The Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan

The Minaret of Jam is located in the centre of Afghanistan, 200 km east of Herat and 1,904 m above sea level, at the confluence of the River Harirud and its tributary the Jamrud, where three valleys converge, surrounded by mountain ranges that reach a maximum height of 2,300 m.The minaret was probably built between 1163 and 1203 in the reign of the Ghurid sovereign Ghiyas-ud-Din. The only monument to escape the destruction wreaked by Ghengis Khan, it remained unscathed and unknown for over seven centuries. The minaret itself and the archaeological remains surrounding it offer extraordinary testimony to the grandeur and refinement of the Ghurid civilization, which dominated the region in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Besides being an exceptional artistic testimony to twelfth-century Islamic culture, the Minaret of Jam also provides historical and political evidence about this isolated region near the most important commercial thoroughfare in Antiquity, linking Constantinople to India via Afghanistan, Herat and Kabul.

The discovery of this extraordinary monument occurred quite recently, as the first official mention of its existence goes back to May 1944, when Ahmed Ali Koazad, president of the Afghan History Society, published an article in the journal Anis relating a conversation he had had with His Excellency Abdullah Khan Malekyar, the Governor of Herat, who mentioned the Minaret of Jam to him, having been the first to discover and photograph it before 1943.

After its rediscovery in 1944, the minaret was again ‘lost from view’. Many expeditions were mounted to locate it in the ensuing years, but were unsuccessful due to the immensity of the territory and the difficult terrain. It was not until 19 August 1957 that the French archaeologist André Maricq finally found the minaret and published his discovery in the Mémoires de la Délégation Française en Afghanistan in 1958. In 1960, two envoys from DAFA (Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan), Le Berre and his assistant Marchal, photographed the decorative panels and conducted an initial and very brief study of its architectural structure, uncovering the entrance with its two helicoidal stairways about 4 m below the current level.

The octagonal brickwork structure bonded with cement is about 60.41 m high (from the current level) and comprises three cylindrical ‘shafts’. The original entrance lies about 4 m below a layer of alluvial deposits and is currently inaccessible. Access to the minaret is via a narrow window giving on to one of the two helicoidal stairways that lead to the top of the first ‘shaft’ about 40 m up. The outside of the minaret is entirely covered in complex monochrome decoration in haut- and bas-relief. A special technique has been used to incorporate complex geometric designs, including quotations from verses of the Koran in Kufic script. The stylized inscriptions are a striking mix of vertical bands and circular tracings recalling a geometric floral design. Half-way up the minaret, a band of turquoise glazed tiling lends a unique touch of colour to the uniform brickwork surface.

The Minaret of Jam provides proof of the long architectural evolution of minarets in general. Eleventh-century minarets were circular (as in the Islamic Republic of Iran, at Isfahan and Barsiyan), but in Jam, the base is an octagonal structure of 9.05 m (according to the latest surveys conducted in October 2002) from which a 40 m high conical trunk emerges, the diameter decreasing nearer the summit (same survey 2002).

Risk of collapse

Aware of the monument’s importance and the lack of precise data regarding its conservation status, at the beginning of the 1960s the Afghan Government commissioned ISMEO (Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, Rome), which was already working in Afghanistan, to undertake some research. Its task was to collate as much information as possible in order to draw up a programme to safeguard the minaret. A survey was also required with a view to creating an access route for the means of transport crucial to the restoration tasks. In September 1961, being an architect myself, I was commissioned by ISMEO to carry out the first survey of the minaret and put forward a protection and restoration programme that included consolidation of its base. At that time conservation of the monument was seriously jeopardized given the risk of collapse from river erosion of the base, causing it to list on its axis. As the projected action required an examination and preliminary analysis of a considerable amount of data, it could not be undertaken hastily, especially bearing in mind the difficulties of reaching the site.

In September 1962, during a second inspection mission to Jam, I discovered vestiges of an ancient necropolis in the vicinity of the minaret; including stones with inscriptions in Hebrew. The inscriptions were subjected to a thorough study by Prof. G. Gnoli (ISMEO) and may yield useful indications as to the exact location of Firuzkuh, the Ghurid capital.

