Comments on: Sacred Sites

Sacred Sites

stbalbach — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 19:24:53 -0800

Sacred Sites. Martin Gray is an anthropologist and photographer specializing in the study of sacred sites and pilgrimage traditions around the world. Traveling as a pilgrim, Martin spent twenty years, visiting and photographing over 1000 sacred sites in eighty countries. 1000s of photos, Atlas of Sacred Sites, travel journal, etc..

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 19:37:48 -0800

For those who see Martin's new-age spirituality as another aging hippy left behind in an increasingly cynical and polarized world (and you may not be far off) I suggest rather he follows in that grand tradition of the likes of Francis of Assisi, a wandering preacher. Plus, how cool is that to travel the world on the donations of others on a true pilgrimage and not another "notch in the stick" site seeing tour.

By: moonbird

moonbird — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 20:43:54 -0800

thank you for the reminder... there's so much yet to see in this life.

By: euphorb

euphorb — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 21:36:56 -0800

Awesome.

By: dougunderscorenelso

dougunderscorenelso — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 21:45:26 -0800

Great find! A+.

By: rdub

rdub — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 23:05:49 -0800

Very cool. It's too bad that the maps in the atlas of sacred places aren't clickable. It would be very cool if you could navigate to all of the photographs in this way.

By: rushmc

rushmc — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 23:27:57 -0800

I like the pictures.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 23:58:45 -0800

Nice pictures, boring text, but I have a question (maybe this is better left to AskMe): Does anyone know of the sacred gathering held in (I believe) India where thousands -- maybe millions -- of people gather and watch the sun rise? I remember reading something about this a while back and there was this one *awesome* panorama of all the millions of people just as the sun was rising. I'm not thinking of the Ganges bathers.

By: euphorb

euphorb — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 00:24:11 -0800

Whether or not you're refering to the Kumba Mela it's still pretty damn cool anyway.

By: faux ami

faux ami — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 00:24:35 -0800

I think I read about that, C_D, in Vikram Seth's book A Suitable Boy (it's in storage or I'd look it up). Many years people are trampled... but it's amazing. Also, nice site. I clicked on the lovely photo of Chichen Itza and thought about how WalMart is building their first superstore there and it can be seen from the top of this place of peace. :(

By: faux ami

faux ami — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 00:26:27 -0800

Oops not Chichen Itza, sorry. (I meant the pyramids in Mex. City)

By: rdub

rdub — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 00:41:30 -0800

Also, nice site. I clicked on the lovely photo of Chichen Itza and thought about how WalMart is building their first superstore there and it can be seen from the top of this place of peace. :( faux ami - There's already urbanization, even if not big box style, to be seen from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun (or moon for that matter, both at Teotihuacan). While I'm as opposed to Walmart's introduction there as anyone, it's not as if the pyramids exist in some pristine state isolated from modern civilization. There's a two story visitor center and restaurant right at the entrance :(

By: rooftop secrets

rooftop secrets — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 00:59:53 -0800

A nice glimpse of home before I go back in two weeks. The volcanoes' interior always looked like Mars to me. Great hikes and incredible sunrises in Haleakala on Maui (picture is Mauna Kea on the Big Island...very similar in appearence though). On preview: That's saddening to see rdub. Whenever you see pictures of that place it looks like it's in the middle of nowhere, isolated from civilization. Next stop suburbia, the Pyramids! (oh...wait. Damn.)

By: Tufa

Tufa — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 01:21:30 -0800

I greatly regret missing The Edge of Enchantment, an exhibit two years ago at the NYC branch of the National Museum of the American Indian. The exhibit dealt with the material culture and lore of encantos--enchanted places--along Mexico's Pacific coast. As the link says: "Their presence makes the entire area, with its dwindling fishing villages and burgeoning resorts, a kind of spiritual minefield. You have to be careful where you step." These fused spiritual and day-to-day concerns are what make Mexico so interesting to me: pre-Columbian Quetzalcoatl is manifesting himself, Catholic stone saints' wings are being clipped to keep them flying out of chapels, even as north-bound immigrants are mindfully picking their way across the borderlands. Right here in Tucson, in the scarcifying Barrio Viejo part of town, is our own small, sooty shrine, El Tiradito (trans.:"The Castaway"). The only shrine in the United States dedicated to the soul of a sinner buried in unconsecrated ground, so the Historical Society says. There in the 1870s a railroad worker trysted with his mother-in-law, was discovered and disemboweled by his father-in-law. Prayer candles are burning there any time of day or night. Marginally related but a little more sanctified, shadowplay at Flickr presently has a hyperreal photoset on the proceedings of the Semana Santa in the Mexican state of Michoacan. {courtesy vacapinta at banubula}

By: faux ami

faux ami — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 01:31:18 -0800

rdub: I'm going to come off as effete and challenge-able, but I do think some places preserve their heritage better than others (often to their own detriment, like Paris), despite urbanization,. There's a McDo in this piazza, but it's hidden. Yikes, I've derailed this thread, sorry!

By: rdub

rdub — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 04:06:08 -0800

faux ami: no worries. Having been to both Teotihuacan and Venice this year, I have to agree that Italy's urbanization is much more graceful than Mexico's. I'm not at all happy about Walmart going in there, I'm just saying that it doesn't surprise me.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 04:13:47 -0800

Whether or not you're refering to the Kumba Mela it's still pretty damn cool anyway. I think that's it. Just a quick Googling revealed this panorama, which isn't exactly what I remember, but it close enough. Thanks!

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 04:15:26 -0800

And on even further Googling: Holy crap.

By: Shane

Shane — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 07:00:05 -0800

You consistently dish up damn good link, stb. You're one of my favorite post-ers.

By: buddhanarchist

buddhanarchist — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 10:31:30 -0800

although its quite different in a way-- the remarkable film "Baraka" visits some of the same turf in an epic 2 hour film shot in 70mm without plot, charcters or dialogue-- just images of places like these and music. An amazing film-- something to check out if you like this post