ADAM & EVE and APPLES

 

The Apple fruit has long been an ancient symbol of sexual gratification.   Apple as the forbidden fruit in biblical times has been known for temptation, sin, seduction and also in garnering knowledge.  Persuasion of the carnal kind, women tempt their men in dubious ways and capitulation gives way to endless ecstasy. And believe it or not it started with an apple.

As I bite into the rosy apple, the luscious juices flowing down my chin – the fresh scent of apple blossom catching my breath, all those sensory perception of life, death and dirty thoughts coming crashing into that very first crunch. 

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” always associated with good clean living while Snow White’s poisoned apple linked with evil thoughts, murder and death.   In between life and death there is Adam’s discovering knowledge by Eve tempting him with the forbidden fruit bringing about sensual and erotic persuasions. The Apple is  many things to many people. 

Supposedly a fruit that gives pleasure, another kind of Apple truly sends me happily to a corner for hours on end.  The Apple Mac is attached to me in more ways than one.   It sends me to sleep with those hypnotic YouTube movies. It wakes me up with my Itunes music. It entertains me with movies and it is the tool that makes my living.   You might say all of these things can be done by any other brand.  And you would be right. It's just a smoother ride, and subconsciously it's the bite that's tempting.   

One of Steve Job’s fruitarian diet was an Apple.  Returning from an Apple farm he made the decision to call his company Apple because the name sounded ‘fun, spirited and not intimidating.” Although never suggested anywhere, there is the  subliminal message of  association with the Tree of Knowledge.   Job’s unintended biblical meaning perhaps underlies his religious skepticism. 

To appreciate apples in a way different to the weekly shop at the groceries, God’s condemned fruit is abundant in many parts of the world.  One area of the globe, majestically hidden in the foothills of the Himalaya range is Himal Pradesh where the variety wows you with sheer disbelief that nature has managed to propagate a whole spectrum of a species in Latin called MALUS.

Throughout history, apples have symbolized pleasure, love, and fertility. Of course, all of this does not prove that the sin of Adam and Eve had anything to do with sex. But it is a strong indication that many interpreters throughout history did believe their sin was a sexual transgression.

The apple has multiple symbolic meanings, many of which are sexual. Erotic associations likened apples to female breasts, while the core of an apple cut in half has often been compared to a woman's vagina. In ancient mythology, Dionysus, the god of intoxication, created the apple and presented it to Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

In the Middle Ages, the forbidden fruit was often identified as a fig, not an apple.  It was later replaced by an apple and became a symbol of the forbidden fruit, it's Latin name meaning “apple” and “evil.”

Many interpreters throughout Judeo-Christian history have understood the sin of Adam and Eve to have something to do with a sexual transgression of one sort or another, it shouldn't be surprising that the apple was the fruit of choice to depict the sin of Eden.   It has also been  used as a symbol of fertility.

Apples play an important part in several Greek myths. Hera, queen of the gods, owned some precious apple trees that she had received as a wedding present from Gaia, the earth mother. Tended by the Hesperides, the Daughters of Evening, and guarded by a fierce dragon, these trees grew in a garden somewhere far in the west. Their apples were golden, tasted like honey, and had magical powers. They could heal, they renewed themselves as they were eaten, and if thrown, they always hit their target and then returned to the thrower's hand.

In Athens, newlyweds divided an apple, then ate it prior to entering the bridal chamber.  Sending or tossing apples was also a part of courtship. According to folklore, the apple is one of many foods believed to possess aphrodisiac powers. In ancient Greece, if a man wanted to propose, he would simply toss the lady of his affection an apple. If she caught it, he knew she had accepted his offer.

Even in Islamic folklore, it is told that the prophet Mohammed inhaled the fragrance of an apple brought to him by an angel just before his last breath of life.

In Germany, during medieval times, a man who ate an apple that was steeped in the perspiration of the woman he loved was very likely to succeed in the relationship.

In Medieval England, an autumnal celebration centered around the fermented fruit of the apple tree and the almost Bacchanalian merriment that would ensue. (The supposed purpose was to ensure a bountiful harvest, or so the story goes.)

Apples contain phenylethylamine (PEA), which gives you a natural feeling of well-being and excitement.  High in anti-oxidants their free radical-fighting power boosts natural anti-aging abilities while helping to fight cancer.  Although apples deliver a jolt of sweetness, their high pectin content keeps a sugar rush at bay, preventing the hyper high.