Prior to that, Ahmed Ali Kozad had been the first to put forward the hypothesis that the site of the minaret might be that of Firuzkuh, the former capital founded by Qutb ul-Din Mohamad between 1145 and 1146 during his short-lived reign. The city’s exact location is still a mystery and, as André Maricq points out, traditional sources are hardly helpful as most Arab geographers lived before the city had been founded and only one of them places Firuzkuh between Herat and Ghazni. Although it is not known whether the Jam site really is the former location of Firuzkuh, it was definitely a fortification against possible invasions, a stronghold established at an exceptional strategic point on the route between Ghor and Herat.

The minaret was probably built at the height of the Ghurid dynasty, even though no date is mentioned in the inscriptions. The name of Ghiyath al-Din appears three times, and, according to certain historical texts, there was apparently a mosque there in 1192-93, which might have been destroyed on the orders of Ghengis Khan in 1221 or carried away by a river spate. Geologist A. Borgia’s recent mission (August 2002) uncovered evidence to confirm that hypothesis in the form of the 4 m layer of alluvial deposits covering the base of the minaret. This finding should be studied carefully by future missions. Decisions regarding the best way to restore the minaret cannot be taken until a thorough survey has been conducted.

To prevent other threats to the stability of the minaret, whose base is threatened by river erosion, protective traditionally built gabions of stones and tree trunks were set in place with the aid of the inhabitants from the neighbouring village in August 1963.

In June of the following year a brick and mortar sampling programme was conducted, but it was impossible to carry out surveys of the subsoil due to the complexity of the problems that had to be dealt with, including lack of machinery and of specialized personnel.

Many actions were undertaken at the end of the 1960s to reach the minaret from the village of Jam along the Jamrud and a wooden bridge was built across the Harirud to access the Bedam Valley.

In 1974, at the request of the Afghan Government and within the framework of the UNESCO-UNDP Project (Restorations of Monuments in Herat – Strengthening Government’s Capability for the Preservation of Historical Monuments) UNESCO commissioned me to undertake a thorough restoration study of the minaret as I was already in Herat at the time. Only then, thanks to the opening of a road suitable for vehicles, was it possible to plan a restoration project and finally transport the equipment and materials needed to the foot of the minaret. A small house was built alongside the monument to accommodate the labour force, as well as a warehouse for the building materials.

A break in the project

Between 1975 and 1980, when the citadel and minarets in Herat were being restored and a team of Afghan architects and engineers specializing in restoration work was set up, UNESCO financed an emergency intervention in Jam (in 1978) that was to involve installing protective metal gabions imported by sea and road from Europe, a step that was to be the first phase of the project. The gabions were to be filled with stones from the site to protect the base of the minaret against river erosion, but they were also meant to facilitate surveys and digs in order to obtain better archaeological information about the site before starting work to reinforce the base and foundations.

By September 1979, stones had been accumulated near the minaret. This initial operation, as well as the testing of the minaret’s foundations and the clearing away of the debris around the base, was to be completed the following year. Shortly afterwards, however, when the conditions required for action had finally been met, war broke out and made any further intervention impossible.

During the Soviet occupation, while UNESCO continually expressed its interest in conserving Afghan cultural heritage and in particular the city of Kabul and its archaeological museum, it was never able to take effective action. The question of safeguarding the monument was delegated to non-governmental organizations, especially the Society for the Preservation of Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage (SPACH), an organization based in Peshawar, which for all those years did very useful work involving documentation and emergency actions. It continually drew attention to the problems of conservation in dramatic conditions in which the priorities were of a quite different nature.

Contact renewed

It was not until 1999 that the minaret received any serious attention and a new mission was carried out following a report from SPACH highlighting the dangers that threatened it. Twenty years after the last visit, under Taliban rule, I was able to reach the minaret on 2 August 1999, together with the Afghan engineer Akbari, thanks to a special agreement between the warring parties – Mujahidin and Taliban – who were entrenched on either side of the Harirud.

