Wednesday 19 August 2015

Day 5 Berlin

Today Annique and I went to see the three-winged Pergamon museum by Alfred Messel which has about one million visitors per year and thus is the most visited museum in Berlin. We saw the Market Gate of Miletus and Ishtar Gate, Processional Way of Babylon and the Mshatta façade.

Although we arrived only 45 minutes after opening the queue was 2 hours long to enter. Due to this it was the only visit we made today.



When I researched the Ishtar Gate over 1 year ago I would never have imagined that one day I would actually stand before the gate. Piece by piece this gate and some of the professional way has been taken down and restored here in the museum, so these very stones have had processions of old pass by them, and I am here standing before them today, this is something that is so hard to believe. The sheer size of the gate and even the small 30 metres of the procession way that is erected in the museum gives one such a feeling of awe and magnitude, I can only try to think of those people and priestesses of old passing by the nearly 1 km processional way to reach the gate and enter into the city to make their way to the temple within the walled city. If one thinks about this deeply you can feel like a mere speak upon the earth. I am so blessed to have seen this in person.









The Processional Way with the lions facing the people as they entered the city, to ward off those who meant harm in any way.





Orpheus Mosaic




Entablature of a Roman Round Tomb erected for Cartinia a priestess of Juno.




I was so thrilled to see the headdress of Inanna in person, it was from the research I did on this piece that I made my own headdress for my priestess training and here again I stood in front of it, just so thrilling.




1 comment:

Working Mothers Secrets Coaches - Maree Lipschitz & Virginia Herlihy said...

This Ishtar Gate is just amazing Lee-Anne! How wonderful for you to see it and thanks for sharing it with us! Lotsa love on the rest of your journey xx