I had traveled to Germany to attend an international conference at the University of Mainz about the Relations of Byzantium to the Arab Near East (9th to 15th centuries). I gave a presentation about Palestine in the Abbasid Period.
I arrived a day early on the morning of Tuesday October 16, so after settling into my accommodations, I toured the Antike Schiffahrt Museum, which highlights a number of Roman ships found in excavations along the Rhine River in Mainz, and walked around the city.
The conference began the evening of Wednesday October 17 and continued through Friday afternoon October 19. At the end of the conference I heard the unofficial news that my application had been turned down for a three-year research position at the University of Mainz that would have started in early 2013.
Early the next morning, Saturday October 20, I took a train to Meiningen in southern Thüringen, arriving at noon. I checked into a hotel and then went to the nearby village of Rohr. Because it was such a nice day, I walked the seven kilometer distance. In Rohr I visited Armin and Terini, my two friends from my days at the Henry Martyn Institute in Hyderabad, and their son Viktor, who is not quite two years old. It was a short visit, before I needed to take the train back to Meiningen in time for the 7:30 performance at the Südthüringisches Staatstheater.
I had come to Meiningen several times before for opera performances, but this time around the performance was something exceptional – an opera with an Islamic theme. The opera is entitled Abai, named after the hero of the work, Abai Qunanbaiuli, a prominent Muslim figure in Khazakhstan who died in 1904. The opera was composed by Achmet Zhubanov and Latif Hamdi with the libretto by Muchtar Auesow and was first performed in 1944. This performance in Meiningen was the first performance in Germany of the opera.
Included with the program was a small CD with a few selections of the music of the opera. The music was composed in a typical Russian style and used normal symphonic instruments. The performance was fine, although I can understand why the composers are not world famous.
The next day, Sunday October 21, I took the train to Bamberg. That evening I met my two colleagues Anja and Ilse to discuss the project in India in February, which may end up being cancelled. The next day Monday October 22 I spent at the University library and in the afternoon I met my colleague Klaus. That evening I took a train to the Frankfurt airport, arriving at midnight. I then hung out until my flight to Chicago left at 7:20 am, with a stop-over in Madrid.
I arrived a day early on the morning of Tuesday October 16, so after settling into my accommodations, I toured the Antike Schiffahrt Museum, which highlights a number of Roman ships found in excavations along the Rhine River in Mainz, and walked around the city.
The conference began the evening of Wednesday October 17 and continued through Friday afternoon October 19. At the end of the conference I heard the unofficial news that my application had been turned down for a three-year research position at the University of Mainz that would have started in early 2013.
Early the next morning, Saturday October 20, I took a train to Meiningen in southern Thüringen, arriving at noon. I checked into a hotel and then went to the nearby village of Rohr. Because it was such a nice day, I walked the seven kilometer distance. In Rohr I visited Armin and Terini, my two friends from my days at the Henry Martyn Institute in Hyderabad, and their son Viktor, who is not quite two years old. It was a short visit, before I needed to take the train back to Meiningen in time for the 7:30 performance at the Südthüringisches Staatstheater.
Viktor
I had come to Meiningen several times before for opera performances, but this time around the performance was something exceptional – an opera with an Islamic theme. The opera is entitled Abai, named after the hero of the work, Abai Qunanbaiuli, a prominent Muslim figure in Khazakhstan who died in 1904. The opera was composed by Achmet Zhubanov and Latif Hamdi with the libretto by Muchtar Auesow and was first performed in 1944. This performance in Meiningen was the first performance in Germany of the opera.
The flyer for the opera
Included with the program was a small CD with a few selections of the music of the opera. The music was composed in a typical Russian style and used normal symphonic instruments. The performance was fine, although I can understand why the composers are not world famous.
The next day, Sunday October 21, I took the train to Bamberg. That evening I met my two colleagues Anja and Ilse to discuss the project in India in February, which may end up being cancelled. The next day Monday October 22 I spent at the University library and in the afternoon I met my colleague Klaus. That evening I took a train to the Frankfurt airport, arriving at midnight. I then hung out until my flight to Chicago left at 7:20 am, with a stop-over in Madrid.
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