CONVERSATION
CONVERSATION
CONVERSATION
HUMAN TRACES:
ETHIOPIA
HUMAN TRACES:
ETHIOPIA
THE BALANCE OF FACTS
THE BALANCE OF FACTS
THE BALANCE OF FACTS
THE BALANCE OF FACTS
DESTINATIONS
DESTINATIONS
The Dreamtime, or the Dreaming, portrays the Aboriginal beliefs in spiritual existence. According to the tribes that first settled down in the continent, the Dreaming's roots date all the way back to the very begging of the creation of the world. The meaning and ideology of the term is generally not so well-understood by non-indigenous people as it is referred to as part of the culture of one of the early nations, which differs from modern perceptions.
The Spirits were the creators of everything. They made the land and the seas, the rocks and the plants, the sky and the earth. They were the higher power and the Australian Aborigines spent their lifetimes honoring this power, which guided their path and shaped their way of thinking. Not only creators of everything, which could be seen as well as felt, the Spirits also gave the Aborigines the Dreaming.
The time when everything started existing according to the initial Australians, was called the Dreaming. This is the foundation of the continent's culture. The origin of the Dreaming goes way back - 65 000 years back in time to be exact. The Ancestors of the nation shaped the land, forming some parts of it as sacred. The Aborigines were very careful and overprotective of those places, strongly believing in their significance.
The Australian Aborigines are known to have believed that the world didn't have any shape and was therefore empty. Darkness dominated, and life was simply asleep, but this changed when the creation began happening. After the Dreaming and the influence of the Spirits, objects began taking shapes and came to be. They created the four elements: water, earth, air and fire, as well as all the planets, the Sun and the Moon. The Dreaming therefore is a continuous process, which never ended. It is a small cosmos on its own, unifying the past, present and the future into one.
The Australian Aborigines' home riches so many vivid areas of the continent, including Fraser Island, Tasmania, Palm Island, Groote Eylandt and Mornington Island. The Aborigines had very strong believes in relation to the powers of the land, claiming that they never owned it - it rather owned them. The only reason they were able to call it their home is because they were looking after it and the land was taking care of the people in return.
Equally important to the Dreaming was the tribes' understandings of the disappearance of the Spirits. There came a time, when the creators of everything vanished from sight. Some of them were thought to have started living in sacred places, which is why the Aborigines perceived their homeland to be so sacred. The ancestors of today's Australians used to believe that the creators started living in rocks, in water holes and some went up to the sky to guide the people from above and keep them safe. Others transformed completely, taking the forms of the rain, the lightnings and the thunderstorms so they could be part of peoples' life.
Among the hundred's different Aboriginal languages, there isn't a word to describe 'time', because to them this simply doesn't exist. Dreaming and Dreamtime are used to replace it and summarize the ideologies of the Aborigines about everything they knew, everything they could see, feel and experience. This is why the Dreaming has such a vivid, and overwhelming meaning and has survived the obstacles of time. For the past couple thousand years, the Dreaming has built a rich cultural heritage that can identify a whole nation.
Read more about the Land, its connection to people and the way it has been perceived from different generations in the very first print issue of ORIGIN. The Land Issue covers varied topics, most of which remain related to cultural aspects of the land and its importance.
A lot of people travel to explore places and learn about them which is the message that ORIGIN wants to spread. With traveling, however, comes certain responsibilities that we should all be aware of. Elephants riding has become a popular way to explore locations by land. People have been doing this as part of their trips, mostly to places such as Thailand, Nepal, Cambodia and other parts of Asia. It is a common thing to see in certain places in Africa as well. We investigated the activity to explain why it is wrong and riding elephants should be banned everywhere.
Our first print issue studies culture and traveling represented through the land. We explored various location around the globe and learned what makes the land so valuable, which nations cherish it and how it helps us establish an identity. Traveling is important to us but traveling responsibly and making an impact is what we feel proud to stand behind. This is why riding elephants as a way of amusement should be reconsidered.
Let’s talk about the details. Elephants are very caring and extremely intelligent animals. It is a well-known fact that they never forget anything. When kept in captivity instead of spending their life in the wild, elephants die younger. Unlike in other species, this is common for the gentle giants and is often a result for stress.
Many African cultures respect elephants, believing they symbolize strength, loyalty and power. However, power can be a very tender concept. Elephant used as a tourism tool suffer from great pain daily. Elephants can be hurt very severely from the weight of carrying people and a trainer on their backs. The reason for this is the design of their spines. They have sharp protrusions, extending upwards from their spine instead of having round spinal disks. The protrusions and the tissue that serves to protect them can be harmed easily from weight pressure. Once a damage to their spine has been made, there is no going back and sometimes the harm can be irreversible. While this can’t be physically seen, the harm that the chairs can do to the elephants’ skin is. It is often the case that the chairs and the weight on their back can damage the animal’s skin and cause pain to their body. The chair, called Howdah, that gets attached to their backs, rubs on their skin and can cause blisters, which can sometimes get infected.
