DENMARK...LAND OF KINGS AND FAIRY TALES

Denmark. One of Europe's oldest civilized countries...and one of the smallest, with an area just a little larger than Rhode Island. Shakespeare immortalized it in his play Hamlet. Hans Christian Andersen, a cobbler from Odense, did the same with his fairy tales...which earned him more money than his shoes ever did...that he used to entertain the children of his hometown and infuriate the schoolmaster. Vikings ruled this land between the 8th and 12th centuries and ran rampant until the monarchy offered them amnesty in exchange for loyalty to the crown.


This is Copenhagen...a beautiful city called the "Venice of the North" because of it expansive waterways. When Andersen became famous, the king gave him a house as a gift for becoming the royal storyteller. Andersen would visit the king when summoned and lull his children to sleep with his tales. One of the Royal Ballet's most beautiful ballerinas commissioned him to write a scenario for her which was set to music by the country's leading composer of the day.





Copenhagen hosts many beautiful restaurants and nightclubs. Among them...Tivoli and its beautiful gardens. To look at it from the outside, one would think it more of a museum than a dinner theatre. People from all over the world come here just to watch the chefs prepare dinners a la Benihana...piping hot at the table. What a dinner theatre-goer would call "dinner and a show". The real show, however, are the singers and dancers who appear every night, as well as the orchestra who performs for those who wish to dance after they dine. It's almost like Laura Ingersoll sang in the most famous science fiction to come out of Denmark...1961's "Reptilicus"...


Tivoli night...oh, what a sight! All Copenhagen is dancing!
Tivoli sway...half of the day, all of the city's romancing!





One of the most beautiful buildings in the entire country...the palace of Denmark's queen and prince consort. Each afternoon, the queen opens the palace for two hours to tourists, personally welcoming visitors (when available) and relating the country's diverse history over the past 3,500 years. The Romans attempted to conquer it...but to no avail. The ancient Danes proved to be too much of a match for the Romans, sending many of the soldiers back to their generals without their heads. When the queen is not available to welcome guests due to royal commitments, her children welcome guests and lead tours through the expansive palace, pointing out the portraits of former rulers, including the queen's late father, King Frederik IX. The palace stands six stories tall and boasts forty rooms to house royal guests...such as the queen's cousin from England, Elizabeth II, who once exclaimed that the Danish palace puts Buckingham to shame.










Hans Christian Andersen...the most famous writer and storyteller of 19th century Denmark. Born in Odense, Andersen, a cobbler by trade, used to dream up fanciful tales with which he entertained the town's children, who sometimes would arrive late for school just to listen to his wonderful tales of kings and queens, princes and princesses, beggars and thieves, witches and warlocks and many others.


Many of his tales have been transcribed into over a hundred languages and read to children at bedtime. Andersen was the creator of such fairy tale characters as Thumbelina, The Ugly Duckling and The Shoemaker and the Elves. But, perhaps, his most loving and enduring tale surrounded...









...this beautiful lady of the sea, The Little Mermaid. The tale told of the youngest daughter of the sea-king who fell in love with a human prince and longed to be human and be his wife. Unlike the Disney movie of the same name, the actual tale had an unhappy ending. In exchange for becoming a human, Helga (Ursula in the movie), a sea-witch, turned the mermaid into a human. The price for her services: the mermaid had to give the witch her voice. During the next three days, the mermaid had to make the prince fall in love with her and seal the love with a kiss. If she failed to do so, she would not only lose her voice for all eternity but become sea foam and roam the top of the sea until the end of time. When it seemed apparent that she may succeed before the sun set on the third day, the witch transformed herself into the mermaid's likeness and lulled the prince away. After the mermaid became sea foam, the prince threw himself into the sea. His sacrifice united him with the mermaid for eternity...and caused the death of the witch, who was torn apart by the fish in the sea.


To truly experience the beauty of Denmark, one must travel there. You cannot truly admire it by looking at pictures and movies filmed there (i.e.: Reptilicus, Journey to the Seventh Planet (which actually doesn't show much of the country) and other movies). Travelogs help...but only to an extent. You have to go there personally to really enjoy it.

PERU...THE SECRET OF THE INCAS

Welcome to Peru...land of the Incas.

