Tag Archive for: Worldviews

Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Australia’s Red Centre

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Uluru, (Ayers Rock), Red Centre, Northern Territory, Australia

The History and culture of Australia’s Indigenous people is today estimated to be 40,000 years old. It was largely destroyed with the arrival of European settlers. According to Aboriginal mythology, the earth and all life were created during the Dreamtime, when their ancestors walked across the land, rendering their surroundings as songs and melodies and thereby creating the world. Even today, Aboriginal people follow these songlines, which often cross the entire continent from coast to coast, using the melodies passed down from generation to generation. These melodies serve as a map; the song and the land are identical, and singing them incorrectly is a serious offence. Striking landmarks along such paths often point to significant events in the lives of their ancestors and are considered sacred sites subject to strict laws. This also includes Uluru, known as Ayers Rock, in the Kata Tjuta National Park, where every visitor can sense the spirit and power of this place.

All images from the ‘World Images’ edition

Yellow Water in Kakadu National Park

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Yellow Water, Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia

A deceptive calm hangs over the evening atmosphere in Kakadu National Park, as the waterways harbour invisible, deadly dangers: venomous snakes and crocodiles lie hidden beneath the surface or in the thicket of aquatic plants. Even the swarms of bloodthirsty mosquitoes that pestered me while I was taking photos aren’t visible in the picture. But all the inconveniences are made up for by the diverse and exotic wildlife that gathers at the remaining waterholes during the dry season. Survival here in the north of Australia is subject to the cycle of flooding and drying out, resulting from the seasonal change between the wet and dry seasons, which subjects the landscape to a fluid transformation.

Flinders Ranges in South Australia

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Flinders Ranges near Wilpena Pound, South Australia, Australia

The Flinders Ranges in southern Australia are known for the dazzling, intense light that makes sunglasses an absolute necessity. Glistening quanta of light envelop the landscape; bright and clear, the sun’s rays penetrate every spot on the earth, which absorbs the individual sunbeams and releases them again at dusk. In this gentle glow of the grassy hills, the dusty road winds its way to a wide plain, where dozens of grazing kangaroos come together in a harmonious interplay of shadowy figures in the twilight. Far too quickly, the star-studded night descends, setting a cool contrast to the day that has passed.

All images from the ‘World Pictures’ edition

Ramses Temple in Abu Simbel

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Temple of Ramses at Abu Simbel on Lake Nasser, Nubia, EgyptAfter a multi-hour drive through the desert in southern Egypt, heading into the sunrise, I reached the Temples of Abu Simbel, which Ramses II had built for the triad of gods Amun-Re, Re-Harachte, and Ptah in the 13th century BC in the solitude of Nubia. Here, I was filled with great admiration for the colossal stone statues, which look reverently upon their ancient home, which has since disappeared a few hundred metres away into Lake Nasser. It’s not just the millennia-old structure with its intricate architecture and painting that amazes the observer. A look “behind the scenes” reveals the mountain as a concrete dome construction, bridging the gap from the ancient Egyptians’ art of building to our technological age, connecting both.

All images from the ‘World Pictures’ Edition

Street scene in Cairo

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Street scene in Cairo, EgyptCairo, the capital of Egypt, is estimated to have over 15 million inhabitants, and more people are constantly flocking from the countryside into the city, which continues to expand into the desert like a tumour. While the Mokattam Hills set a boundary on one side, the Pyramids of Giza have long since been reached by the suburbs. In Cairo, four thousand years of history also merge in the most diverse architectural styles into a colourful muddle. Not far from modern hotels and congested main roads, you can still find districts that exude an original, Arabic charm. There is a lively bustle on the muddy streets; children play, busy craftsmen work in their small shops, and in the tea houses, men sit with sweet peppermint tea and the obligatory water pipe. The desert lays a dusty layer of haze and dirt over the entire city, as if marking its claim to the land. The skyline is defined by the minarets of countless mosques, from which the chants of the muezzins swell into a multi-voiced canon five times a day.

All images from the ‘World Images’ edition

The Ramesseum in West Thebes

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Ramesseum, Temple of Ramesses, Thebes West, Nile Valley, Egypt

With its head in the sand, a colossal statue lies amidst the remains of a massive temple complex, looking so helpless that you’d love to stand it back up again. The remains of this mortuary temple, built as a place of worship for Ramesses II and the gods Amun, Mut and Khonsu in West Thebes near Luxor, on the middle reaches of the Nile in Egypt, as well as the many other imposing structures, are testimonies to a highly advanced civilisation that produced a sophisticated form of government, technical inventions and great artists. Walls and columns are almost completely covered with reliefs and paintings, giving an impression of the life of the ancient Egyptians in earlier times as well as their ideas of the world before and after death, which played an important role in their religion. This is how many burial sites were created out of concern for the well-being of the deceased in the realm of the dead. This was even more true for a Pharaoh; to ensure the continued existence of their own empire, burial sites were built and riches and everyday items were sent along on the journey to the afterlife.

All images from the ‘Weltbilder’ edition

Evening Mood by the Nile at Luxor

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Evening Mood by the Nile at Luxor, EgyptEven the flourishing of civilisation during the time of the Pharaohs was only made possible by the waters of the Nile, and to this day, this same source forms the livelihood of the Egyptians. The origin of the Nile lies half a continent away in the rain-rich mountains of Central Africa, and the last thousand kilometres the brown waters flow past temples and pyramids. Along with the fertile farmland it has created on both sides, it cuts through the desert; the green of the plants is a soothing and calming sight amidst the hot, dusty land. Until the construction of the Aswan Dam, the soils were replenished with new nutrients by the annual flooding. Even the calendar was aligned with the flood. Today, the fellahin have to use artificial fertilisers and also contend with soil salinisation. As only a few bridges span the river, ferries and feluccas, small sailing boats, are still a traditionally common means of transport up and down the country in Egypt.

All pictures from the ‘World Pictures’ edition