Queen of the Arabian Sea

The past two days lexates.com paid a visit to Kochi in Kerala situated on the south-west coast of the Indian peninsula. Over centuries the Arabs, British, Chinese, Dutch, and Portuguese have left noticeable marks on the history and development of Cochin.

This lovely seaside city is flanked by the Arabian Sea on the west and green scenery on the East. Its proximity to the equator, the sea and the mountains provide a rich experience of a moderate equatorial climate. In order to capture the beauty and vigor of this city and its surroundings one should travel there to experience it. Kochi is the original name of the city, while Cochin is the colonial name.

A stroll along the beach, particularly at sunset with the Chinese fishing nets and sailing ships in the background, is a memorable experience. Many European style bungalows can be seen along the shoreline.

The many backwaters in the area of Kochi are dotted with many small and mid-sized islands. An organized boat ride is something I will definitely do the next time I visit the area.

Jumping Jack

Jack Middelburg began his racing career in 1974, and was crowned Dutch Champion in 1977 and 1978 in the 350 cm3, 500 cm3 and 750 cm3 series. Because of his rough riding style, he was nicknamed “Jumping Jack”, after the Rolling Stones song “Jumping Jack Flash”.
Together with Wil Hartog and Boet van Dulmen, he was part of a contingent of Dutch riders who competed at the highest levels of Grand Prix racing in the late 1970s.

Middelburg never earned a factory-sponsored race bike, yet managed to post some impressive results.

In 1980 he had a heroic and very popular win at Dutch TT in Assen (riding his motorcycle despite a broken leg), scoring the first victory for a private Yamaha in the 500 cm3 category. In 1981 he pulled off an unexpected upset when he defeated the defending world champion, Kenny Roberts at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Taking part in the 500 cm3 race of the 1984 Netherlands National Championship at Tolbert, Middelburg fell at high speed during 2nd lap in the faster bend of the 2,574 kms street circuit,; he hit a lamp post, and was run over by competitors .

Middelburg was transferred to the Neuro-surgical University Clinic of Groningen, Netherlands but succumbed to his head injuries two days later. In the accident Jack had lost his helmet, this may have been a factor in the death of the rider.

De droite à gauche

Zakaria Ramhani, a talented contemporary artist from Tangiers in Morocco. Still only 25, Ramhani is a unique Middle Eastern artist, who uses Arabic calligraphy to create dramatic faces. In the beginning of his carreer he was an Artist at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. When he returned home to Tangiers after spending eight months living in France, he began writing on the canvas rather than painting on it.
“ He no longer painted pictures - he wrote portraits with the materials instead.”
Originality can be difficult to achieve when surrounded by centuries of inspirational art. From a blank canvas Ramhani works with simple, but colorful modern writing to create a vibrant visual art form, from which a face emerges to create a portrait.
“The Arabic language is written from the right to the left, hence the title of his exhibitions.

10,000 camels

More than ten thousand camels took part in the Abu Dhabi’s Mazayin Dhafra Camel Festival 2008, which was held from April 2nd to the 10th.

The event, is the biggest and most comprehensive camel festival in the whole of the Arab Gulf region as more than 10000 camels participate. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait took part in the festival.

The event, took place in Zayed City in the Western Province. The participating camels were required to be of a purebred origin and free of any contagious disease or serious defects.

Map of the mind

He has travelled the world drawing and painting cities entirely from memory! His name is Stephen Wiltshire a British artist who is severely autistic. While Wiltshire relays what he has seen on the canvas he listens to 70s soul and 90’s R’n'B music.

Wiltshire only needs a short helicopter ride over a city in order to memorize the details and start his drawing. Stephen known as a ’savant’ (a man trapped in his own private world) has an exceptional talent and drawn incredible sights including New York, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Venice, Tokyo and Rome.