Although that inspection visit lasted barely an hour, after which the experts were forced to leave in order to avoid security problems that might have compromised the mission’s success, it achieved its ultimate objective, which was to check the state of the minaret and as far as possible compare it with the situation in 1979. In that short time, a decision was taken on the kind of emergency action that was feasible under the circumstances. Those twenty years which had seen a series of tangible interventions making it possible to prepare for the protection and restoration of the minaret and organize archaeological research throughout the area, had been followed by twenty more years (1979-99) of senseless destruction. Thus, by 1999 all the achievements of 1963-79 had been wiped out.

The last twenty years of ‘holding one’s breath’ had led to a particularly difficult situation and shattered all hopes of swiftly ensuring effective protection for the minaret. The bridge, base camp and infrastructures which should have served as a worksite depot were completely destroyed; the metal gabions provided by UNESCO in 1978 had disappeared, as had the protective materials installed in the 1960s; only the stones that had been gathered to fill in the gabions remained.

We had, in other words, reverted to the situation that prevailed prior to 1960, one of complete isolation from the civilized world. After thirty years of care and effort, work had to begin again from scratch, and, what is more, in a situation of armed conflict.

During that brief mission, in agreement with the Afghan engineer, who made himself available to supervise the work, a decision was taken to reuse the remaining stones and, in the absence of metal gabions, to use tree trunks to provide the minaret with temporary protection. As in 1961, the necessary labour was recruited in the area around the village of Jam. However, the idea of reconstructing the house and bridge as in the 1970s was ruled out lest they serve as military positions against the opposition forces (those of Commander Massoud).

In 1999 and 2001 SPACH and HAFO (Helping Afghan Farmers Organization) carried out protective measures in two phases. In the absence of gabions, the first phase involved an effective use of wood and stone (they successfully withstood a flood on 14 April 2002), while the second phase involved the use of metal gabions along the bank of the Harirud.

On course again

In March 2002, after the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas and the fall of the Taliban regime, UNESCO was again able to take over direct control of the situation and send a consultant to the site in a UN helicopter. Although the visit confirmed that the measures taken to protect the minaret’s base had proved successful, it also revealed the disastrous results of illicit excavations that would seriously jeopardize the scientific results anticipated from the projected archaeological digs. Judging by the scale of the clandestine digs, those responsible for them must have made a huge profit. What precisely has disappeared cannot yet be determined. A project to build a road and a bridge also presents a threat to the archaeological site as it might destabilize the minaret and would ruin the archaeological zone.

The gravity of the situation justified urgent action to safeguard the monument. This was the strongest argument put forward during the International Seminar on the Rehabilitation of Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage, organized by UNESCO and the Ministry of Information and Afghan Culture in Kabul on 27-29 May 2002.

Meanwhile, UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the Afghan authorities elaborated a nomination dossier, including important information obtained from the March 2002 mission report. The Government of Afghanistan showed exemplary commitment and dedication in this endeavour. It nominated the site for inscription on both the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger for consideration by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the World Heritage Committee at their 26th session in Budapest (24-29 June 2002). This led to the first inscription of an Afghan property on the World Heritage List. Recognizing the urgent need to mobilize international technical and financial support to protect the property, the Committee accepted the government’s wishes to immediately inscribe the site on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

In the wake of the serious destruction wrought in the Bamiyan Valley (particularly that of the giant statues of Buddha) and the partial destruction of Kabul Museum, the Minaret of Jam has become a symbol. There is consequently room for cautious optimism concerning the future of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage.

Inclusion of the minaret on the World Heritage List has allowed UNESCO to initiate protection work by setting up a working group entrusted with the task of ensuring the monument’s preservation and enhancement.

In August 2002, I headed a mission that defined the basis necessary for an accurate survey of the area, the water courses and a more complete study of the foundations with the co-operation of a specialized geologist, Dr A. Borgia.

