MONDAY’S MAGICAL MOMENT: PYRAMIDS AT GIZA

I never really believed that I’d get to see the pyramids and the sphinx at Giza!  But, I did and I’ve also been blessed enough to see Stonehenge, Newgrange, Jerusalem, the Grand Canyon, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Empire State Building, the Giant’s Causeway, etc…………….  One of the things that amazed me about the pyramids at Giza was how close to the congested city of Cairo they are.  The sky here in this image is blue and cloudless.  If I showed you the picture I took when I turned 180 degrees, all that would be seen is an enormous cityscape capped with smog.  But, still, it’s EGYPT!!!!

Related articles

• Foto Friday – EGYPT
• Round about Sphinx and Pyramid, Egypt
• How to Plan an Educational Trip to the Pyramids
• Newly discovered 4600-year-old Egyptian stepped pyramid predates the Great Pyramid of Giza
• Ancient Egypt, Aliens & Zombies
• Newgrange named Ireland’s most important historical site
• Before The Pharaohs: The Evidence for Advanced Civilisation in Egypt’s Mysterious Prehistory
• 20 maps that will blow your mind
• Pyramid discovered in Edfu older than Giza pyramids
• NOVA| Who Built the Pyramids?

 

MONDAY’S MAGICAL MOMENT: SOLSTICE SUNSET

The rays of the rising sun, on the Winter Solstice, light the central chamber of the Newgrange Tumulus, part of the Bru na Boinne complex.  What is little known is that the rays of the setting sun that same day illuminate the inner chamber of the passage tomb at Dowth, also part of Bru na Boinne.  Although not open to the public, nor fully excavated, Dowth, as well as Newgrange and Knowth, are within 15 miles of my home in County Meath, Ireland, where this was taken on 21 December 2013.   Magic is all around!

Copyright 2013                             Mary Jane E Clark

Related articles

• Newgrange: Arise, Awake! (emmmyjaysexcellentadventures.com)
• In the Celtic Calendar, today is the Winter Solstice – the shortest day of the year. (stairnaheireann.wordpress.com)
• The turning of the year at Newgrange (thesilvervoice.wordpress.com)
• Happy Solstice! (redhenrun.wordpress.com)
• Magical moment at Newgrange during Winter Solstice as sun breaks through (irishcentral.com)
• Shedding Light On A Winter Solstice (journeyingbeyondbreastcancer.com)
• Clouds part in time for sun to light up Newgrange chamber (irishtimes.com)
• Winter solstice marked in Google doodle (theguardian.com)
• Solstice pilgrims hail greatest show in living memory (irishtimes.com)

NEWGRANGE: ARISE, AWAKE!

RIVER BOYNE

PLAINS OF MEATH

NEWGRANGE TUMULUS

NEWGRANGE SKY BOX

Nestled on the banks of the River Boyne in County Meath, Ireland, is the complex of ancient passage tombs known as Bru na Boinne (Palace on the Boyne).  Chief among these ancient monuments is Newgrange.  Built over 5000 years ago, predating both the Great Pyramids of Giza and Stonehenge, it gazes out over the lush plains of Meath as it has for ages.  Although no one knows for sure why it was built, we do know that today, the 21st of December, the day of the Winter Solstice, is ITS day!  For on this morning, as I am writing this, the rays of the rising sun (and it is rising gloriously) will pass through the sky box located above the imposing oval-shaped inscribed stone at the entrance.  Slowly, then seeming to increase in speed and splendor, the light enters the passage tomb and finally pierces the very center of the chamber.  The illumination seems to be a reminder, and a promise, that even now, on the darkest day of winter, the light is returning, as it always has, as it always will.

NEWGRANGE:  ARISE, AWAKE!

Copyright 2013                                              Mary Jane E Clark

Related articles

• Shedding Light On A Winter Solstice (journeyingbeyondbreastcancer.com)
• 5. NEWGRANGE TOMB 5200 YEARS OLD (Ireland) (12160.info)
• Winter solstice marked in Google doodle (theguardian.com)
• Dundalk IT lecturer could soon confirm existence of new passage tomb in Boyne Valley (diggingupthefuture.wordpress.com)
• Bringing the light (sacredspacewithcake.wordpress.com)
• Floating Thought II: Newgrange in Ireland (Sound Resonances) (thejourneymenacousticians.wordpress.com)

 

MONDAY’S MAGICAL MOMENT: NEWGRANGE (BRU NA BOINNE), CO. MEATH

This is the magical Newgrange Tumulus, a part of the Bru na Boinne (Palace of the Boyne).  It’s a Stone Age necropolis built around 3200 B.C., 600 years earlier than the Pyramids at Giza and 1,000 years before Stonehenge.  As well as being a final resting place for the ancient kings, it is also thought to have been a center for rituals.  The alignment of the tomb with the rays of the rising sun on the winter solstice indicate a deeper, astronomical/astrological purpose……………no one is sure.  The white quartzite exterior is NOT  a recent addition and the stones were quarried on County Wicklow, over 70 km away, during a time predating the horse, cart and even wheel.   The Stone Age people of Ireland in no way resembled the Flintstones!

Click on the highlighted words for more information and on the photo for a larger image.

Copyright 2012                      Mary Jane E Clark