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Signagi

 

On our way to Tibilsi, Georgia's Capital, we stopped at Signagi, a fortified town with winding cobblestone streets. 

The town, which stands in a commanding position above the Alazani Valley, was fortified in the 18th century with defensive walls; 23 towers; and 6 gates, against invading tribesmen.  After the Russian invasion, in the early 19th century, it was annexed to Imperial Russia and later became part of the Soviet Union. 

This is a particularly picturesque part of the world.  In soviet times Signagi became a centre for the Georgian wine industry and a popular holiday destination. Today Signagi is known as Georgia's city of love, where many Georgians choose to stay on their wedding night.

Like much of Georgia it was hard hit by the collapse of the Soviet Union and some evidence of the ensuing decay remains. But as we could easily see, much has recovered and in general Signagi appears to be prosperous again (even more so?).

 

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Signagi - Georgia's city of love
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Travel

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Travels in Central Asia

 

In June 2018 we travelled to China before joining an organised tour in Central Asia that, except for a sojourn in the mountains of Tajikistan, followed in the footsteps of Marco Polo along the Great Silk Road. 

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Fiction, Recollections & News

The Book of Mormon

 

 

 

 

Back in the mid 1960's when I was at university and still living at home with my parents in Thornleigh, two dark suited, white shirted, dark tied, earnest young men, fresh from the United States, appeared at our door.

Having discovered that they weren't from IBM my mother was all for shooing them away.  But I was taking an interest in philosophy and psychology and here were two interesting examples of religious fervour.

As I often have with similar missionaries (see: Daniel, the Jehovah’s Witness in Easter on this Website), I invited them in and they were very pleased to tell me about their book.  I remember them poised on the front of our couch, not daring or willing to sit back in comfort, as they eagerly told me about their revelation.  

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Read more: The Book of Mormon

Opinions and Philosophy

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David Attenborough hit the headlines yet again in 15 May 2009 with an opinion piece in New Scientist. This is a quotation:

 

‘He has become a patron of the Optimum Population Trust, a think tank on population growth and environment with a scary website showing the global population as it grows. "For the past 20 years I've never had any doubt that the source of the Earth's ills is overpopulation. I can't go on saying this sort of thing and then fail to put my head above the parapet."

 

There are nearly three times as many people on the planet as when Attenborough started making television programmes in the 1950s - a fact that has convinced him that if we don't find a solution to our population problems, nature will:
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Bob Hawke said something similar on the program Elders with Andrew Denton:

 

Read more: World Population – again and again

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