Following upon that mission, in October of that same year UNESCO commissioned a team with state-of-the-art equipment to carry out the second survey of the minaret to be conducted in the last forty years (the only previous survey was the one I had undertaken in 1961). That mission yielded a very positive result, providing UNESCO with plans of the minaret and with various precise measurements of its height, the cross-sections of the walls, the exact incline of its axis and site topography.

Those surveys and, above all, the measurements of the exact incline, are essential data for those responsible for planning consolidation work. Prof. Macchi, an engineer specializing in structural problems of such buildings as the Tower of Pisa and the bell tower of the basilica of St Marks in Venice, has been commissioned to prepare a consolidation project for the minaret. The first part of the project consists in a series of soundings of the foundations by means of core-drill boring and a structural study to be conducted by specialized companies in April 2003. This information will also be indispensable in deciding where to build a road without destabilizing the ground around the minaret.

Archaeological research will be undertaken at the same time, beginning with a thorough examination of the clandestine digs to obtain enough information to allow Afghan archaeologists to excavate in a scientific fashion. Italian archaeologists from ISIAO (Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente), under the supervision of Prof. G. Verardi, will join them in that task. In the meantime, the house near the minaret will have been rebuilt to serve as headquarters for the personnel of the restoration and archaeology mission.

Those initial actions will precede the main restoration project, which will involve other specialists and all necessary material and machinery.

It is to be hoped that the political situation in Afghanistan will allow UNESCO, the Afghan Government and the various specialists to pursue their efforts and carry out their missions in suitable conditions.

El Tapiz del Apocalipsis

En 1380, en plena guerra de los 100 años, Luis I, Duque de Anjou y hermano del Rey Carlos V sueña con una gran obra artística y decide, por una vez, invertir más en arte que en armas. Dentro de este contexto particular encarga la realización del hoy extraordinario Tapiz del Apocalipsis.

Tapiz del Apocalipsis
Tapiz del Apocalipsis

El Tapiz se encuentra en el Castillo de Angers, en Francia, tiene 103 metros de largo, 4,5 m. de altura y consta de 70 cuadros.La obra está basada en el texto bíblico del Apocalipsis (último libro de La Biblia) escrito por San Juan en el siglo I en la isla de Patmos después de la muerte de Jesús, aunque contiene muchas otras aportaciones de los autores que retratan de manera excepcional el momento político y social que se vive a finales del siglo XIV.

El Tapiz fue terminado casi con toda seguridad en 1382.

Abebe Bikila

Abebe was born in 1932 in a town called Jato about 130 kms away from Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), in the district of NeA Denba near Debre Birhan. His parents were W/o Widnesh Menberu and Ato Bikila Demssie. According to the tradition of his enviorns, he spent most of his childhood as a shepherd and a student. At the age of 12, he completed the traditional, «Qes» schooling. At this age, Abebe had already distinguished himself as an exceptional «Gena» player. In 1952, young Abebe was hired by the Imperial Body Guard. At the Imperial Guard, he participated in both athletics and «Gena» game. In 1954, he married W/t Yewibdar W/Giorghis with whom he fathered four children.

Abebe Bikila
Abebe Bikila

Abebe spent a number of years with the Imperial Guard before he distinguished himself as a fine athlete. His defining moment came when, once, he was watching a parade of Ethiopian athletes who had then participated in the Melbourne Olympics. Looking at these athletes who were wearing a sport outfit with the name «Ethiopia» written at the back, he asked who they were. When told that they were athletes who represented Ethiopia in the Olympics, he was determined to be one of them. In 1956, at the age of 24, Abebe participated in the national armed forces championships. The hero of the time was Wami Biratu who held the national records in 5000 and 10000M races. During the marathon race, the crowd at the stadium was waiting to see Wami Biratu come as a winner. In the first few kilometers, Wami was leading. After a while, radio broadcasters informed the crowd that a young unknown athlete by the name of Abebe was leading. As Abebe was extending his lead, the crowd waited anxiously to see this new sensation. Abebe easily won his first major race and later on went to break the 5000 and 10000 Meters record held by Wami. With this impressive results, Abebe qualified for the Rome Olympics. Finally, Abebe’s dream of wearing that sport outfit with Ethiopia’s name written at the back was realized.Abebe’s race in the Rome Olympics is what established him as a legend bigger than life and a household name all over the globe. Not only he won the race, but also set a new world record at 2:16:2. He was also the first African to win an Olympics medal. Commenting on why he run on bare foot, Abebe said, «I wanted the world to know that my country Ethiopia has always won with determination and heroism.»

