Thu 06.Dec.2012
Rhodes, Greece
A week in to a chilly December, my host has installed a wood stove in the
covered patio. Haven't tested it myself yet, but the thought is good, and the
old stove has class.
The low winter sun casts moody shadows across the streets and houses, accenting
the contrast with the hot, busy bustle of Summer. This is the season for
reflection and well, mood in imagery.
Remember, the square towers are the older ones. After cannon were developed,
defensive towers became round. It requires a much more precise hit to damage a
round tower; off-center hits just glance off.
Did I say this is the season of reflection? Yes, this way too!
One of my neighbors says she likes to imagine pictures in the clouds. No harm in
that. Here is a Turkey-shaped cloud. I'd make more of that if the offshore islands
were also visible.
Multi culture in the pale light of a cloudy evening. A newly-risen
Christmas decoration, and a still-functioning minaret, though I have never
heard the call to prayer from it. Church and state are not separate in Greece.
The competition is allowed to exist, but they keep a low profile.
Yes, so help me, this is pronounced "Hobbit". Greek doesn't have a letter
for the "b" sound, so the combination "mp" represents it.
Waitaminnit! If there is no "b" in Greek, what is beta for? Glad you asked;
beta is "v", and the one that looks like "v" is "n". Clear as mud?
This little table has so much character, sitting there in front of its wall.
I could take variations on the same photo of it all afternoon.
We never did see
Queen Elizabeth this week. Rather than wait for
the weather in Rhodes, she sailed on to keep a date in Istanbul. We did get two
big ones yesterday, though; that is
Aurora looming over the
little pedestrian gate.
Acknowledgment: this page's title is a pun on Neil Gaiman's wonderful
Sandman tales.