Like their Mexican coutnerparts, the Aztecs, these proud people were all but destroyed by Spanish conquistadors who wanted their lands and their treasures and to convert them from what the king of Spain called barbarism. But in the end, all the conquistadors got were people who were more defiant and proud. True, they forsakened their ancient gods for Christianity...but they still adhere to ancient rituals, such as offering food to Inti, the god of the sun.

This example of Incan art shows roughly 1,000 years of Incan folklore...the Incan sun-god raising his hands to accept his sister, who flies to him as a hawk...the temples which were erected to worship the gods but which reflected those of Egypt...and two of Peru's most treasures creatures, the leopard and condor, the largest of all living birds.

Macchu Picchu...an ancient city nestled, like the fictional Shangri-La, in a valley surrounded by tall mountains. It was from this city that Atahualpa ruled his people and worshipped the sun-god. Many of the modern Inca people make pilgrimages to this ruined city at which archaeologists from every corner of the world still come to unearth ancient secrets and treasures. It was here that the world renowned Rosetta Stone was found in the late 18th century. That treasure now resides in the museum at the University of Cuzco under extreme heavy guard. The value of the Rosetta Stone is inestimable...for you cannot put a price on ancient history.

I had the pleasure of visiting Macchu Picchu in the summer of 1988 while on a global modeling junket. We were permitted to visit the interiors of all the temples and see the mummies of high priests and priestesses, who are still honored today as though they were still alive. Trays of food and fruit are offered every day at sunset, a ritual which is called taita. The offering is always gone by dawn...believed by natives to have been taken to heaven by Inti's sister to assure a long and prosperous existence to the people.

The mysterious plains of Nazca.

From the ground, they appear to be no more than barren stretches of land. But from the air...one can see thousands of designs etched deep into the ground. It is believed that the ancient Incas worshipped gods that visited them often, taking some of their women to bear "holy" children. The Incas say that Inti himself was one of these ancient visitors...one who held the power of life and death in his bare hands. When Inti first arrived, he came in a brilliant ball of light...perhaps what scientists today call a UFO. When Inti and the minor gods departed, the ancient Incas etched these designs...in the form of monkeys, spiders, birds, etc....to honor them and stand as a eternal landing sight when, and if, the gods decide to visit them again.

A monstrous trident is cut deep into the side of a mountain near the plains, pointing in the direction of the ancient capital city of Cuzco. Today, the city is the main focal point for tourists to meet and take trips by land and air to view the "drawings in the earth".

Museums all over Peru house ancient artifacts found in the ancient temples for all the world to see. This statue of a mamakuna is at the University of Cuzco. Though carved of stone and partially broken, it is still considered to be priceless.

Another treasure which is lodged at the University of Cuzco and under 24-hour armed guard is a round tablet called the Sunburst. This stone artifact is said to weigh between twenty and thirty pounds and holds 100 pure diamonds, 200 rubies and emeralds and hundreds of other valuable gems, making its value inestimable.

Last, but not least...one of Peru's most beautiful treasures.

Yma Sumac, the youngest daughter of a Peruvian city dweller and a Quechuan woman, was considered to have the most beautiful voice ever heard. Born in the village of Ichocan in 1922, she was discovered by a government official singing like birds and gurgling like rolling water and brought to the attention of other ministers in Lima who, upon hearing her six octave range, decided to display her natural talents to the world. One of these ministers, Moises Vivanco, fell in love with the voice...and, ultimately, with the woman herself, marrying her in 1942. Sumac toured the United States in the 50s, settling down permanently in Los Angeles, a city as diverse as Lima. Sumac appeared on Broadway and in films, making countless recordings which are still heard today. Sadly, Sumac succumbed to cancer in November 2008 at the age of 86, leaving behind her legacy for future generations to enjoy.

Note: To truly appreciate the singing voice and acting talent of Yma Sumac, visit youtube.com and type in "Yma Sumac". You will see and hear her performing. To view her acting, type in "Secret of the Incas" and/or "Omar Khayyam (1957)".

