I have a delightful view from the desk. While reading email early this morning, Sinbad floated by with some 20 people on board.
Mirrored windows make for great cat dramas when a bird lands on the ledges. Cat can see the dove, but the bird can't see the cat. Obviously, Cat has fully recovered from gecko poisoning.
We biked along a side-road to the market today and I recorded two more striking Hajj paintings. The large portraits of husband and wife pilgrims are unusual.
The cloaked pilgrim protecting himself from the Arabian sun with an umbrella seems to me like it could come right out of a pharaonic tomb painting. I also love the images of the woman carrying a water urn on her head and beating a tambourine to celebrate the pilgrim's return. I really like the combination of yellow ochre, burnt sienna, and cadmium blue. To me, these are the colours of rural Egypt -- just like the combination of blue and white conjures up memories of Greek islands.
Is there any way to date the Hajj paintings? pmc
ReplyDeleteHi! Usually a notation beside the entry to the house provides the dates that the pilgrim made the Hajj. The dates are provided in both the Gregorian and Hijri (Islamic) calendars. The image here isn't clear enough to read the short text to the left of the door, but I suspect it provides the date. I'll take a closer look on our next trip to the souk.
ReplyDeleteI took a closer look at the house of the couple. Just above the door, on either side of the small window are the dates 2003 and 1424 (Hajri).
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