First Impressions is a segment in which I do an overview of a general topic or type of place. If there is more to say then later I will do an
Graveyards may seem like a strange place to begin for discovery of a foreign world, but in truth it is the perfect place to begin. But Many wonderings have happened in a graveyard after all. But I wish not to dwell on those so much as my own musings. Seeing as it is First Impressions I will be giving a brief over view of some of the graveyards I have visited and my own impressions of them. Perhaps later a bit more in depth discussion will follow.
The first graveyard I will discuss is one at Stirling Castle in Stirling, Scotland. This graveyard is perhaps not as well known as some of the others I will present but it is beautiful still. Both the intro picture and this one show the shades and colors that propagate such a graveyard. This one invokes tales of knights and heros at Stirling Castle and those that died nearby. Its close proximity to a well known castle makes the wanderings all the more haunting and deep.
It is in this that I think we find the first of many reasons why we find graveyards so fascinating. They hold tales of old, of chilvary, of misdeeds, and of every day lives. These are the thoughts that come about when wandering a graveyard that surrounds such a place as Stirling Castle.
The next type of graveyard is one that perhaps is not often thought of as a graveyard. But they are graves. The cairn are mounds found throughout ireland and Scotland and other places. They hold ancient passage ways to tombs, holding one or more of the dead. The one in the picture is said to hold Queen Maeve, or Medb's Tomb.
And this is what these ancient tombs conjure. Of legends and folklore long forgotten or known only by a few. When you walk around these ancient mounds the names they have been given spring to mind. Fairy Hills, Hills of the Dead, these cairn have been so immortalized that even today farmers refuse to plow them, going instead around them. Today they are just as mesmerizing, and just as mysterious as ever.
The final of the graveyards I will talk about is the modern cemetery or ones still being used today. These do not hold the same timelessness as the other two but they hold the same awe. For these hold the stories of the modern age. Of honor, loss, and wisdom. These haunting sights show that even today, we honor the dead today as we did of old. These cemeteries show hope for the future, as this Jewish cemetery on the hills of Cinque Terre. It was beautiful and serene. An ending to a thousand tales and a beginning of a thousand more. For out of the death of one a new tale will always emerge.
That ends my brief impressions on graveyards. As I continue to wander through my journeys and travels, I will grow and change this blog to mature and fit what others want to hear about. Please leave comments to let me know what you want to hear about or discuss. Well fellow wanderers this is SJ Rhea signing off. Look for adventure everywhere, and never close your eyes to the world.