The training that elephants are required to go through when in captivity sometimes adopts a traditional Thai ‘phajaan’ or ‘crush’ technique. Explaining the technique would compare it to the animals’ spirits constantly and continuously being broken by the means of torture and social isolation. This is done in order to tame them. Elephants are wild animals, this is their nature as they are born in such conditions. Making them safe and obedient around people requires them to go through such training. As horrible as it sounds, in some places young elephants are taken away from their mothers to be abused with nails, bull hooks and bamboo sticks to make them obey rules, given by people. The animals often lack sleep and are starved to become submissive.
Actions from such nature are cruel and harmful as the technique is used to crash the animals’ spirit. Once wild and free, elephants become a source of tourism and entertainment. Nobody, who cared about sustainable tourism should ever ride an elephant.
In a sense, elephants have a human soul. They socialise and feel everything – pain, happiness, grief, sadness etc. They spend their life building families and finding friends. The largest land animals are a gift from nature and it is our responsibility to take special care of them and make sure they live according to their nature. Many animals, who are kept in captivity, are forced to live in isolation and carry heavy loads all day long, which is a wrong way to treat them. Their strength and power shouldn’t be abused but treated gently and celebrated by people. Elephants require minimal care to stay happy and healthy, which comes from giving them freedom to behave naturally and socialise. It is our responsibility to be culturally aware while traveling and make sure to spread awareness about the problem.
You can read the rest of the article as published in the LAND issue.
PARIS PLANNER DAY 1/2
Explore Paris with insight recommendations by the editor and co-founder of NOMADSofORIGIN Magazine. From the Louvre to Tour Eiffel, this is your best-route itinerary for a weekend getaway to the French capital
Words: Aleksandra Georgieva
16 February 2020
“Paris is always a good idea.” -Audrey Hepburn
Art masterpieces, romance and one-of-a-kind architecture guard the vibrant streets of Paris. Classic and contemporary aspects of life complete each other in almost everything the city indulges. From its renowned food scene to the unique museums, exquisite boutiques, lively boulevards and iconic sightseeing treasures a trip to Paris can keep you occupied.
Margaret Anderson, an American art and literary editor, once described Paris as the city where everyone loves to live. “Sometimes I think this is because it is the only city in the world where you can step out of a railway station—the Gare D'Orsay—and see, simultaneously, the chief enchantments: the Seine with its bridges and bookstalls, the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Tuileries Gardens, the Place de la Concorde, the beginning of the Champs Elysees—nearly everything except the Luxembourg Gardens and the Palais Royal. But what other city offers as much as you leave a train?”
One of NOMADSofORIGIN Magazine’s editors visited the French capital city to give you insight tips on creating a travel itinerary. This is our guide to exploring Paris to the fullest in a couple of days.
Paris, France. Photography: AC Almelor
If you are planning a Paris vacation in advance, chances are you’d have the Louvre somewhere at the top of your list. Unfortunately, you’d be far from the only one sharing the same agenda. Each year around 90 million people arrive at the French capital to visit the same hot-spot tourist locations and the queues alone can steal over half the time of your precious getaway.
Take your time to admire the glass shine of the Louvre Pyramid. Notice the complexity of the design and the surrounding museum building, which seemingly guards the courtyard at the Louvre Palace. There widows treasure art masterpieces by some of history’s most renowned sculptors, painters and artists. Let that thought sink in for a bit before you keep on exploring the City of Romance.
North of the Louvre is the Palais Royal, built as a residence for Cardinal Richelieu. The peaceful gardens offer visitors a sense of tranquillity amid the busy cosmopolitan capital, but if your time in Paris is limited, we recommend you skip straight to the Tuileries Garden. It is located between the Louvre Museum and the Place de la Concorde public square.
The Louvre for example dedicates an entire room to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa alone. Yet, museum visitors often leave without having had the chance to go past the crowd and witness the painting up close. Here is an insight tip to avoiding the hours-long queues and crowds: city events. Marathons, cycling races and pretty much any similar out-of-the-ordinary dates or celebrations are your new best friend. Not only do such events gather the locals, but they also attract Paris visitors, giving you a green light to entering some of the most popular museums, art galleries and exhibitions not only in Paris, but in the world.