So with historical facts and myths, we come to savoring the definitive species  that has taken me all the way into foothills of the Himalaya range.  During the British Raj, the summers were spent up in Shimla, the weather akin to summer time in Britain rather than the sweltering wretched humidity found in Poon, or Bombay.  Samuel Evan Stokes introduced the apple crop in the hills around Shimla while working with the Leprosy Mission of India.

Stokes brought in Red Delicious and saplings of Golden Delicious to his orchard in Thanedar . By 1926 the whole of India couldn’t get enough of it, they were an instant.  The popularity of these divine fruit  spurred locals into planting Apples, rather than their usual crops of potato and plums. Soon orchards cropped up all over the valley of Himachal Pradesh, to meet this demand. Thanedar is 80 kms from Shimla on the old Hindustan-Tibet road, rising to an altitude of about 7700ft, the majestic views unfolds magnificent panorama of mountains.  One step closer to God.

Having gorged myself on all different strains of Malus, and unable to decide between the Golden Delicious or the Ambrosia or the Pippin or even the Braeburn; suddenly none of them swayed me anymore once an offering taste of preserved jellies, jams and chutney of the various breeds.  Now I was in heaven and utterly understood why Rudyard Kipling called this place Kotgarh “the Mistress of the Northern Hills.” 

Lack of restraint, lack of will power, lack of faith in God, always denouncing authority, I would have been easily seduced by the serpent, if this was the Garden of Eden and that had been my Adam.    It would be a toss up between the effects of a Male Homosapien or a Malus Hornet. 

THE PEACOCK THRONE ONCE A UPON A TIME

From the Flames of Persia to the Devil’s Feast

The celebration of uninterrupted monarchial rule for 2,500 years enviable to  all the world’s monarchial institutions was commemorated in the famed ruins of Persepolis.   The site chosen as the authentic site of the founding of the Persian empire by Cyrus the Great, it is also the ultimate symbol of Iran’s monarchy and civilization.   

I was honored to be privy to such a historical phenomenon never to be repeated, encompassing the “center of gravity of the world” at that time.  This event has remained etched firmly in memory despite the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini, the fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty, Jimmy Carter’s indecisiveness, of his aggressive national security advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinsk, and my failing Farsi skills, the recall of such an event needs to be told from a perspective of how those three filled days of partying, ceremonies, Son et Lumière shows, fountains of Beluga’s finest, to Moet’s Premiere Cru.

Fifty 'tents' (actually prefabricated luxury apartments with traditional Persian tent-cloth surrounds) were arranged in a star pattern around a central fountain, and vast numbers of trees were planted around them in the desert, recreating something of how the ancient Persepolis would have looked.  

International invitees included the rich and famous of the time, a dozen kings and queens, ten princes and princesses, presidents and first ladies, sheiks, sultans, emperors, vice presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, ambassadors.   I was merely the teenage daughter of an ambassador, stuffed in between greatness and palace etiquette: to be seen but not heard. My father had an important role in 1969, as he was instrumental in achieving the successful State Visit of  King Bhumipol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit of Thailand to Iran.

To celebrate this momentous event, The Shah of Iran was to make a ritualistic speech in front of all invited guests at Cyrus’s tomb. The parade of Persian history in front of all Kings, Queens and Head of States in front of Cyrus's Tomb was spectacular.  Persepolis an ancient site, is 60 kms north of the beautiful town of Shiraz.  Known for its exquisite roses, Shiraz became the cultural capital of Iran.

The Royal guests had direct telephone and telex connections back to their respective country and the whole celebration was televised to the world by way of a satellite connection from the site. The large Tent of Honor was designed for the reception of the dignitaries. The Banqueting Hall, the largest structure was kept cool by several

air-conditioning units combating 40c heat during the day; then turned warm for the stark cold nights.

  

Maxim’s of Paris flew in cargo plane loads, feeding 600 guests for 5 hours on the first evening.   The menu was lavish, paired with extravagant wine and Champagne from Château de Saran 

Like liquid gold with every sip, the Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1945 was also served to all the 600 guests. Thousands of empty bottles were then buried in prepared dug up sites, so there can be no evidence of alcohol  consumption under Islamic rule.

Quails eggs stuffed with golden Imperial Caspian caviar followed by mousse of crayfish tails with Nantua sauce.   A choice of roast saddle of lamb with truffles but the piece de resistance was definitely the roasted peacock, Iran’s ancient national symbol.  Cleaning the palate with glazed port fresh figs with cream and raspberry champagne sorbet was refreshing as if this was last nights meal.  Unfortunately it also proved to be the beginning of an anti-Shah revolution as Khomeni describes this as the “Devils’s Feast”.  I was lucky enough to taste these delectable morsels behind  the kitchen with my handsome minder, Mumtaz.  His sole job was to keep me safe out of harm's way.

