Special to Simerg
Mo Tejani’s trilogy of poems is based on Shakespeare’s The Seven Ages of Man and looks at the life of an Indian, African, and American in 2012 in contrast to Shakespeare’s man of 1538.
PLEASE CLICK: “The Seven Ages of Man Redux” by Mo Tejani
Please click for Trilogy
Khosrow and Shirin, Madjnun in the desert, the beautiful Mi’raj of the Holy Prophet as well as other works of art from the Persian and Mughal Schools of painting are now available as impressive and decorative 1000 piece puzzles designed for children of all ages.
The Ismaili founder and partner of Sindbad Puzzle, Nadirshah Mackwani, has also created a jigsaw puzzle featuring the famous Rock of Alamut, the 10th-11th century Ismaili stronghold in Iran. Read more about Nadirshah’s unique initiative by clicking on Piecing the Alamut Puzzle Together or the image below:
Please click for “Piecing the Alamut Puzzle Together”
IN PART III OF NASER-E KHOSRAW’S TRAVELS
“….The tallest mountain near Mecca is Abu Qubays, which is round like a dome, so that if you shoot an arrow from the foot of the mountain it reaches its top.…Having come into the city, you enter the Haram Mosque, approach the Ka’ba, and circumambulate….. always keeping the Ka‘ba to your left [shoulder]. Then you go to the corner containing the Black Stone, kiss it, and pass on….”
Naser-e Khosraw’s Pilgrimages to Mecca
A bird’s-eye view of the Ka’ba crowded with pilgrims. The photo is from the archives of the US Library of Congress and was created by American Colony (Jerusalem), Photo Dept., in 1910. Please click for article by Naser-e Khosraw.
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Previous posts in the four-part series (the above is Part III):
Naser-e Khosraw’s Pilgrimages to Mecca: From “One Thousand Roads to Mecca” Edited by Michael Wolfe (Part I)
Naser-e Khosraw in Fatimid Cairo: From “One Thousand Roads to Mecca” Edited by Michael Wolfe (Part II
IN PART II OF NASER-E KHOSRAW’S TRAVELS
“….There is a lighthouse that I saw in Alexandria, on top of which used to be an incendiary mirror. Whenever a ship came from Istanbul and approached opposite the mirror, fire would fall from the mirror and burn the ship up…. On the morning when the Sultan is going out for the ceremony, ten thousand men are hired to hold the steeds….At some distance behind all of these comes the Sultan [al-Mustansir], a well-built, clean-shaven youth with cropped hair, a descendant of Husayn son of Ali. He is mounted on a camel with plain saddle and bridle with no gold or silver and wears a white shirt…”
Naser-e Khosraw in Fatimid Cairo: From “One Thousand Roads to Mecca” Edited by Michael Wolfe
Map of Naser-e Khosraw’s travels as described in his “Safarnama” or the Book of Travels. Credit: Wikipedia. Please click for article.
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Previous instalment: One Thousand Roads to Mecca: Naser-e Khosraw’s Writing About the Muslim Pilgrimage
Just over a month ago, this website (Simerg.com) announced the launch of a sister website Simergphotoblog.wordpress.com with the theme Photos, Images and Videos from Around the World.
Effective October 18, 2012, the new photo blog has begun to operate under an easier to remember domain name www.simergphotos.com. The format and layout that we have adopted for simergphotos was carefully selected from numerous premium photo themes available at WordPress.com, where Simerg has been hosted since March 2009. We feel confident that with this enterprising initiative, our readers will enjoy the photos even more. In this regard, it is proposed to incorporate many of the photo essays already published on Simerg in Simergphotos. The process has already commenced, and we feel the republished posts appear much more appealing in the new photo blog.
Prince Karim Aga Khan, president of the Foundation for the preservation and development of the Chantilly estate on June 22, 2012 in Chantilly, France. (Photo by Philippe Petit/Paris Match via Getty Images).