RUSSIA...LAND OF THE TSARS

Since the beginning of time, Russia had been ruled by an emperor, or tsar. The longest ruling family were the Romanovs, who ruled Russia from 1613 until it was overthrown by the Bolsheviks in 1917, ending in the bloody assassinations of Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, their daughters Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia and their son, the hemophiliac prince Alexis. Many other family members and loyal servants were murdered as well...such as Nicholas's younger brother Michael, who was murdered in Perm several weeks earlier. One of Alexandra's sisters, who married a Romanov cousin, was also murdered, her body dumped down a dry well. The Bolsheviks were eventually overthrown by the Communists in 1940, who ruled Russia (then the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or U.S.S.R.) until the downfall of Communism in 1989. The remains of the last royal family were removed from the well where they were dumped in Ekaterinburg and re-interred with ceremonial honors in 1996. Only two bodies remained unaccounted for: those of the Tsarevitch Alexis and the Grand Duchess Anastasia, who, for many years, was the subject of controversy. A woman, suffering from amnesia, was discovered on a bridge in Berlin in 1926 and touted as Anastasia, even to the point of meeting the Dowager Empress Marie in Paris. When she was nervous, the woman began coughing erratically...something which the Dowager Empress knew Anastasia to do. Another thing that tied in to the similarity with the Grand Duchess was the memory of spilling some peppermint-scented linament on a carpet in the nursery. The Dowager Empress was known to use linament to offset chronic arthritis in her hands...one that smelled of peppermint. Immediately, the Dowager Empress brought forth a drawing, supposedly of one of the older Grand Duchesses seated on a settee. The woman said that she remembered somebody saying it looked like a pig on a horse...exactly what Grand Duchess Olga said she looked like in the drawing. When the woman suddenly disappeared in 1928, the Dowager Empress refused to reveal her finding up until the day she died ten years later. The woman, known as Anna Anderson, married an American after being widowed in 1940, eventually dying in 1986 at the age of 84. It was never discovered whether she was, or was not, the Grand Duchess Anastasia.

The Peterhof Palace. Ever since the 16th century, this beautiful structure had been the summer palace of the royal family. Every child in the royal family was born within its walls. When Anna Anderson was interviewed before meeting the Dowager Empress Marie, she was asked where she was born. Her reply: the Peterhof Palace, something known only to the members of the royal family. It is as resplendent today as it was in 1613, with its tiled floors and patios and its many fountains. At the end of the man-made canal stood the pier where the royal yacht, Standart, was once anchored. Since the Revolution, the yacht had since been dismantled, its many parts used for housing communes. Its gold fixtures had been melted down and minted into coins with the impressions of Lenin. Only the gold statues at the Peterhof Palace remain untouched. Today, the palace serves as a museum of days gone by.

The most famous theatre in Russia...the Bolshoi, home of the world-renowned Bolshoi Ballet. During the last decades of the Tsars, the royal family used to attend the opening nights of ballets and operas at the Bolshoi, as well as the Maryinsky. Ballets and operas by Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Moussourgsky, Borodin and others. Being the sole critics of the time, the attending public knew whether the ballets and operas were either successes or failures when the royal family either rose and left...or remained seated. Many famous ballerinas starred here...Anna Pavlova, Tamara Toumanova, Natalia Riabouchinska, Alexandra Danilova, and many others. One of the most famous ballerinas of the Tsarist era was Mathilde Kchessinska, rumored to be the mistress of Nicholas II. She defected from Russia prior to the Revolution, joining the Ballets Russe de Monte Carlo in France. She married the former Grand Duke Paul in 1920, was widowed in 1956 and remained in Paris until she died in 1971 at the age of 99. After retiring from dancing, she taught ballet at the Ballet Russe school until as late as 1967.

Today, the theatre still hosts many of the modern ballets and operas from around the world.

The Hermitage is one of the most beautiful buildings from the Tsarist era still standing today. Having been restored to its original luster, The Hermitage serves today as a college. Notice the young lady leaning against the statue. She is one of the attending students of The Hermitage, as are many of the other people in the picture.

St. Basil's Cathedral...undeniably the most recognized symbol of the Russian Orthodox Church. Built in the mid-17th century, it is one of the most beautiful hand-built structures still existing in Russia.

And, if you think it is a sight to behold during the day, you should see it totally lit up at night. It is a real spectacle...almost outshining Niagara Falls at night.

