TRAVEL PHOTO THURSDAY
Just to check to see if my own travel fascination follows the path of Making An Exit, the book I discussed yesterday, I dug through my photos to see what mementos I could find. It turns out that I seem to have a lively interest in visiting the dead. Funerary sculptures, memorials, cemeteries and souvenirs from many places around the world.
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- Death statue of children, Belmont Mansion, Nashville
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- Day of the Dead Figures in San Antonio Shop
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- Leaving flowers for her father at San Antonio’s Mission Concepcion
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- President Roosevelt Memorial in Washington D.C.
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- Old Granary Burial Ground, Boston
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- Offerings left at Paul Revere’s tomb, Old Granary Burial Ground, Boston
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- Williamsburg, Virginia graveyard
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- Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, France
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- Celtic crosses at cemetery,Aran Islands, Ireland
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- Kerimeikos Ancient Cemetery in Athens
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- Neolithic tomb, the Burren, Ireland
Grave of Civil War Veteran Henry Butts, Danville, Ohio
And on a personal note, here’s the tomb of my great-grandfather who was a Civil War soldier. A visit to my home state generally includes a visit to the graves of relatives and ancestors. One of the graves with the Civil War designation in that small town Ohio cemetery, contained the remains of a fourteen-year-old boy. My, the amazing things you can discern in a graveyard!
I can think of so many more possibilities. There are the candles lit for souls in churches around the world, the saints preserved in glass coffins and VIPs buried under church floors. I’ve seen an ossuary at Meteora in Greece, cemeteries with the deceased photograph in Spain, ancient carvings representing the dead in both Greece and Italy. In fact, I can’t pass a rural church’s graveyard without stopping for a look. Have you ever thought about how much of your travel is devoted to checking out the culture of death? This photo essay is part of Travel Photo Thursday, and if you want to see more of lively pictures from around the world, go to Budget Traveler’s Sandbox. Here is a great collection of visits to cemeteries from various photographers on Jim O’Donnell’s site. Beautiful photos.
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About the Author:
A freelance writer who loves to travel. When she is not traveling she is reading about travel. When she is not reading or traveling, she is sharing with the readers of A Traveler's Library, recreating her family's past at Ancestors In Aprons. She writes frequently for Reel Life With Jane and other websites. Also co-author of a biography, Quincy Tahoma, The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist. Contact Vera Marie by e-mail.
Vera Marie Badertscher – who has written 684 posts on A Traveler's Library.
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Tags: Athens, Boston, Ireland, Nashville, Travel Photo Thursday, travel photos
Very great post and thank you for sending me the link! As with the cemetaries post on my website, I love these places. I dont find them sad. I find them so fascinating. I think the most interesting thing about this post is the story about your great grandfather and the Civil War. Have you ever written more about him? I’d love to know more.
Thanks!
Jim O’Donnell would like you to read..The Ancient City of Hoi An – Travel to Vietnam
Jim: Thanks for stopping by–and thanks for agreeing with me.
I wrote briefly about Grandfather Butts in an earlier post here. Hope you enjoy the story.
I remember at one point when I was living in Portugal, in the town of Aveiro, my friend and I just part of a day walking through a cemetery.
It was a fascinating to look at how that culture dealt with death in that community. The crypts were interesting to see.
I don’t remember why we actually went there, but we did, and it made an interesting memory.
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Ron Whitaker would like you to read..Physical Fitness Articles for Older Adults – Round-up Friday
There is a beauty to graveyard and tomb shots. I also think the history that is so often connected with also makes them romantic. Your shot of the Boston burial grounds reminds me of the Old Burial ground in downtown Halifax. I wandered around there the last time I was home.
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Nancie would like you to read..Through the Sandbox Lens #51 — Chaing Mia Sunrise
I have a morbid fascination with catacombs! Two of the best I have been to are the Cappuccini Catacombs in Palermo and the Capuchin Crypt in Rome…just incase you’re in either city!
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jenny would like you to read..The Children of Jordan’s Al-Amir Village.
I really like the shots of Paul Revere’s and Kerimeikos. Interesting – we probably all have a collection of cemetery shots and wonder what we’re ever going to do with them!
Kymri would like you to read..The Nothingness of Namibia
p.s.I love the celtic crosses on the Aran Islands in Ireland photograph the most!
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budget jan would like you to read..Tuesday in Townsville Picnic Bay Magnetic Island
I have visited the cemetary in Ingham, N.Q. Ingham is a sugar cane town, settled by Italian immigrants, so the tombs are large and showy, unlike others in Queensland. I heard about an amazing cemetary in Milan, Italy, but we ran out of time and failed to get out to see it. Next time. Apart from that I have looked at the gruesome bone arrangements in a church in Rome and the tombs in Winchester Abbey – oh and Christopher Columbus in Seville’s cathedral. O.K. seems I have seen a few without searching them out.
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budget jan would like you to read..Wwoofing Interview – A Ticket to Budget Travel
I’m right there with you! I visit and take pictures of cemeteries, graves, crypts and more. Very interesting.
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Debbie Beardsley would like you to read..How Gutenberg Changed the World in Mainz
You and I seem to have the same focus this week; just slightly different approaches to the topic of death.
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Jackie Smith would like you to read..Oh, the stories they could tell. . .