Saturday, May 20, 2006

The Forbidden City

Thank you for coming to visit my blog.

We had a wonderful holiday in Bali and I will tell you about it when I post some pictures. In the meantime I am continuing the China series with pictures of the Forbidden City.

Big, majestic and fit for an Emperor. Grand halls and living areas. Some major restoration work is going on in a hasty rush to get everything ready in time for the next Olympics. We particularly liked the alleys or passageways that you find away from the main central part of the Forbidden City. It was was a fascinating place to visit. As you walk around you imagine what life nust have been like for the people who lived there in the days of Imperial China. Imagine, servants would come rushing armed with a bedpan, every time the Emperor needed to do an Imperial Poop! And he would never go anywhere alone. If he wanted to walk anywhere there was always an entourage to accompany him and two guys had the job of supporting him by the arms. We noticed as we walked around the complete absence of any trees or grass. But then came across the Imperial gardens at the very back of the City where if the Family wanted some contact with nature, they could go there.

It took a million labourers to build the City.......

Tomorrow I fly to Istanbul, so another job for the camera which of course I will share with you.

Hope you enjoy the pics

Love

Alan