St. Basil's Cathedral is so huge in its appointments and so colorful that it can be seen by the naked eye as far as 60 miles away from Moscow on a clear day.

I've visited Russia several times since becoming a model at the age of 15. Being Russian-American myself, I had seen to it that my five children were given Russian names. My eldest daughter is named after two of the last Grand Duchesses...Anastasia and Marie. My eldest son's middle name is the name of the last crown prince...Alexis. My twins are named after the husband and wife who ruled Russia together and alone...Peter and Catherine. My youngest son's middle name is the name of the father of the last Romanov tsar...Alexander. My own name, Sasha, is a derivative, or a nickname, of Alexander.

CHINA...LAND OF TEN THOUSAND CENTURIES

China...a country just as mysterious as Japan and equally rich in history.

The Great Wall of China, built in the Qin Dynasty, was erected by the hands of over 75 million slaves and soldiers working together to create an impenetrable border against the Mongol hordes of the north. The walk at the top is thirty feet wide. Every several hundred feet stands a fort which had been home to the soldiers who fought for their land. One fact about this immense piece of human technology: it is the only man-made object which can be seen from outer space!

The Imperial Palace in the center of what was once called The Forbidden City. The walled city received its notorious name due to the fact that only the empress lived within, served by chattles (female servants) and eunuchs who waited on her hand and foot. The feet of the empress never touched the floor because it was considered ungodly for her to appear before the emperor with soiled feet. She was lifted by castrated male servants and placed within a sedan chair, which was then carried out from her palace, across the square, out of the wall which encircled the palace and brought to the palace of the emperor. This ceremony was performed solely at times of conception and anniversaries, both of which were elaborately celebrated with music, singing...and fireworks.

The Beijing Opera. Everybody in the outside world believes that the artists of China perform only Chinese works. But, this is not true. The Beijing Opera, as well as its ballet and circus, performs works by world famous composers as Tchaikovsky, Verdi and Bizet. But, the most famous, and favorite, opera performed constantly in Beijing is Puccini's Turandot (pictured), which tells the story of a Chinese princess who is the reincarnation of another princess murdered 5,000 years earlier. Every suitor is given three questions which he must answer. If he answers correctly, the princess will become his bride. If not...his head joins the countless others on stakes in the courtyard. An unknown prince, entranced by her beauty, demands to be put to the test against the wishes of his father, a deposed king, and his servant-girl, Liu. The emperor himself wishes the prince to quit his endeavor. But the prince is adamant and demands to be put to the test. The prince quickly answers the first two questions, which raises applause and cheers from the people who wish to put an end to the princess's bloodshed. When he becomes stumped by the third question, the princess begins to gloat over her apparent victory...a victory lost when the correct answer comes to the prince. The princess cries out that she will never marry the prince. But, the emperor reminds her that his oath is sacred and that his daughter must marry the man who had defeated her. The prince decides to take some pressure off of the princess's shoulder...he will die for her only if she learns his name by the next sunrise. She does everything within her power to force the people of the town to discover his name...even going as far as trying to pry the name from the lips of his father and Liu. The faithful servant-girl, however, takes a dagger from one of the soldiers and kills herself. As the soldiers carry the girl's body offstage, followed by the deposed king, the prince tells the princess that he will melt her cold heart and kisses her. Having felt the kiss of a man, the princess starts to feel warmth for the first time in her life. Just short of dawn, the prince tells the princess his name. When the court is assembled, she tells her father that she now knows the prince's name...and his name is Love. As she and the prince embrace, there are cheers from the people and the emperor, who is happy to die now in the knowledge that all the bloodshed is ended.

China is so huge that it has over thirty different dialects, of which I speak four...Mandarin, Cantonese (the most famous and widely used dialect...even in Chinese towns in the United States), Shanxi (which is used mainly in Shendong Province) and Min Nan (the language of Nationalist China, the island of Taiwan). Other languages are Tibetan, Lhasan (which my wife speaks as well as the four I do), Hockian, Khitan and many others.

China's main staple is rice, which is served with every other meal like beef and chicken. Maybe that's why many of the Chinese people are slender or muscular.

China is also the one country where there are more people using bicycles than automobiles.

