Monday, August 22, 2005

 

Spotlight: In present-day Jordan, Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt came upon the ancient city of Petra, on this date in 1812. Petra, the capital of the Nabateans from the 4th century BC until the Romans captured it in 106, was taken by the Muslims in the 7th century and by the Crusaders in the 12th century. Referred to by John William Burgon as a "rose red city half as old as time," Petra was walled in by rock mountains, yet controlled the main trade routes in the area.

Quote: "A land without ruins is a land without memories; a land without memories is a land without history." – Abram Joseph Ryan

Today in History:

• England's wars: War of the Roses ended (1485), Civil War began (1642)
• Bogota, Colombia: was visited by Pope Paul VI, in the first papal visit to Latin America (1968)
• killed: Michael Collins (Irish revolutionary, 1922), Huey P. Newton (Black Panther leader, 1989)

Today's Birthdays:

• writers: Dorothy Parker (1893-1967), Ray Bradbury (85), Annie Proulx (70)
• Carl Yastrzemski: Red Sox baseball star (66)
• Tori Amos: singer, pianist, songwriter (42)

Word of the Day:  obelisk: a tall, four-sided stone monument that tapers to a point; obelisks were discovered among the ruins of Petra.   (© )