But no matter how long I travel and how far I go, sadly there are places that I’ll never be able to see…
A few days ago a fellow travel blogger, Greg Gross, tweeted this article about Murgan Salem al-Gohary. Mr. Al-Gohary is an Egyptian Islamic leader who is calling for the destruction of the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, two landmarks that symbolize Egypt for so many visitors and residents alike. Why would he want to do such a thing? He says it is because God decreed that all idols must be destroyed and he believes the pyramids and the Sphinx are two prime examples of idols.
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| Possible targets for destruction? |
In my mind, and I believe in most travelers minds, those two landmarks are not idols but rather places of interest. They represent many people’s idea of Egypt, but calling them idols worthy of someone’s worship is quite a leap. And while it seems improbable that something like this would ever be allowed to happen, it has sadly happend before.
Regretfully there are sacred shrines in Timbuktu, Mali that I will never be able to visit as they were completely destroyed by Al Qaeda rebels earlier this year.
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| The destruction of sacred shrines in Timbuktu. Photo Credit: globalpost.com |
And it was through a novel I read a few years ago that I found out about the Buddha statues of Bamiyan. These two statues carved into a mountainside in rural Afghanistan were on record as being the two largest standing Buddhas… that is until they were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.
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| One of the Buddha statues before 2001… |
Because the Taliban believed these statues, built during the sixth and seventh centuries, were seen as idols, they were blasted and completely destroyed. Mr. Al-Gohary claims to have had a hand in this destruction as well.
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| …and after the destruction |
Of course there have always been occurrences of buildings, religious sites and cultural landmarks being destroyed by natural disasters and wars, but in these cases the destruction was an unfortunate but accidental side effect.
It is the deliberate destruction of culture by a few radicals that really saddens me.
I am so fortunate to have had a chance to visit the pyramids and the Sphinx, along with other amazing sites in Egypt like the Valley of the Kings and Abu Simbel but I didn’t intend for that to be my only visit. I have every intention of going back again and would be heartbroken if monuments like these that have survived generations, would be wiped out by human ideology.
Are there any places that you wanted to visit but that are no longer accessible? Or places you could not go because of political or religious upheaval? Please leave me a comment below and let me know.
That so sad to read and pray it doesn’t happen. I haven’t seen these places yet ans so want to!!! Great article!
Thanks for stopping by, April. I really can’t believe that monuments like the pyramids would ever be destroyed, but you just never know. I hope you make it there one day – its so amazing to see them up close.
Interesting! I hadn’t heard about this yet. Most of the things I wish I’d seen and experienced (so far) have been stateside. I didn’t travel to NY until after 9/11…and my hotel was right across from Ground Zero. I spent all my time inside for a conference. I wish I had gone back to NY before Sandy. Same thing with New Orleans…I wish I could have seen and experienced the town the way it was before the devastation of Katrina.
It’s sad to think that something like the Pyramids could have endured all this time to be destroyed because this guy declares that it should be so. I hope it doesn’t happen!
You and me both, Alaia! Traveling opens my mind to the way other people/cultures think and operate and often its a good experience, but thinking along these lines I’ll NEVER understand.
I remember first really learning about the Taliban after reading about them destroying the statues in 2001. I believe just a year or so before that, I had watched a travel video of someone visiting them and marveled at them.
I did not know about the temples in Mali though.
People need to understand that although ancient temples and artifacts may not coincide with the belief systems of today, they are still remnants of our past that need to be preserved.
Great, informative post.
Thank you so much, Fidel! I totally agree with you – maintaining a tangible perspective on our world’s history is so important.