Sunday, October 28, 2012

Fujiwara Japan (Heian)


Fujiwara Japan
            I have just returned with pictures from my latest journey to Japan during the Heian period. During this time period Japan was ruled by the Fujiwara Family, who through the marrying of Fujiwara daughters to emperors gained power over many parts of Japan. The original founder of the Fujiwara Family was Nakatomi no Kamatari who was rewarded by Emporer Tenji with the honorific "Fujiwara", which evolved as a surname for Kamatari and his descendants. However, decline in food production, growth of the population, and competition for resources among the great families all led to the gradual decline of Fujiwara power and gave rise to military disturbances in the mid-tenth and eleventh centuries. 
            I got my camera and materials I needed for the trip and went back into my time machine. I carefully set the dial to 821 to the location of Heian, Japan and off I went flying back through time. There was the usual flash of light and the time machine came to a sudden and I stepped out into the sights and sounds of ancient Japan. The first thing that I saw and photographed was a statue of Buddha that was located in the middle of the city. I also photographed a Buddhist temple and different sacred grounds throughout the city. Buddhism was the main religion in Japan at this time and was widely practiced by the citizens of Heian.
            I walked through the city for the next couple of hours taking pictures of different things I found interesting. The economy in Japan was very poor during this time period so many citizens lived in poverty. I photographed houses on the outskirts of the city made of clay, wood, and or tile and shoddily constructed. As I walked around longer I came across me in heavy metal body armor brandishing razor-sharp swords snuggly strapped around their waists. After further research I have identified these worriers as samurais who were soldiers that worked under nobles to fight and protect land against enemies. Once I finished photographing I got back in the time machine and set the dial to 4020 to return home once again.  


Sunday, October 21, 2012

Song Dynasty (China)



Song Dynasty (China)
            In my latest time travel journey I went back in time to the Song Dynasty in 1231. I’ve always been interested in Ancient China and was excited to go back and photograph this great place in history. At this time, China was developing very quickly creating things such as gunpowder which strengthened China’s Military and played a cultural role in China. The Song Dynasty was divided into two separate periods, the Northern Song and the Southern Song.  During the Northern Song, which lasted from 960 to 1127, the Song capital was in the northern city of Bianjing and the dynasty controlled most of inner China. The Southern Song lasted from 1127 to 1279, and refers to the period after the Song lost control of northern China to the Jin Dynasty.
            So once again I climbed into my trusty time machine and dialed in the time and location, 1231 the Song Dynasty. I pushed the button and off I went flying back through time until the time machine suddenly stopped. I climbed out and found myself in the middle of a battle field, I ran for cover as arrows fly past me and the bang of cannons rang out in the distance. Soldiers on horseback brandishing razor sharp swords galloped from my right clashing with opposing soldiers and I could hear the sharp clink of metal meeting metal as the soldiers swords struck armor. I identified the soldiers on horseback as Mongols and quickly made me way back to the time machine, snapping a few picture in the process, and franticly pushed the button again.
            The time machine sped off and stopped once again. I stepped out and this time I wasn’t in the middle of a battle I was standing in the middle of a busy city market. I was in the city of Hangzhou, which had a population of over a million and was one of the largest cities in the world at the time. I began taking pictures of the market and the people, venders were selling everything from chickens to coal and the buyers used a paper money system to purchase these items. After exploring the city a little more and taking a few more pictures I returned to time machine and set the dial back to 4020 pushed the button and went back home.


 
 

Monday, October 15, 2012


Kumbi Saleh (Kingdom of Ghana)

Life inmy time of 4021 is a very advanced society with many new inventions and achievements.Ever since the invention of the time machine in 4019, life as a photographerhas been much more exciting. I’ve traveled back through time to many ancient civilizationssuch as Ancient Egypt and Rome, observing and photographing the ways of lifeback then. However on my latest journey I went back in time to an empire entirelynew to me, the Ancient Kingdom of Ghana.
I setthe dial on the time machine to go back to the year 815 C.E. to the location of theAncient Kingdom of Ghana in western Africa. I stepped out of the time machineand into the city of Kumbi Saleh and was immediatelystruck with the hot dry climate of this region. There were people crowded inthe city trading goods with Saharan traders who traveled across the Sahara incaravans to trade items such as gold, ivory, and salt. The native people worebright colored clothes and the women were carrying jugs of water and food ontheir heads through the streets.    
I also made my way to a part of the city called the El Ghaba whichwas home to the royal palace, as well as other wealthy residents of thetown. The houses in El Ghaba weremade out of wood and stone as opposed to houses for poorer people which weremade out of clay and wood. El Ghaba also contained a sacred grove oftrees that was used in religious ceremonies. On the other side of thecity there was a section containing more than a dozen mosqueslocated within the trading center. After taking the pictures that I wanted andlearned all that I had wanted to learn I returned to the time machine and camewent back to the year 4021. 

References: http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&safe=active&biw=1360&bih=673&tbm=isch&tbnid=5Gc3XdlEhe6OkM:&imgrefurl=http://www.cybertraveltips.com/africa/ghana/Ancient-Ghana-History.html&docid=b9
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Kingdom_of_Ghana
http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&hl=en&safe=active&biw=1360&bih=673&tbm=isch&tbnid=yDpNW5R9aZF5jM:&imgrefurl=http://www.kidspast.com/world-history/0099-kingdom-ghana.php&docid=
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&safe=active&biw=1360&bih=673&tbm=isch&tbnid=aU59a2oXAxl8KM:&imgrefurl=http://www.sunseekerstours.com/info/history.html&docid=4kXVXixypV6_NM&imgurl=http://www.sunseekerstours.com/info/p-history3.jpg&w=243&h=308&ei=58p8UI_eLI_K9gSlp4C4BQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=338&sig=110381827345726014815&page=1&tbnh=149&tbnw=118&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0,i:90&tx=84&ty=59



Monday, October 1, 2012

Umayyad Damascus

The bombs that went off exploded on the road and on in the Syrian Army HQ. The bombs impacted the historical sites because it stopped traffic on the highway and the Syrian Army is now shutting down and patrolling the city to prevent other attacks. The Syrian Army is upset with the incident and are trying to prevent any future attacks.