The first photo essay being exclusively published at Simergphotos.com is a magnificent piece on France’s cultural jewel, Chateau de Chantilly, which is being restored to its original glory under a partnership that includes His Highness the Aga Khan, the World Monuments Fund (WMF) and the Institut de France.
We invite you to view the photo essay by clicking His Highness the Aga Khan’s Visit to the Jewel of French Culture.
During your visit, please take a few moments to view some of the other interesting photo posts on www.simergphotos.com.
Thank you
Malik Merchant
Publisher-Editor
Simerg.com &
Simergphotos.com
simerg@aol.com
CANADA
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In the early 1990’s Michael Wolfe, a prolific American writer and award winning producer of Islamic documentaries including Muhammad: The Legacy of a Prophet, became aware of a string of accounts by Muslims and non-Muslims who over the last one thousand years had gone to Mecca on the pilgrimage. Wolfe’s accounts are collected into a single volume called One Thousand Roads to Mecca, and the first of the twenty-four edited accounts is based on the Book of Travels, a classic text by the famous Ismaili poet, philosopher and traveller Naser-e Khosraw who lived during Islam’s expansive Middle period between the 11th and 14th centuries. The period has also been called the Golden Age of Muslim travel and, as Wolfe notes, Khosraw set the tone for a thousand years of Persian travel writing.
To begin reading Naser-e Khosraw’s spirited account of his journey, with an excellent introduction by Michael Wolfe, please click One Thousand Roads to Mecca: Naser-e Khosraw’s Writing About the Muslim Pilgrimage, or the image below.
Please click for Naser-e Khosraw’s Writing About the Muslim Pilgrimage
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Previous post:
‘‘When I was 15 there were 21 people living in the house and my friend Hasiet and I had to do all the weekly washing for the whole family, even in winter. It took all day and I got frost bite in my feet several times. My toes would turn black. We’d go down to the river and make a fire to heat the water. We used to burn our socks, trying to warm our toes by the fire. It was hard to find enough money to buy new ones with all those people in the house.’’ — Hussn Bibi
Please click for Ismaili Women of Shimshal, Part 2.
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Previous installment:
Remarkable Tales of Ismaili Women from Shimshal, a Remote Village in the Karakoram
The Daily Monitor of Uganda reports that President Museveni and His Highness the Aga Khan will formally commission the $860 million (Shs2.1 trillion) Bujagali Hydro Power Project in Jinja on Monday, October 8, 2012. “Construction has come to completion. The new chapter is exciting for us, we are thrilled…” Mr Bill Groth, the Bujagali Energy Ltd’s resident construction manager, said ahead of the commissioning. The Monitor adds that ten regional leaders who are attending the country’s jubilee celebrations are expected to grace the opening ceremony. The foundation ceremony of the dam was laid on August 21, 2007 during the Golden Jubilee celebrations of His Highness the Aga Khan. During that ceremony, the 49th Ismaili Imam noted: “The laying of this foundation stone is indeed an historic moment. The project we celebrate today is an unprecedented endeavour.”
Bujagali Dam will be officially opened on Monday October 8, 2012 by His Highness the Aga Khan and President Museveni to mark Uganda’s 50th Independence Anniversary. A report by Arne Doornebal for Radio Netherlands noted that since the long-awaited Bujagali Dam started producing 250 megawatts in June 2012, power cuts have fallen sharply. Photo: Bujagali Energy Limited.
REPEATING AND RENEWING AN ANCIENT STORY
By His Highness the Aga Khan
“Everywhere in the world today, people are searching for ways to reduce the threat of global warming both by limiting greenhouse gas emissions and by fighting the blight of deforestation. The key to both efforts is to move away from plant and fossil fuels, and to depend instead on renewable energy sources. Hydro electric power fulfills that goal. It is “clean” energy – advancing sustainable development while minimizing its environmental impact.
“If this were not the case, we would not have taken up this project, and we could not have attracted such a wide range of public-minded supporters to join in this endeavour. We feel deeply that environmental goals and development goals must be part of a Complementary Agenda – we can serve one set of goals only if we also serve the other. We are proud that the Bujagali project advances that Complimentary Agenda.
