Awakening. "Under the Crescent Moon"

Mood of the moment: profound awe and wonder of the world we live in
Song that i can't get rid of: Wonderful world, James Morrison
Movie on my mind: Paradise Now
Newest infatuation: Cultural education
Secretly craving: peace. for the world and myself.
Wish i were...making a difference in the world

A long weekend. You would expect the lazy bum attitude from a candidate like me. That definitely is on the agenda buut Friday was to be an inspiring day. I finally went down to the National Museum to take a look on the exhibits from the middle east. Under the Crescent Moon documented the evolution of Arabian and Islamic civilisation. From the nomad to the modern cities. It was more of an urban and architectural study with amazing models made of plasticine, clay and straw. A real eye opener on what it was to be in the middle east then compared to the shattered and torn area it is now.

Life size models of the kasbah were on display. You can see, almost hear, and feel the life that they lived. An amazing experience. When you walk into them there is a sense of peace. The simplicity of the architecture is what brings out its tranquility. Islamic architecture revolves around the Islamic way of life, thereby making space important. The action takes place. The space is merely a container for it.
As each region developed, the concepts were applied, experimentally, to the apartments and city houses. What has evolved today remains to be seen, if there's anything left to be seen at all.

The second part of the exhibition, Nazr, was a photographic documentation of life and culture, past and present in the middle eastern region. It mostly depicted the fall of peace and tranquility. The destruction in Palestine & Beirut... unimaginable. The past carefully documented by scholars to be preserved for mankind to see in the years to come was sitting in the other room, while today's brutal reality was the subject of the installation artwork Strange Bridges Games. Depicting the fall of civilisation during our time. People's lives crumbling along with the buildings they attach their memories to. Lives played with, transformed from hopeful youth to fickle existence. Now they hope for a graceful death; we only see, we hear and we watch.