onion domes of russian churches

although russian icons painted before the mongol invasion of russia do not feature churches with onion domes where did this beautiful shape came from.

did the russians borrowed it from

muslim countries like khanate of kazan when ivan the terrible conquered them.

can it be these onion domes are shaped so they prevent snow piling on them, pure utilitarian.

onion domes often appear

in groups of three, representing holy trinity or five representing jesus christ and the four evangelists .

what ever the reason might be they are beautiful and very characteristic of russia and its churches. they are like one guide put it " burning candles " on top of these beautiful churches .

sunday sytmens: life along the russian rivers

sunday sytmens: life along the russian rivers: "no matter what the rivers flow, they no nothing about politics, changes in the systems... even the geography do not effect on them. in 10 da..."

life along the russian rivers

no matter what the rivers flow, they no nothing about politics, changes in the systems... even the geography do not effect on them. in 10 days almost without even remarking we rise 80 meters up.

I have been to russia many times but never sailed in the rivers . this is a very pleasant way to experience this gigantic country. the small villages and hamlets look innocent from a distance.
it is like watching a film rolling from a rear window. scenery changes all the time while you sit still with your what ever you are drinking in your hand .
early in the morning the mist brings even more picturesque view in front of you. no sound no color yet not even a bird around everything is sleeping only the river flows on , you stay still.

here and there more hamlets , some times a tiny path takes the family down to the beach.

one is always near to the beach as we watch from the back side of the villages only the spires or the onion domes of the churches give away where the center lies.
the sun goes down with majestical colors , asking you to wait for the next glorious day with excitement.





bridges binding two side of a village . a nudist in the midst of a

green beach, people enjoying the cool water in the river or burning the rubbish... a still and peaceful life.

constructing the lock-chambers are sometimes costly , you realize this when you see a church ruin in the midst of the river.

but life goes on the rivers no matter what, it runs so deep and free.

I wish the river had tongue so it can talk and tell stories or read a poem may be even tell the story of the " bronze horseman " by pushkin ;

" out of the gulf the neva turned back, angry,turbulent and swamped the island. the water raged more fiercely neva swelled up and roared......."

while gribojedov , our ship sailed along villages

hamlets, beaches where friendly people waived, sun went down moon came up the river flowed away deep and free as it did thousands of years.

bridges

I love bridges. these structures which allows people to cross an obstacles can be build in so

many ways and styles and differ in their spans. they are beautiful in the nature.

some are stone some are wooden some simple and

some complicated but serving the same purpose

connecting places and allow people to cross over.

some times it
looks amusing

when it crosses

over a dried

river but it is

there and should be used.

in bhutan you cross them

and feel swaying .

in japan it becomes an elegant structure almost a building. in vietnam I saw the simplest ones build just the need no more or no less.

bridges give me a feeling of longing may be it is because it connects places which are somehow

separated . if you one day decide to walk over one , stay in the middle of it and look around feel the power of a river passing under you or experience the emptiness under you, here you are in no mans land up in the air .

I love bridges

faces

the surface of the front of the head from top of the forehead

to the base of the chin and from ear to ear, this is the definition of the face. but I think there is more to it . every culture has a face

combined with their life style , customs and traditions and that I

find beautiful. the colors and effects painted or added to it generates energy .

one of the rewards of traveling is to experience these

different and interesting faces and meet the people behind it

and share ideas . not all of them one can share a language with but there are other ways of communicating . trust me, somehow there is always some one approaches you to help and the situation gets even more interesting and you find yourself sipping tea or drinking whatever and learn a lot of

things you never thought of. this I think is the richness and beauty of traveling . here are some people and their faces I met in my travels.

the urban room

what I like with the southern countries like italy or spain

is the way they live in the urban room.

urban room is a melting pot where people meet.

here " things " can happen, you can

involve in it or just watch .


here in

the egyptian bazaar in istanbul people use this urban room as a passage if no desire of shopping they pass through or use the urban room as an appetizer before shopping.

some months back a new shopping mall with an old concept opened in aalborg where I live. the same old concept , a two floor heigh atrium with escalators , shops in lower level shops in upper level and you circle around and find a shop . and of course there is always a food court as a special area. somehow it is always separated .

I dream of another concept for a shopping mall. an urban room, a place where people feel

" a place to be in " a place where things happen like a center of activities. there must be place for a sudden fashion show a spontaneous music concert. here people should casually pass by or sit and get a cup of coffee or something and awaken their appetite to shop . I have a concept

" waiting for a client ! "

the urban room in this concept is the bazaar , it has an un-symmetrical size and form. here can things happen under a system of sky lights which both give day light to the urban room and at the same time cast light out in the evening to show that things are happening under these sky lights to attract you in.

the shops or centres are placed along it with their own size and heights, they can be in two floors or a single floor.

the important thing is that they all use the urban room as an appetizer before shopping .

just a thought , may be someday some one knocks on my door so that I can explain more.....

talk to you all soon again.

shopping with all senses open

shopping in eastern countries is a big experience,

where you stroll around with all your senses open , the colors your eyes capture the appetizing smell you nose capture all together with a lot of people you mingle even without really shopping you feel happy. the usual mall in western expectation where you enter to a very large space in two or three floors heigh with escalators moving up and down. upper levels and

lower levels full with shops are gone, here is

everything arranged naturally and shops cafes restaurants are all together it is like a gothic architecture your eyes never get a rest. a lot of things on display and therefor you love it sometimes without really knowing why. a little more east in japan the same principles are displayed with color and texture carefully chosen .. . this is an urban room.

next time I will talk about " urban room "

and its importance in a shopping concept, however never applied in any western shopping centres which I always wonder.....!

talk to you soon again.