Four years later during the Tokyo Olympics, Abebe’s fame has already reached all corners of the globe. Six weeks before the big race that awaited him, Abebe was taken ill with Appendicitis. He underwent surgery amid a public outcry for a proper medical council to decide on the procedure. The day he arrived in Tokyo, Abebe hadn’t fully recovered from the surgery and limped his way-down the stairs. However, the reception Abebe received from the Japanese people helped him recover rather quickly and unexpectedly.

Along with his colleagues, Mamo Wolde and Demssie Wolde, Abebe resumed his regular training after few days of his arrival in Tokyo. The marathon race, particularly, the way Abebe won it barely six weeks after his surgery and the gymnastic display he showed right after finishing the race victoriously is now a classic image engraved in the minds of hundreds of millions of people of this planet. This was also the first time ever that the marathon race was won consecutively by an athlete. The new record of 2:12:11 that Abebe set was also an icing on a cake for this remarkable race.

Abebe trained hard for the Mexico City Olympics of 1968. Unfortunately, he had to withdraw from the race after running 15 kilometers due to bad health. His compatriot, Mamo Wolde would later finish the race victoriously.

Abebe had competed in more than 26 major marathon races in his illustrious athletic career. The world championships he won in 1960 and 1962 deserve special recognition.

In 1968, The legendary Abebe Bikila was involved in a car accident in the city of Sheno about 70 Km from Addis Ababa that left him paralyzed the waist below. Over the next 9 months, he was treated both in Ethiopia and abroad. Even while in wheels, Abebe’s competitive spirit and desire to see his country’s flag hoisted high and proud helped him compete and win several races. In 1970, he participated in a 25 Km cross-country sledge competition in Norway where he won the gold medal. Again, in the same tournament, he won a similar 10 Km race where he was awarded a special plaque.

The illustrious life of the legendary Abebe Bikila came to a tragic end in October of 1973 when he finally succumbed to a disease he had battled for many months. This eternal Ethiopian hero was buried in the grounds of the St. Joseph church in the presence of a huge crowd and the then emperor, Atse Haile Selassie.

Termina la Vida y Empieza la Supervivencia

En 1854, el Presidente de los Estados Unidos de América, Franklin Pierce hizo una oferta por una gran extensión de tierras indias, prometiendo crear una reserva para el pueblo indígena.

En respuesta, el Gran Jefe Seattle, perteneciente a la tribu de los Pieles Rojas envió al Presidente Pierce la siguiente carta:

«¿Cómo se puede comprar o vender el firmamento, ni aún el calor de la tierra? Dicha idea nos es desconocida. Si no somos dueños de la frescura del aire ni del fulgor de las aguas, ¿cómo podrán, ustedes comprarlos? Cada parcela de esta tierra es sagrada para mi pueblo, cada brillante mata de pino, cada grano de arena en las playas, cada gota de rocío en los bosques, cada altozano y hasta el sonido de cada insecto es sagrado a la memoria y al pasado de mi pueblo. La savia que circula por las venas de los árboles lleva consigo las memorias de los pieles rojas.

Los muertos del hombre blanco se olvidan de su país de origen cuando emprenden sus paseos entre las estrellas; en cambio, nuestros muertos nunca pueden olvidar esta bondadosa tierra, puesto que es la madre de los pieles rojas. Somos parte de la tierra y asimismo, ella es parte de nosotros. Las flores perfumadas son nuestras hermanas; el venado, el caballo, la gran águila; éstos son nuestros hermanos. Las escarpadas peñas, los húmedos prados, el calor del cuerpo del caballo y el hombre, todos pertenecemos a la misma familia.