Take your time to admire the glass shine of the Louvre Pyramid. Notice the complexity of the design and the surrounding museum building, which seemingly guards the courtyard at the Louvre Palace. There widows treasure art masterpieces by some of history’s most renowned sculptors, painters and artists. Let that thought sink in for a bit before you keep on exploring the City of Romance.
North of the Louvre is the Palais Royal, built as a residence for Cardinal Richelieu. The peaceful gardens offer visitors a sense of tranquillity amid the busy cosmopolitan capital, but if your time in Paris is limited, we recommend you skip straight to the Tuileries Garden. It is located between the Louvre Museum and the Place de la Concorde public square.
Louvre, Paris, France. Photography: Serge Kutuzov
The construction of the Tuileries Palace began in 1564 by commission of Catherine de Medici. In the vast gardens, known as Jardin des Tuileries, she welcomed the high society for soirees. The gardens were abandoned when the French court was moved to the Château de Versailles. Napoleón made the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel a connection point to the Tuileries Garden and the Louvre. Today the walk past the sculptures, fountains and the enclosed Tuileries Palace walls is among the most adored activities by tourists and Parisians alike. The tree-lined avenue is a must-see in a lifetime and ORIGIN Magazine’s highly recommended French destination to visit.
The next stop in your trip will be right before your eyes as the Tuileries Garden leads straight to the second largest public square in Paris. Place de la Concorde withstood some turbulent times throughout history. It was designed between 1757 and 1779 and named Place Louis XV, celebrating the king’s health. During the French Revolution, the name was changed to Place de la Révolution, and the location served for public beheadings by guillotine of over 1,200 citizens, among which were King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette.
Today Place de la Concorde is the home to the giant 3,000-years-old Egyptian obelisk from Luxor, which pops up in every tourist Paris-to-do search. The obelisk was offered by the Khedive of Egypt and placed at the centre of Place de la Concorde during its renovation (between 1836 and 1840). Visitors of the square can also admire Rome-influenced fountains and the Crillon – one of the oldest and most elegant Paris hotels. What Place de la Concorde is truly unique for is the view it offers. From one side you can see the Tuileries Garden and the Louvre in the background, while the opposite direction overlooks Champs-Élysées and Arc de Triomphe.
Champs Élysées, Paris, France. Photography: Melanie Pongratz
L'Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile, Paris, France. Photography: Emily Bentley
The centre of Paris is known for offering visitors walking distance sightseeing locations with beautiful scenery and architecture along the entire way. Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous commercial streets in the world. The 1.9 km (1.2 miles) long avenue connects Place de la Concorde with Arc de Triomphe. Champs-Élysées was created in 1640 as a tree-lined avenue, translating from Greek mythology to “Elysian Fields” – resting place of Greek gods. After renovations and extensions, today Champs-Élysées is globally renowned for its high-end stores, chic cafés, cinemas, elegant restaurants and glorious offices.
The Arc de Triomphe is situated at the higher part of Champs-Élysées. Napoleon commissioned its construction in 1806 to celebrate the victories of the French army under his rule. One of the most emblematic symbols of Paris, the monument took 30 years to build, standing at 50 metres height and 45 metres width. The Roman-inspired Arc de Triomphe is two-century-old. It survived past the victory parades celebrating the end of both World Wars in 1919 and 1944 respectively. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier lays at the base of the Arc, representing the loss of French soldiers during World War I. Those, who decide to take the 286 steps to the top will find themselves a view of the connection point of Paris’ twelve avenues in one spot – Place Charles de Gaulle.
If you had followed the Paris trip planner so far, chances are the day is slowly turning into night. Exploring the small streets and hidden alleys from the Arc de Triomphe will take you to the most-visited attraction in the world with over 7 million visitors a year.
The 324m. tall Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel) was built in 1889 as designs were approved by architect and engineer Gustave Eiffel. While you may be tempted to visit the monument during the day, but if you are on a tight schedule, we highly recommend going past dawn. The shining lights illuminating the night as the tower raises above you will add a special, almost magical, sense of romance to your evening. This is also among the best times to go up the tower. Buy tickets online to avoid queues and keep in mind that although the stairs admission ticket is cheaper, if you do not take the lift, you can reach only to the second floor of the otherwise 1,665 steps to the top. A little-known fact is that during World War I the radiotelegraphy centre of the tower was used for intercepting enemy messages.
Eiffel Tower, Paris, France. Photography: Paul Gaudriault
RELATED STORIES
NOMADSofORIGIN is an independent annual publication with a focus on sustainable travelling and global cultural values. Each issue features interviews, engaging articles and photo guides, which take our nomadic readers through different destinations and introduce them to local people's perspectives.
SOCIAL
© NOMADSofORIGIN Magazine 2023. All rights reserved.