Tag: caliph
Pergamonmuseum
You’re a world away from rote learning by candlelight, severe teachers, inky papers and dreary prose and yet here on some wild, herb-scented hill, everything you read comes to life before your eyes. What you’re seeing is not really there, of course, but your imagination builds it anyway, doing in a mere glance what was …
Córdoba
Containing some 500,00 inhabitants, tenth century Córdoba was home to Europe’s largest urban population.
The Caliphate, a dynasty of Ummayad rulers exiled from their Syrian homelands, held sway over rich hinterlands that supported first the consolidation, then expansion of their influence across al-Andalus and the Maghreb.
A legacy of learning
Whilst its scientific and cultural exploits were renowned …
Granada and the Alhambra
It’s late morning and we’re climbing a steep street out of the new city. The white buildings of the venerable Albayzín quarter are dazzling in the spring sunlight. These narrow streets are full of silence and long shadows where once there were the sounds of commerce and prayer.
It’s still March and until an hour …
Andalusia
Illuminated by the sunlight of southernmost Spain are the last traces of a great state whose grandeur and importance seem disproportionate to its lack of prominence in European history.
Perhaps the footnote status of Al-Andalus is partly due to being sandwiched between Roman civilisation and the discovery of the “New” World. Still more likely is that …
Elsewhere on MikePadgett.com …
Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown
Director: Pedro Almodóvar Spain, 1988 This is a decorated film – five Goyas and an Oscar nomination – and an international breakthrough for the director, but it didn’t sit too well with me. Almodóvar’s screwball …
- Originally published: 7 Sep 2006 in Film
Warche and Warenne
A quiet corner of the Belgian Ardennes, the Warche-Warenne valley is just east of Malmedy. Highlights on this walk included the beautifully restored Château Reinhardstein (originally dates from 1354), long riverside sections and …
- Originally published: 23 Aug 2009 in Walking
Atonement
Director: Joe Wright United Kingdom, 2007 When a young girl uses a series of events to doom the romance of the housekeeper’s son and her elder sister, the course of each of their lives …
- Originally published: 4 Feb 2008 in Film
Crash
Director: Paul Haggis United States, 2004 Paul Haggis is one of those people who was obviously born to make movies. Already a decorated screenwriter of note, his mainstream directorial debut landed Best Picture, Best …
- Originally published: 27 Feb 2007 in Film
Who is that guy?
Hello you. I'm Mike Padgett and I work in the technology sector as an Information Designer.
I also enjoy travel, concerts, films and walking.
I'm based in Brussels, Belgium. My current favourite Belgian beer is St Feuillien Brune.