“From the very beginnings of civilization, the use of water – intelligently, respectfully, and creatively – has been at the very center of human concerns. The Nile River itself has been a great source and sustainer of life for thousands of years. Today, we repeat and renew that ancient story once again as we lay this Foundation Stone – and thus signal the opening of a new era in African history.” — Excerpts from a speech made by His Highness the Aga Khan on August 21, 2007
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CLICK ON PHOTO TO WATCH A SHORT VIDEO OF THE FOUNDATION CEREMONY
August 21, 2007: His Highness the Aga Khan and His Excellency President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, lay the foundation stone for the Bujagali Hydropower Project, Jinja. The US$ 770 million project is the country’s first private hydroelectric power project, and is expected to significantly lower the price of electricity in Uganda. The plant is also one of the largest independent power plants in sub-Saharan Africa. – Photo: AKDN/Gary Otte
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Bujagali related articles at external websites:
Radio Netherlands – Bujagali Dam keeps the lights on in Uganda
The Daily Monitor, Uganda – Bujagali to be commissioned officially today (October 8, 2012)
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Previous post: Remarkable Tales of Ismaili Women from Shimshal, a Remote Village in the Karakoram
On Saturday, June 30, 2012 at 1 p.m., Their Excellencies the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, and Mrs. Sharon Johnston, along with Ms. Suzanne Pinel, C.M., launched “Storytime at Rideau Hall”. In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Governor General’s Literary Awards, families and visitors settled in under a tree, at a picnic table or under the tent, and read great Canadian children’s books along with Their Excellencies and Ms. Pinel. Photo: The Governor General of Canada Website.
The following few pictures well illustrate a point that His Highness the Aga Khan makes in the weekly quote shown under the Simerg banner at the top of this page about Canada’s role in the developing world.
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When Peter Mansbridge of the CBC opened his “One on One” interview (see link below) with His Highness with the remark “You must love Canada – you keep coming back here” the reply was: “I do.” The Ismaili Imam then mentioned a number of qualities that he admired about Canada:
“…First of all, it’s a pluralist society that has invested in building pluralism, where communities from all different backgrounds and faiths are happy. It’s a modern country that deals with modern issues, not running away from the tough ones. And a global commitment to values, to Canadian values, which I think are very important.”
His Highness the Aga Khan and Governor General David Johnston in a conversation at Rideau Hall on October 7th 2010. Photo: John W. MacDonald, Ottawa. Copyright.
Appropriately, to coincide with Canada Day which will be celebrated Sunday, July 1, 2012, across the country with pancake breakfasts, parades, concerts, carnivals, festivals, firework displays and citizenship ceremonies for new Canadians, Simerg brings you an insightful study by Mohib Ebrahim (profile below) entitled “His Highness the Aga Khan and Canada: A Profound Affinity – But Why Canada?” To download the article, which originally appeared on this website on October 13, 2010, please click on His Highness the Aga Khan and Canada or the following icon:
Please click to download “His Highness the Aga Khan and Canada…”
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About Mohib Ebrahim: An honours graduate of Simon Fraser University in Computer Science and Mathematics, Mohib Ebrahim has been involved in software development and the IT industry since the ’80s. Mohib is Editor and Publisher of the NanoWisdoms Archive of Imamat speeches, interviews and writings which has over 500 readings and can be found at http://www.nanowisdoms.org. A keen amateur astronomer for over 30 years, Mohib also enjoys kite flying and studying the relationship between faith and reason.
Peter Mansbridge interview: One on One: Peter Mansbridge with His Highness the Aga Khan
Thank You Letter to Lady Ali Shah Through the Voice of Her Son, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan III
“PARADISE LIES AT THE FEET OF YOUR MOTHER”
A tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s.)
Please click for “Thank You” Letter
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Simerg - Insights from Around the World 