Once one of the poorest countries, China is now an extremely wealthy nation due to its mining and selling of pure silver.

Traveling through this magnificent land, one would never know that this is one of the few countries which still follows Communism....if not for a small red book which everybody, young and old, carries. The book contains the published teachings of Chairman Mao Tse-tung, who not only wanted his people to spread the wealth but to also go forward in progress.

By the way...at the time which I am entering this piece into my blog, I am in Hong Kong, working on a film.

EGYPT...LAND OF THE PHARAOHS

I was 18 when I first visited Egypt. I had read about this ancient land and was always mystified as I read the tales of Caesar and Cleopatra, Marc Antony, Moses and the Hebrew slaves. And, King Tut! But, to really be there was the real kicker! I just couldn't wait to go there and see this land for myself!








I had a real ball when I visited the Sphinx! One of my fellow-models took a picture of me, stretched out on one of the stone paws, my head resting against its mighty shoulder...my hat pulled down over my eyes, pretending to be napping.

No one knows exactly when the Sphinx was created...though scientists believe it may be as old as 10,000 years, which would put it being erected long before any of the civilized dynasties. But, just one look at the head reveals that it may have been at the same time that the Great Pyramid (which stands behind it) was built. Many say that the face may be that of Khufu, or Cheops...one of the mightiest rulers of Egypt. As to the reason why there is no nose...that is easy to explain. Over the centuries, desert salt, acid and wind had slowly eroded the stone so that it appears as it does today.

At its base, between the paws, there is a door which leads inside the huge stone edifice. For a price, a guide will take you deep into the heart of the Sphinx. Let me tell you this...exploring this great stone statue is a real experience of a lifetime!








The Pyramids of Giza...collectively, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Strategically placed so as to align themselves with stars and constellations, the pyramids are a real thrill to visit and explore. And, let me tell you this...it takes days just to explore the interior of one!

The Great Pyramid (the tallest of them all) is one of the most intriguing "buildings" to explore. As you enter (after paying your admittance fee, of course), the guide takes you up and down through stone corridors, into huge chambers filled with sarcophagi, statues and treasure chests. But, be warned! Do not touch anything...though you might be tempted to. It is said that Khufu placed a curse on the pyramid. One may enter...but should he dare to touch anything and disturb the great ruler's eternal sleep, he will never make it out of there alive!!!

The three smaller pyramids, it is said, were erected to resemble the belt of the constellation Orion. And, to see the whole thing from the air, one can only see why. There are eight pyramids in all...all taking the shape of the constellation.




Cairo...a modern city standing amongst ancient wonders. This is not an ancient city. Cairo never existed in the time of Cleopatra. In her day, Alexandria was the center of Egyptian commerce. The city is only about 200 years old...300 at the oldest. Believe it or not, Verdi's great achievement, Aida, made its premiere here...not in Rome or Milan. And, why not? After all, the opera tells the story of an Ethiopian princess enslaved in Egypt and in love with her conqueror, the hero Radames...much to the chagrin of his intended, the Pharaoh's daughter.

One can purchase anything they want in the marketplaces throughout the city...tapestries, statues, perfumes...anything your heart desires! I visited Cairo again in 2000 with my wife. Even she was amazed at the expanse of the country. She still says that she wants to visit there again...next time with our kids.







This is a bust of Hatshepsut, one of Egypt's earliest self-reigning queens. That's right...queens. Hatshepsut felt that nobody would ever take her as a serious ruler...so she dressed herself like a man, wearing the headdress and beard of a Pharaoh, only to remove them in private, as well as the tight bodice to flatten her bosom.

Not too much is preserved today about Hatshepsut...except for one thing. It is rumored that Hatshepsut was responsible for creating the first zoo. On her many hunts, Hatshepsut ordered animals to be netted and caged rather than killed. She, herself, tended to the animals' care, hand-feeding them and training them to perform tricks to entertain her staff and other nobles.

Another thing that modern woman has to thank Hatshepsut for...makeup. That was the only way ancient nobles knew that Hatshepsut was not a man...the fact that she wore eye makeup (which caught on with all the later Pharaohs) and lip color. She dabbled in creating all of the makeup herself and would allow no one to apply it to her face.