Por todo ello, cuando el Gran Jefe de Washington nos envía el mensaje de que quiere comprar nuestras tierras, nos está pidiendo demasiado. También el Gran Jefe nos dice que nos reservará un lugar en el que podamos vivir confortablemente entre nosotros. El se convertirá en nuestro padre y nosotros en sus hijos. Por ello consideramos su oferta de comprar nuestras tierras. Ello no es fácil ya que esta tierra es sagrada para nosotros.

El agua cristalina que corre por ríos y arroyuelos no es solamente el agua sino también representa la sangre de nuestros antepasados. Si les vendemos tierras, deben recordar que es sagrada y a la vez deben enseñar a sus hijos que es sagrada y que cada reflejo fantasmagórico en las claras aguas de los lagos cuenta los sucesos y memorias de las vidas de nuestras gentes. El murmullo del agua es la voz del padre de mi padre. Los ríos son nuestros hermanos y sacian nuestra sed, son portadores de nuestras canoas y alimentan a nuestros hijos. Si les vendemos nuestras tierras ustedes deben recordar y enseñarles a sus hijos que los ríos son nuestros hermanos y también lo son suyos y, por lo tanto, deben tratarlos con la misma dulzura con que se trata a un hermano.

Sabemos que el hombre blanco no comprende nuestro modo de vida. El no sabe distinguir entre un pedazo de tierra y otro, ya que es un extraño que llega de noche y toma de la tierra lo que necesita. La tierra no es su hermana sino su enemiga y una vez conquistada sigue su camino, dejando atrás la tumba de sus padres sin importarle. Le secuestra la tierra a sus hijos. Tampoco le importa. Tanto la tumba de sus padres como el patrimonio de sus hijos son olvidados. Trata a su madre, la tierra, y a su hermano, el firmamento, como objetos que se compran, se explotan y se venden como ovejas o cuentas de colores. Su apetito devorará la tierra dejando atrás sólo un desierto.

No sé, pero nuestro modo de vida es diferente al de ustedes. La sola vista de sus ciudades apena los ojos del piel roja. Pero quizás sea porque el piel roja es un salvaje y no comprende nada. No existe un lugar tranquilo en las ciudades del hombre blanco, ni hay sitio donde escuchar como se abren las hojas de los árboles en primavera o como aletean los insectos. Pero quizás también esto debe ser porque soy un salvaje que no comprende nada. El ruido parece insultar nuestros oídos. Y, después de todo ¿para qué sirve la vida si el hombre no puede escuchar el grito solitario del chotacabras (aguaitacaminos) ni las discusiones nocturnas de las ranas al borde de un estanque? Soy un piel roja y nada entiendo. Nosotros preferimos el suave susurro del viento sobre la superficie de un estanque, así como el olor de ese mismo viento purificado por la lluvia del mediodía o perfumado con aromas de pinos. El aire tiene un valor inestimable para el piel roja ya que todos los seres comparten un mismo aliento – la bestia, el árbol, el hombre, todos respiramos el mismo aire. El hombre blanco no parece consciente del aire que respira; como un moribundo que agoniza durante muchos días es insensible al hedor. Pero si les vendemos nuestras tierras deben recordar que el aire no es inestimable, que el aire comparte su espíritu con la vida que sostiene. El viento que dio a nuestros abuelos el primer soplo de vida, también recibe sus últimos suspiros. Y si les vendemos nuestras tierras, ustedes deben conservarlas como cosa aparte y sagrada, como un lugar donde hasta el hombre blanco pueda saborear el viento perfumado por las flores de las praderas.

