13 thoughts on “The Rest of My Interview

  1. Hi! Boy, that would be a WONDERFUL idea, but I've never heard from anyone who said they did it. When I wrote the episodes, I used little abbreviations to myself to flag which civilizations I covered each episode. If you give me your e-mail, I can e-mail you a screenshot of the files with these abbreviations. Take care, and thanks for listening! – Scott

  2. I have been working my way thru the early episodes. Has anyone made an index for the episodes you show the years (and cultures) covered in each one?

    I would like that very much– how long do I need to leave my email address up for you to still get it. I don't need more spam.

    Also, if I made an index for the episodes would you have a way to make it easily accessible to to others?

  3. Wooow! I just… I just can’t believe it.

    The tourist from Wisconsin – he had been in Palmyra at precisely the same date as myself, 9 September 2001 and the day after that. I was staying at a local villa which had been turned into a ilttle hotel and there was a television set at the 1st or 2nd floor. And I remember watching the news in Arabic and seeing these unbelievable pictures of planes hitting the WTC. And not understaing what they were saying, you thought to yourself, why are they playing this science-fiction scene all over again on the news?

    But then a Spanish traveller joined me in the TV room. He was somehow following news in Spanish and he told me… In the evening we, the tourists staying at this villa turned hotel gathered in a common room on the ground floor to discuss the events. Surprisingly, opinions varied, even among American tourists. There was one from Seattle, I remember.

    I wonder – was your guest staying at the same place? Was he there when we were gathered together shocked and in utter disbelieve? Did we meet there?

    Really incredible coincidence, even if we had not been staying at exactly the same place in Palmyra…

    Btw – I loved Tadmur with its ancient ruins crowned with the ruins of 17the century fortress on a hill hill, and – with the green on the other side, the adobe walled palm gardens.

    I wanted to return to Palmyra one day. Little I know of the unending war that was to follow in a few years, and of the disctruction of the ruins and the equally murder of the devoted archeologist, R.I.P.

    Apart from the tragic date, Palmyra/Tadmur has remained in my memory as the magical desert oasis, where ladders are taller than the villas people live in. And you know, why? Because they are used for picking dates from the palms.

    1. Very interesting – I didn’t know that you had the chance to visit Palmyra. Those must be some wonderful memories!

  4. I just brushed up my knowledge of American geography – Seattle actually IS in Wisconsin. Can it be that your guest is the same young man who was in this basement room on the day after the event, with us all discussing what had happened? The one whose brother had been in jail in the US for taking part in some demonstration or some other protest?

    I wonder… Would he remember? This was a hotel next to the road leading to Palmyra, when you were looking from its top towards the palm gardens, you had the ruins in front, the hill with the fortress on your right and the actual city with its museum on your left…

  5. Yeah – the funerary tombs impressed me, too. All of this without really visible sights of protection… Near to the tombs was a little cave in the hill adjacent or forerunning to the citadel hill.

    In the local museum I learnt that the road that had been built right through the runis complex was actually damaging to them because of the tiny but repeated tremors the passing of cars caused…

    What has become of the people? The owner of the hotel villa? Of the palm gardens, not to speak of the ruins and the museum…

  6. O.K. now I know. I was so excited learning that your tourist guest had been in Palmyra at the same time as myself that I started writing my posts before actually listening on and getting more details about his stay.

    We were not staying at the same place. But my impressions pretty much overlap. With the sunrise, as well…

    I am grateful to you for mentioning the tragic story of this archeologist and for mentioning him by name. Please forgive me, this is too tragic to listen to, so I’m stopping at 57’53 with tears in my eyes.

    We will not forget him. May his memory live on, since he was a true hero among archeologists…

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