Every night the female guests received a souvenir at the dinner table, every male counter part also had their names and titles engraved on souvenirs, etched discreetly with the Peacock crest, symbol of the Pahlavi dynasty. 

Time Magazine put the event costing 100 Billion dollars,  the French press actually doubled that number.  The lavishness was  in fact astonishing to witness.  Alexandre and Carita, the two top French salons came with throngs of personnel to adequately coif Princess Anne and Princess Grace’s locks among other royalties for the festivities.

Once upon a time, my fairy story to be amongst  Kings, Princes, Heads of States left right and centre came true, but nothing compares to being lifted by the Imperial Helicopter for a brief sensational 20 minuet ride on return to Shiraz.   To Cyrus the Great, to the Pahlavi's, and especially to the Iranian people, who suffered incalculable deprivation  by such extravagant show of power, I take with me such incredible memories never to be repeated.  

To the Shah and the Shahbanu, this was no party of the year but was the celebration of 25 centuries. At the peak of his sovereignty, it was a show of power, of style, and the penultimate extravagance against the suffering of his people to the world.  To those that were privy either serving behind the scenes, or invitees, it was an event that is so unique, deserves once upon a time, a spot on a blog.  

BE NOT AFRAID OF YOUR DESTINATION

Since this blog is about travel, and mostly done by airplane, let me first pray for those 239 souls on board MH370 that went missing on March 7 2014.

Conspiracy theories abound when a flight goes missing with not a trace.   From hijacking to catastrophic explosions, to pilot error even alien abduction, the jittery feeling when today thousands of people board their flight, however long or short, must give enough angst on an already set of jumpy nerves.

The predominant thought of countless sorrow of extended families members of each passenger is incalculable.   Even as a spectator, reading the latest updates, leaves the pain of sorrow that reverberates and plays on the mind.  Exhausting theories gone through and causes get untangled like a fine tooth-comb. 

There is the thought that each 239 passengers, mostly strangers to each other, come simultaneously to the same fate together.  How cosmically do we explain this phenomenon.  For instance the Indian politician was killed in the 1973 air disaster, his grandson seemingly called to the same fate on the missing Malaysian 777.   Is there a connection?   Is there more to than meets the eye?  Or this is a random act that may have a reason.

The passengers were mainly Chinese, at least 30 employees were from a US microchip company.  Perhaps a theory that someone not wanting the Chinese to have 20 Freescale Semiconductor experts,  a US company producing embedded microchips that cloak the high-tech electronic warfare weaponry. The Malaysian Prime Minister has now come out to say the action on board the plane was deliberate by someone well versed in flying.   It doesn’t take much reasoning for the possibility of hijacking for this type of technological expertise, which is in existence.

The fact that the employees were on board has sparked one of the many conspiracy theories associated with the plane vanishing, that there was electronic weaponry on board.   Whoever deliberately maneuvered the plane had intimate knowledge of military radar, corridor coverage, satellite pass and all military and civilian airspace.

The East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), also known as the Turkestan Islamic Party, released  a video of one of its clerics threatening attacks on Chinese Buddhists. The group is linked to Al-Qaeda and wants China’s largely-Muslim Xinjiang Province to gain independence. The Turkic population there is called Uighurs.

An Uighurian passenger on board MH370, Mr Maimaitijiang Abula, now being scrutinized for his background. He is from Kashgar in Xinjiang Province, a town near the borders of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. An online resume states he was an assistant professor at a university in Turkey. From 2004-2005, he was a researcher for a training and simulation center in Sweden. One report says he received flight simulation training there.  According to his CV online, a Ph.d holder he “designed an integrated future soldier training system based on sensors, communication subsystems and integrated-helmet subsystems and performed simulations for real-time.”

Two flight corridors are now being looked into.  Northbound all the way to the Caspian sea or southbound, from Indonesia to the West of Perth, Australia.  The theory of Aliens abducting the whole aircraft maybe a little way off but at this point anything is possible.

It leaves the authorities now to check into every facet and detail of those 239 souls on board to come up with any answers.   

This is when we bow our heads to what is greater than mankind and ask for help.   My heart goes to all the immediate and extended families of the missing MH370