Por ello consideramos su oferta de comprar nuestras tierras. Si decidimos aceptarla, yo pondré condiciones: El hombre blanco debe tratar a los animales de esta tierra como a sus hermanos. Soy un salvaje y no comprendo otro modo de vida. He visto a miles de búfalos pudriéndose en las praderas, muertos a tiros por el hombre blanco desde un tren en marcha. Soy un salvaje y no comprendo como una máquina humeante puede importar más que el búfalo al que nosotros matamos sólo para sobrevivir. ¿Qué seria del hombre sin los animales? Si todos fueran exterminados, el hombre también moriría de una gran soledad espiritual; porque lo que le suceda a los animales también le sucederá al hombre. Todo va enlazado. Deben enseñarles a sus hijos que el suelo que pisan son las cenizas de nuestros abuelos. Inculquen a sus hijos que la tierra está enriquecida con las vidas de nuestros semejantes a fin de que sepan respetarla. Enseñen a sus hijos que nosotros hemos enseñado a los nuestros que la tierra es nuestra madre. Todo lo que le ocurra a la tierra le ocurrirá a los hijos de la tierra. Si los hombres escupen en el suelo, se escupen a si mismos.

Esto sabemos: La tierra no pertenece al hombre; el hombre pertenece a la tierra. Esto sabemos, todo va enlazado, como la sangre que une a una familia. Todo va enlazado. Todo lo que le ocurra a la tierra, le ocurrirá a los hijos de la tierra. El hombre no tejió la trama de la vida; él es sólo un hilo. Lo que hace con la trama se lo hace a sí mismo. Ni siquiera el hombre blanco, cuyo Dios pasea y habla con él de amigo a amigo, no queda exento del destino común. Después de todo, quizás seamos hermanos. Ya veremos. Sabemos una cosa que quizás el hombre blanco descubra un día: nuestro Dios es el mismo Dios. Ustedes pueden pensar ahora que El les pertenece lo mismo que desean que nuestras tierras les pertenezcan; pero no es así. El es el Dios de los hombres y su compasión se comparte por igual entre el piel roja y el hombre blanco.

Esta tierra tiene un valor inestimable para El y si se daña se provocaría la ira del Creador. También los blancos se extinguirían, quizás antes que las demás tribus. Contaminen sus lechos y una noche perecerán ahogados en sus propios residuos. Pero ustedes caminarán hacia su destrucción rodeados de gloria, inspirados por la fuerza del Dios que los trajo a esta tierra y que por algún designio especial les dio dominio sobre ella y sobre el piel roja. Ese destino es un misterio para nosotros, pues no entendemos porqué se exterminan los búfalos, se doman los caballos salvajes, se saturan los rincones secretos de los bosques con el aliento de tantos hombres y se atiborra el paisaje de las exuberantes colinas con cables parlantes.

¿Dónde está el matorral? Destruido. ¿Dónde esta el águila? Desapareció. Termina la vida y empieza la supervivencia.«

Tumbas Romanas en Mérida

Mérida conserva uno de los conjuntos históricos romanos más importante del mundo: templos, teatros, anfiteatros, acueductos, puentes y… tumbas.

En el Museo Romano de Mérida, se conservan varias losas de tumbas romanas. Merecen especial interés los textos allí impresos en piedra y en latín. A continuación se reproducuen, traducidos, algunos de ellos:

«Realmente no está en tu mano jamás, evitar que la fortuna te permita experimentar el dolor. Motivo de dolor será conocer cuán piadoso joven ha sido entregado a las llamas. Él, ahora te pide que digas, quien quiera estés presente: séate la tierra ligera.» (S II d.c.)

«Ivlia Anvlla, hija de Caivs, está aquí enterrada, arrebatada por un hado cruel. La muerte la arrastró en poco tiempo. Había cumplido ya dos veces y por igual 9 años de vida. Dí, al pasar por aquí: séate la tierra ligera. Andilia Iuavnda, liberta de Caivis, de 24 años está enterrada aquí. Séate la tierra ligerra. Iulis Felix, liberto de Teucro, se ocupó de hacer el monumento con sus propios recursos. Ocho pies de fondo y doce de frente.»

«La más honesta entre las damas principales, Iulia Sotira, dulce amor, está oculta bajo este túmulo. La veneración hizo cuanto pudo para quien aún más merecía. Tu que lees esto, quien quiera que seas, dí: séate la tierra ligera.»