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Caught the Midnight Special from Istanbul to Tabriz, Iran. The flight is scheduled to leave Istanbul at 12:20 a.m. and arrive in Tabriz at 4:25 a.m, with a one and a half hour time change, for a flight of about two hours and thirty-five minutes. I am flying to Tabriz instead of Tehran, the usual gateway for tourists to Iran, because I am interested in visiting various nearby sites connected with the Ilkhanate period of Persian history—the years 1256–1335—when the descendants of Chingis Khan ruled much of the Mid East, including current-day Iran. For the last four or five years I have been tracking the westward movement of the Mongols, starting with Chingis Khan’s invasion of Mawarannahr, or Transoxiania, (current day Uzbekistan and southern Kazakhstan) in 1219. In connection with this I visited Bukhara , Samarkand , Termez , and other cities attacked by the armies of Chingis Khan in Uzbekistan (see my book Chingis Khan Rides West: The Mongol Invasion Of Bukhara, Samarkand, And Other Gr...

I entered a Portal on October 9 and after having spent several weeks in a Parallel Universe emerged just recently in Istanbul, which as cognoscenti know contains a  Portal Connected to Shambhala . I reappeared in Istanbul just in time to meet up with my pal Ms. Saraa from Ulaanbaater, who had flown into town on Turkish Airlines for a few days of shopping and R&R. Ms. Saka at her hotel (click on photos for enlargements) We hit the streets running. I must say I experienced a different Istanbul than the one I am accustomed to: namely the shopping scene. First we visited the Historia Mall , a huge new complex just up the street from the Aksaray Metro Station.  Thank Heavens they had a Starbucks! I parked myself there while Ms. Saka hit the stores. She had already advised me that she did not like people peering over her shoulder while she was shopping. It had recently dawned on me that I knew very little about the Achaemenids who ruled much of what is now Iran and surroundin...

Chingis Khan Rides West is now available on Amazon : Paper Version and Kindle Version . The Kindle version is best read on devices that support color.  (Click on Photo for Enlargement) Back Cover Blurb: Since the time of the Xiongnu two thousand years ago the nomads of the Mongolian Plateau traditionally looked south toward China for both plunder and trade. In 1215 Chingis Khan turned his attention westward and by 1219 had decided to invade the Islamic realms of Inner Asia, unleashing a sequence of events that would result in the sack of Baghdad in 1258 by his grandson Khülegü and the fall of the 508 year-old Abbasid Caliphate. The dissolution of the Caliphate by Khülegü dealt a blow to the Islamic world from which some might argue it has never fully recovered. We are still to this day living with the consequences of the Mongol invasion. Chingis Khan Rides West examines the motivation of Chingis Khan’s ride westward to attack the Islamic world and recounts the fall of the great S...

Yet Another Update: I raqi Yazidi MP Breaks Down in Parliament: ISIL is Exterminating my People Still Newer Update:  The Cruel Jest Of American “Humanitarian Aid” To Iraq Newer Update:  20,000 Iraqis Escape Mt. Sinjar Things can't get worse than this: Iraqi civilians are escaping into Syria to get off a northern mountain wheretthey've been trapped without food or water for weeks. Between 20,000 to 30,000 minority Yazidis have found a safe passage through Syria and back into Iraqi Kurdistan, assisted by Kurdish guerrilla forces. Meanwhile, American and British missions have been dropping emergency relief Mt. Sinjar and U.S. has launched air strikes on Islamic State militants nearby. New Update:  Iraq Accuses Islamic State Of Yazidi Atrocity Update:  'A Catastrophe': Yazidi Survivor Recalls Horror Of Evading ISIS And Death As anyone who pays even cursory attention to the news now knows the United States is airdropping humanitarian aide to the Yezidis in Iraq. See US ...

Lots of news coming out of Mesopotamia . I posted earlier about Midyat , in Turkey, where a refugee camp has been set up to house Syriac Christians fleeing the civil war in Syria. I also posted about the Syriac Christians from Mosel in Iraq who had sought Refuge On Mount Alfaf , about eighteen miles north of current-day Mosul. The plight of Christians in Mesopotamia has continued to worsen; see Ancient Christian population of Mosul Flees Islamic State . Now with the fall of Qaraqosh, Iraq's Largest Christian City , to Jihadists, Syriac Christians in Iraq face annihilation. See ISIS Persecution Of Iraqi Christians Has Become Genocide . Given these conditions, Turkey, which in the past has had its own checkered relationship with its Christian minorities, now appears to be a safe haven for Syriac Christians.  After visiting Midyat we wandered down to Mor Gabriel Monastery , twelve miles southeast of Midyat and fifteen miles north of the Syrian border. Here, at least, Syriac Christian...

I have been somewhat remiss in noting changes to the Galleria of my Hovel In Zaisan Tolgoi . Here are two works by Ulaanbaatar Artist Anunaran . She and her partner Dorje Derem, who is also an well-known UB artiste ,  installed them.    Anunaran prepping her palette  Anunaran putting some finishing touches on her self-portrait  Anunaran putting some final touches on her self-portrait  Anunaran and her self-portrait   Anunaran and Dorje Derem with self-portrait (Dorje Derem’s name by the way, might be translated as “Vajra Guardian of Shambhala”, at least according to one interpretation).   Anunaran putting the final touches on her installation which I call “Dreams of Foxes”.  Making final adjustments At the bottom of each hanging string is an image of a fox fashioned from felt. This is based on the Mongolian belief that if you hang an image of a fox over a baby’s crib the baby will not have bad dreams.   Anunaran and Dorje...