Sacred-Sites International Blog

Six months after the massive earthquake that struck Haiti there is still enormous loss and hardship in the country. Amidst the human tragedy another tragedy is also unfolding as the survey of historic buildings, including sacred places, is underway.

Woman in Dispair outside Notre-Dame by Kesler Pierre

Some of our colleagues were among the first preservationists to arrive after the quake: the International Council on Monuments and Sites, and Conservation Tech’s Randolph Langenbach, Builders Without Borders‘, Martin Hammer, and stained glass conservator, Kesler Pierre. Randolph Langenbach has established a good website on historic preservation in Haiti since the quake.

Several of Haiti’s beloved places of worship were destroyed by the quake. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Port-au-Prince, sometimes called the Port-au-Prince Cathedral or Notre-Dame de l’Assomption, was badly damaged by the quake. A grand cathedral that took 30 years to build was destroyed in minutes by the temblor.

Notre-Dame Post Quake Interior by Martin Hammer

Randolph Langenbach, one of the world’s foremost experts on earthquake resistant architecture discovered a small chapel across the street from the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption, that escaped damage. Unlike the Cathedral, which was made of low-grade late 19th and early 20th Century reinforced concrete with rebar that had rusted, the Chapel was constructed of light steel frames with masonry confined to the steel frames.

Chapel Escaped Quake Damage by Randolph Langenbach

Another well-loved church in Port-au-Prince is the Episcopal Trinity Church, famous for its murals done by Haitian artists in the 1950s. Haitian artists depicted Biblical scenes with figures of Haitians in Haitian settings including details from street-life. Most of the murals have been smashed into small pieces or reduced to dust and rubble.

Mural Fragments after the Quake

Portions of one of Trinity Churches’ main murals, The Last Supper, remain post-quake. Restoration experts have stabilized the painting and hope to restore it.

Trinity Church Murals by Martin Hammer

Himalayan Fair Entrance

We had a great weekend at the Himalayan Fair, May 30 and 31, and we met some great people. The weather was perfect – nice and sunny and warm. The Fair was packed with over 60 merchants and non-profits offering goods and services from the Himalayan region.

Himalayan Handicrafts

There were booths with jewelry, clothing, weavings and rugs. Non-profit organizations included groups supporting schools and health clinics in the region.

One booth not to miss is the Henna Painting table. You can get your hands and arms painted at a reasonable price.

The food at the fair is always a treat. The longest line can always be found at the Nepalese Association of Northern California’s booth. They offer a big plate of vegetarian and beef momos, a type of pot-sticker, and salad for $5.

Momos Cooking

About 50 people signed our petition that we will be sending to the French Minister of Culture asking for him to allow an International Board of Scientists to oversee the preservation of Lascaux Cave, located in Montignac, France. The cave is being ruined by an invasion of black mold that was caused when a French worker installing a new climate control system brought bacteria into the cave.

The Sacred Sites International table was located across from another organization: The Dream of the Turquoise Bee and they are offering some wonderful small group tours to Tibet next summer. It is not too early to start planning ahead to travel with the Sacred Sites trip scheduled for July 31-August 16, 2011. The trip will be led by a former monk who will share his personal insights and connections with tour participants. We’re very excited about this trip which will include visits to several recently discovered sacred sites.

We had several conversations with people about how many sacred sites are located in remote locations and are only know to local people. A book that was referenced several times was Places in Between by Rory Stewart, a tale of his trek across Afghanistan where he encounters wonderful people and places including neglected sacred sites.

Another book that was mentioned to us, Benares Seen from Within by Richard Lannoy looks fabulous. It is expensive so check local libraries to see if they have a copy.

We met a historian, Robert Freund, who has dedicated his life to preserving the indigenous textiles of Mexico and we were reminded of how often arts and crafts relate to sacred traditions, oral histories, sacred symbols and ultimately to sacred places. Visit his website for resources, including films of traditional Mexican sacred festivals.