No one knows exactly where Hatshepsut's tomb is. All that is known about her was found in writings of later rulers. But, she is still considered one of the greatest Pharaohs of the ancient world.






All throughout the pyramids and other tombs, one cannot help but notice all of the ancient hieroglyphs which are carved into the walls, telling the tales of the Pharaohs whose bodies were interred within. Although I do speak and read Farsi, I'm afraid that only an experienced Egyptologist can translate what is carved here. The ability to translate hieroglyphs is an art which takes decades to achieve...and only the finest Egyptologists can do that! Boy, what a story this tablet could tell!






"Do not disturb our rest...lest you be consumed in iniquity!"

That seems to be what these mummies are saying. Preparing the dead for the afterlife is an art known only to a chosen few. It is said that the artist first sticks a thin poker up the nostrils of the deceased, twisting and turning it until it wraps the entire brain around it. Then, the poker is pulled out, taking the brain along with it. The brain is then placed into a coptic jar and sealed. The same is done with all of the other bodily organs. Salt is added to the jars to preserve the organs. Then, the body itself is covered with salt and left, undisturbed, for as long as six months. This is done to dry out the skin and muscles and to give the body that ancient, mummified look. After seeing how its done, I'm glad I chose cremation as a way for my bodily disposition!










Last, but not least, is the loveliest of all Egyptian queens...Cleopatra. This woman surpassed Helen of Troy when it came to beauty and seduction. Helen may have had the face that launched a thousand ships, getting 50,000 Greeks to fight the Trojans to return her to Greece...but Cleopatra had the face (and the brains) to seduce not only an emperor but his entire realm as well.

It is rumored that when she was first brought in to Julius Caesar, she was wrapped up in a carpet...which Caesar ordered turned around in order to force her to be tumbled out before the Roman general.
Besides having beauty on her side, Cleopatra was a brilliant strategist and linguist. She spoke ten languages fluently (I got her beat at that...I speak over thirty!) and planned battles to be fought on land as well as water...and she won almost all of them.

When she made her grand entrance in Rome in 46 B.C., with her son Caesarion (by Caesar) at her side, all Romans, young and old, cheered and applauded as her seven-ton Sphinx, pulled by 1,000 slaves, entered the city. They cheered again when she bowed to Caesar. She had won the hearts of all Rome.

She remained in Rome until March 16, 44 B.C., one day after Caesar's assassination, being secreted out of the city and onto her barge for her return to Egypt. Caesar, before his death, had failed to grant Caesarion the right of succession upon his death. The succession then fell to his nephew, Octavian, who then took the title Gaius Julius Augustus Caesar. He quickly became Cleopatra's enemy when Marc Antony chose to remain with her in Egypt. This proved to be the end for Antony and Cleopatra, for Octavian led the Romans into war, killing the one person who could challenge him for the Roman Empire. Rather than be taken alive and led through the streets of Rome as slaves, Antony and Cleopatra chose to end their own lives...he by his own sword, she by two bites of an asp.

Today, Cleopatra's mystique still exhumes in almost all women...including my wife.

NORWAY...LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN

Norway...land of the midnight sun...land of Ibsen and Grieg...land of wild reindeer. But, mostly...land of great fjords.

I had visited Norway back in 1988, when I was on a round-the-world modeling junket for GQ Magazine. I had learned to speak fluent Norwegian, as well as Swedish, Finnish, Danish and Icelandic...all related but minutely different...when I was attending the Nassau County School for Boys. Many of the other teenage male models were shocked when I placed a dinner order at a restaurant in Norwegian...but not Petter Nordstrom, who came from Konigsberg, a suburb of Oslo.

In the middle of summer, one of the most shocking sights (if one is not used to it) is seeing the sun just skimming the sky as it "sets" in the west then skirts the horizon to "rise" in the east. This is because the sun never sets during the spring and summer. Also, it never rises during the fall and winter...henceforth, Norway goes through six months of daylight and six months of night.

One of the most beautiful sights is this fjord and lake...one of hundreds throughout Norway. The mountains are always topped with snow and mostly unclimbable. To attempt it without the proper equipment means certain death to even an experienced climber.

