Pola Negri

Pola Negri

next episode: Jennie

Worms City Walls

Worms Town Wall (photo Mike Chapman)

Worms is one of the oldest towns in Germany. It is a so-called Nibelung City with many medieval buildings. Large parts of its medieval city walls still remain.

next episode: Pola

Maude Fealy as Mercia

Maude Fealy as Mercia in the play 'The Sign of the Cross' (1904)

Plot (according to Wikipedia):

Much as in Quo Vadis, Marcus Superbus, a Roman patrician under Nero, falls in love with a young woman (Mercia) and converts to Christianity for her. As in Quo Vadis, Poppea, Nero's wife, is in unrequited lust for Marcus. At the end, Mercia and Marcus sacrifice their lives in the arena to the lions. This ending is in complete contrast to Quo Vadis, in which Marcus Vinicius (not Marcus Superbus) and Lygia (not Mercia) survive and presumably live happily ever after, and Nero and Poppea are the ones who die.

next episode: Worms

Crimean War: William Affleck King

Lieutenant William Affleck King (1830-1886), 4th Light Dragoons (Roger Fenton, 1855).

next episode: Mercia

Benjamin Constant in his Studio with Salammbô

Jean Joseph Benjamin Constant in his studio, ca. 1890 (found on: www.aaa.si.edu)

Salammbô

next episode: a horse

Alfons Mucha - Salammbô

Alfons Mucha - Salammbô (1896)

Salammbô (1862) is a historical novel by Gustave Flaubert. It is set in Carthage during the 3rd century BC. The book is largely an exercise in sensuous and violent exoticism. Following the success of Madame Bovary, it was another best-seller and sealed his reputation.

next episode: more Salammbô

Damascus City Gates

As an homage to the city of Damascus (Syria) I created a list of the city gates in this ancient town. Most of these gates date back to the Roman period. This info was hard to find.

(hoover with the mouse for more info):

Bab al-Faradis ('Gate of the Paradise') (photo source).

Bab al-Faraj ('Gate of Joy') (photo: Mark T. Lammers).

Bab al-Jabiyah (named after residents of the Jabieh village).

Bab al-Saghir ('Small Gate') (photo: Mark T. Lammers).

Bab al-Salam ('Gate of Peace') (photo: Mark T. Lammers).

Bab Kisan ('Kisan Gate'). The gate is named after a slave who became famous during a conquest by the Muslims. Bab Kisan was the escape route of St Paul (photo: Mark T. Lammers).

Bab Sharqi ('The Eastern Gate') (photo source).

Bab Tuma ('Thomas’s Gate') (photo: Aga Khan Visual Archive, MIT Libraries).

next episode: Salammbô