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.

POWER: Interior greenlights Cape Cod turbine farm (04/28/2010)

Noelle Straub, E&E reporter

After nine years of controversy, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar today approved construction of the 130-turbine Cape Wind farm off Massachusetts.

“Cape Wind will be the United States’ first offshore wind farm,” Salazar said. “This will be the first of many projects up and down the Atlantic Coast.”

Traveling to Boston to announce his decision, Salazar said his department will require several modifications to the project to help protect the environment and cultural resources in the area. Acknowledging the intense battle that has been waged over the wind farm, Salazar said his decision was not an easy one and that he considered “many difficult questions.”

But he greenlighted the project because of the expected 1,000 construction jobs and up to 468 megawatts of power it will supply, roughly the equivalent of a medium-sized coal-fired power plant, Salazar said.

Noting that the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, a federal advisory panel, earlier this month recommended not to approve the project, Salazar said that after “extended review and reflection” on the issue, he decided the wind farm as modified can move forward while preserving historic qualities in the area.

(more…)

John Michell, the noted geomancer and author of numerous books, passed on in April 2009. His life will be celebrated in England on May 22nd, 2010. Click on the link below to learn details of the event.

His books include: The View Over Atlantis, New Light on the Ancient Mystery of Glastonbury and others.

John Michell day flyer 23.03.10

Letters are urgently needed to prevent a large-scale wind farm development, called Cape Wind, from being approved in Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts. The project calls for 130 wind turbines each over 285-feet from ground to center-line of turbine rotor, covering 24 square miles of federal waters. Nantucket Sound is part of the Nantucket National Seashore, featuring a pristine landscape and unspoiled scenic views of the Sound.

Nantucket Sound is sacred to the Wampanoag Tribe. Wampanoag means “People of the First Light” because they have sacred ceremonies which require an unobstructed view of the rising sun over Nantucket Sound. The sunrise rituals are also performed on the death of elders. Wampanoag off-shore burials would also be destroyed by the project. They have claimed the Sound as a Traditional Cultural Property and it has been determined eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

There are many other grounds to object to the Cape Wind Project, including environmental, safety and aesthetic. See Fact Sheet Below

Nantucket Sunrise

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Please ask the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to relocate the project to a place that will have fewer impacts on cultural resources.*

Before April 15th Write To:
John Fowler, Executive Director
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 803
Old Post Office Building
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 606-8503 achp@achp.gov www.achp.gov

Nantucket Wind Facts

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