknown as no reference to it has ever been found in any inscription. However, in the New Kingdom it was known as Hor-em-akhet (Horus of the Horizon).
Pliny the Elder commented in his ‘Natural History’ that King Harmais was buried inside it (not under it).

The Sphinx in Mythology

In Greek Mythology, the Sphinx had the body of a lion, the wings of a bird, the head of a woman and a tail ending in a snake’s head. The Greek Sphinx was female, showed no mercy and was treacherous.
In Egyptian Mythology, the Sphinx was male, had the head of a man, and was considered to be benevolent.
In both Mythologies, the Sphinx had enormous strength and acted as the Guardian of Temples.

Egypt

In Luxor, 900 Sphinxes with Ram heads still form a 2 mile (3km) avenue.
The Avenue of the Sphinxes linked the Luxor Temple with The Temple of Mut at Karnak.
Originally, 1,350 Sphinxes lined the 3 km route, built by Nectanebo I (380-363 BCE) and his name was inscribed on each Sphinx.

Sri Lanka

In Southeast Asia, India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, the Sphinx continues to exist as part of the culture, and can be found in many Temple entrances. The Sphinx is usually referred to as the ‘man-lion’.
In Sri Lanka, the Sphinx forms part of the Buddhist tradition, and acts as the guardian of the North.

Philippines

In the Philippines, the Sphinx is portrayed as half man, half eagle. It lives and defends the Bicol region, and if visitors cannot answer its riddles, they are carried off to the Mayon volcano and given to the God of the volcano as an offering.

Myanmar

In Myanmar, the Sphinx is shown on the corners of the Buddhist Temples known as a Stupa. In legends, it was created to protect a Royal baby from female monsters.

Thailand

In Thailand, the Sphinx is shown as walking upright, with the lower body of a lion or deer, and the upper body of a man.

Riddle of the Sphinx

In Greek Mythology, Hesiod in the Theogony, describes how Hera sent the Sphinx from Ethiopia to Thebes in Greece, who then sat on the Acropolis and brought Drought and Famine. The Sphinx would only leave if the Thebans could answer her riddle. Those who failed to answer correctly were strangled in the same way that a lion kills its prey by biting its neck and eating it.
The Riddle was: ‘What creature speaks with one voice, yet walks first on four legs, then two legs then three legs?’
Prince Oedipus gave the correct answer: ‘Man, who walks on four legs as a baby, on two legs as a man, and with a walking stick, three legs in old age’.
The Sphinx then destroyed herself by leaping off the Acropolis.

Legend tells of a second Riddle: ‘There are two sisters. The second sister is born by the first, then the first is born by the second. Who are they?’ The answer is ‘day and night’.

The Great Sphinx of Giza

Socotra Gyre

The Socotra Gyre is a clockwise Eddy in the Indian Ocean that rotates to the East of the island of Socotra.
It lies north of the Great Whirl, another much larger eddy, which lies off the coast of Somalia.

Darsah, Socotra Archipelago

Somali Current

The Somali Current flows along the East coast of Africa and reverses direction depending on the origin of the Monsoon.

Description

May to November:
- The Somali Current flows Northward in a band 30-60 miles (48-96 km) wide, along the East Coast of Africa.
- During the Southwest Monsoon which blows at a steady 30mph (48 kph), between May and June, the Current is at its strongest flow.
- Between June and August, this intense Current produces two main Eddies that rotate clockwise, the Great Whirl and a secondary Eddy known as the Socotra Gyre. The surface current of the Great Whirl can reach 5 mph (7 kph).

From December to April:
- During the Northeast Monsoon, the Somali Current reverses to become a Southward Flow, reaching up to Latitude 10° North, which includes most of the Somali Coastline. The Current is at its strongest in January.
- However, the current flows north between Socotra and the Horn of Africa, due to the Great Whirl.

Somali Current

Pergamon

Pergamon, also spelt Pergamum, was an ancient Greek city whose Ruins are located next to the modern city of Bergama in modern Turkey. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It was the first capital of the Roman Province of Asia, until it was replaced by Ephesus. Pergamon had a population of c. 200,000.

Library of Pergamon

The Library of Pergamon, was the second most important of the Libraries of the Ancient World, after the Great Library of Alexandria.
It held over 200,000 scrolls.