The water in Norway is untouched by the outside world, clear and blue. No wonder when Edvard Grieg and Henrik Ibsen left Norway for even so little as one week, they could not wait to return. I'm hoping that, someday, I can return here.

For those who know Norwegian, attending church on Sunday morning is no different than attending it anywhere else in the world. This stave church...so named because it is built with staves of pine from below the ground to the steeple...is one of thousands throughout the countryside. Synagogues can also be seen in Norway, though the Jewish religion is not as common here as it is in other countries in Europe.

Only the most daring person in the world would ever attempt what this young woman is doing. The rock she is standing on is caught between two cliffs almost two miles above the river which empties into the lake seen below it.

I may be daring enough to perform actual martial arts in films or on TV...but I'm no fool!

JAPAN...COUNTRY OF MYSTERY

Japan...land of anime, geisha and Godzilla!

It is also one of the most populated countries in the world, with apartments so small that a four-bedroom apartment is as big as a living room in a four-bedroom American home. And yet, it's still very comfortable.

Tokyo, the capital, is one of the most beautiful and colorful cities in the Far East. As a matter of fact, the colorful lights brighten the streets so brilliantly that it's a wonder that anybody can get to sleep. But, one look at the inside of your hotel room and you can see how easy it is to sleep amidst all the chaos outside. Windows are heavily tinted to dull the bright lights and insulated with the walls to offer unrequited silence so the weary traveler can easily fall asleep.

There are many sights worth visiting in Japan that the common traveler cannot take it all in in one or two weeks. It would take months! For instance, west of Tokyo (and yet visible from the rooftops of hotels) stands Mt. Fuji, its summit crowned with snow all year round. South of this majestic mountain are the cities of Kyoto and Yokohama, both equally as bustling and beautiful as Tokyo.

On the northern island of Hokkaido is the city of Sapporo, one of the most beautiful cities outside of the bustling cities on the island of Kyushu.

Far to the west on the island of Kyushu is the new city of Hiroshima, sight of the most powerful explosion to rock the 20th century. Yes, the city has been completely rebuilt except for the area directly around Ground Zero. There, one building stands as an eternal monument to atomic power. At its base are the names of the 80,000 victims of the first atomic bomb ever to be detonated.

Seventy miles west-southwest is a similar monument, listing the names of the 75,000 victims of the second atomic bomb in the city of Nagasaki. It is said that the blast was so powerful that it was able to be seen in mainland China. British author J. G. Ballard, author of the autobiographical novel "Empire of the Sun", told that he thought the flash was an angel who came to retrieve the soul of a woman who he sat with as she died. Even though the bomb exploded over three hundred miles away, Ballard said he had to shield his eyes from the sun-like brightness.

Today, the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki harbor no ill feelings to the Americans. Many believe the bombings were deserved for politicians eagerness to start a war with "a sleeping giant".









Arthur Golden wrote in his most famous novel, Memoirs of a Geisha..."A story like mine has never been told...for my world is as forbidden as it is fragile. Without its secrets, it cannot survive".

The world of the beautiful geisha is one solely of women. It is comprised of women and one woman...the okasan, or mother...runs the entire okiya (geisha house). Her sole job is to raise young girls to become the most desirable women in the hanamachi (district). The girl starts out her life in the okiya as a worker...a servant. She cleans the clothing of her okei-san (big sister) as well as her room. She also cleans the okiya and, if the okasan believes her to be ready, sends her to a school whose sole purpose is to teach her to dance,










play the shamisen (a Japanese stringed instrument, not unlike the guitar, which is played with a stiff brush instead of the fingers),





and to entertain in a teahouse and be a hostess to a certain man who may someday become her danna, or patron. If she is lucky...and is chosen by a very wealthy man...she can be set for the rest of her life. If he is single, she may eventually become his wife. However, if he is already married, he remains married...yet she remains his mistress and may one day be chosen to become the next okasan of the okiya, a position no less beautiful and no less honorable. Fact: the geisha is not a prostitute. She is an paid escort and, as her title's translation speaks for itself, an artist. All the money she earns goes into the funds of the okiya, to be inherited by whichever geisha is adopted by the okasan as her daughter.

Today, Japan remains just as mysterious as it had been for the past 10,000 years...and its mysteries are there for one and all to solve.