Swiat Kamienia no. 6(61) 2009
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| Świat Kamienia nr 6(61) 2009 |
Testimonies of our existence
It is not false to say that among the West European countries, and Poland is said to be one of them, our funeral culture and the cult of the dead are the most highly developed. We should take care of it because it constitutes a precious element of our culture. Avoiding the subject of death, dying and the cult of the dead is a characteristic feature of highly developed Western societies. Popular culture shows death in an impersonal form, a bathed in blood slaughter in a war or gangster movie. Every day we can see anonymous victims of assassinations, wars and disasters in the news on TV. We watch both these forms of dying with the same lack of emotions, being effectively separated from them by means of a TV screen. It is more and more commonly found that nowadays nursing homes, hospices or other institutions do all the necessary things when the death of someones beloved happens. They effectively isolate old age and illnesses from the modern society which lives in the cult of health and youth. Therefore, we should not be surprised that our Western or Southern neighbours frequently choose tombstones that do not require care, where you do not have to light candles because a diode lights for months.
African journey from impala to olive green part 2
The production of dimension stone in RSA is concentrated mainly on granite rock, although we can notice some interest in slate, sandstone and marble. Continuing our trip around the quarries of the Republic of Southern Africa, we are leaving Brits, where we visited the deposits of grey and black norites known under the trade name of black granite (from Bushveld Igneous Complex B. C.).
There is about 1100 kilometres from Brits to Springbok when we go through Upington and Poffader. We have to go through the peripheries of South Africa, far from the popular tourist routes. Springbok is a capital city of Namakwa district where it rains most of the year. However, in late August and early September this place changes into a paradise full of flowers.
You can get there by plane from Johannesburg, but then you will not have a chance to visit all the interesting places on the way such as Augrabies Falls National Park where the longest River in South Africa falls from 240 metres. You will remember these beautiful lake and desert landscapes and rich and exotic fauna and flora for a very long time.