Greek and Roman Sites

Upper Acropolis
- Pergamon Altar
- Greek Theatre
  - with seathing for 10,000 spectators.
- Temple of Dionysus
- Temple of Athena
- Library of Pergamon
- The Royal Palaces
- The Herron
  - An Altar to worship the Greek Kings.
- The Upper Agora
- Roman Baths
- Diodorus Pasporos Heroon
- Arsenals
Roman Sites
- Trajaneum
  - Temple to Trajan and Zeus Philios.
- Roman Baths
Lower Acropolis
- Gymnasium
- Sanctuary of Hera
- Sanctuary of Demeter
- House of Attalus
- Lower Agora
- Gate of Eumenes
3 miles (5km) below the Acropolis:
- The Sanctuary of Asclepius
- Roman Theatre
- North Stoa
- South Stoa
- Temple of Asclepius
- Temple of Telesphorus
- A healing spring
- Underground passage
- Library
- Via Tecta
  - a colonnaded Sacred Way to the Sanctuary
- A Gate known as the Propylon
0.5 miles (1km) south of the Acropolis:
- Temple of Isis and Serapis

Pergamon

Sudd

The Sudd is a huge area of malaria infested impenetrable swamps and marshes on the White Nile in South Sudan.
It is located approximately 500 miles (800km) south of Khartoum.

Description

The inland delta is roughly 300 miles (480km) long and 100 miles (160km) wide in the dry season, but can expand to five times its size in the wet season.
It acted as a barrier to exploring the Nile for centuries. Instead, a Caravan route called the Way of the Forty ran from South Sudan to Egypt and bypassed the Sudd.

The Way of the Forty

The Darb el-Arba Camel Caravan Route, meaning in Arabic, ‘the Way of the Forty’, took 40 days, starting from Kobbei in Darfur, Sudan, via the Kharga Oasis and Wadi Howar in the Libyan Desert, and terminating in modern Assiut, on the Nile in Egypt.
The Romans built a chain of mud brick Forts to protect the Route.

The Sudd, South Sudan

Horn of Africa

The Horn of Africa is the easternmost peninsular of Africa, projecting into the Arabian Sea.
Cape Guardafui is the easternmost point of the Horn of Africa, which lies partly in Somalia.

Description

The coastline gives on to the Red Sea, Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.
The region has been trading with Europe, the Middle East and Asia for three thousand years.
The Horn of Africa encompasses the modern countries of:Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia.

Cape Guardafui

Cape Guardafui is a promontory with a lighthouse in eastern Somalia that projects into the Arabian Sea.
The Guardafui Strait is the Sea between Cape Guardafui and the archipelago of Socotra, which lies 150 miles (240km) to the east of the Cape.

Socotra

Socotra is located in the Indian Ocean, 150 miles (240 km) east of the Horn of Africa, and 240 miles (380 km) south of the Arabian Peninsular.
Socotra is the largest Island of the Socotra archipelago, which consists of four islands.

Land of Punt

In Antiquity, the Land of Punt, referred to in Ancient Egyptian records, may have been the Horn of Africa.

Frankincense

Frankincense is grown in the Horn of Africa, Socotra, Yemen and Oman.

Horn of Africa

Blue Nile

The Blue Nile is one of the three rivers that make up the Nile.
It flows from Lake Tana in Ethiopia, down into the Sudan, to join the White Nile at Khartoum.

Source of the Nile

The Nile consists of three rivers, which then unite and flow into the Mediterranean through the Nile Delta:

The Atbara river:
- flows from Lake Tana in Ethiopia, joining the Blue Nile at the town of Atbarah in the Sudan.
The Blue Nile:
- flows from Ethiopia, into the Sudan, to join the White Nile at Khartoum.
The White Nile:
- flows from Lake Victoria, Uganda, through the South Sudan, joining the Blue Nile at Khartoum in the Sudan.
- Lake Victoria
  - Two Rivers flow into Lake Victoria, one of which, the Kagera, must be considered the true source of the Nile.
  - The Kagera River flows from Lake Rweru in Burundi, then between Rwanda and Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania, to join with the River Rubuvu. It then flows between Tanzania and Uganda, into Lake Victoria.

Lake Tana, Ethiopia