Journey Along The Wall

A JOURNEY ALONG THE WALLS 

It really knocked me over with a feather to hear conservatives used the word “progressive” to describe the liberals or the left giving the word a bad connotation. Man has the incredible ability to invent things which were unforeseeable 50, may be even 20 years ago. There is much progress and we continue to advance. I am no longer a child of the rotary dial phone era. The digital age (with the proliferation of mobile devices and other technology) is catapulting the world to a new dimension with effective communications and methods of expressions. Social media has played a significant role in politics and the religious institutions. I am aware that progress has given me this digital phone in my breast pocket, for communications and to take photographs. I hope to make good use of this technical modernity. Perhaps to utilize this smart camera phone to capture and immortalise some “moments” or captivating scenes for sharing with the many generations of children yet unborn. But I realize that shooting photographs of people, not objects, with this camera phone is a different matter. If I take a photo of a primitive person with this camera phone, and show it to him, he would probably think it is a miracle. Whereas if I take the photograph of a superstitious modern man, he may be offended because he thinks a photo of him has taken away a part of his soul!

Much has been written in poems and love stories about the beauty of nature, but little attention is drawn, or credit accorded to the gifted and grand construction by Man. These constructions once destroyed are lost forever! What could be grander than the old churches, castles and ancient walls? This is a journey along the walls. “Wall” comes from Latin word “vallum”. Another Latin word murus” means a defensive stone wall … My perspective and perception of walls is quite limited because we are now living in an open society. I could not really understand why walls were constructed throughout human history. Perhaps strolling along some of the famous walls around the world may shed some light for me on this matter… After all, as I understand, states have been building walls since ancient times. Some were quite effective, others less so. People have been kept in with walls built by Authoritarian Regimes. Is construction of walls morally wrong? At the core also lies a basic question: What can walls realistically accomplish?

Walled cities

Dubrovnik Croatia, with its magnificent walled city, remains one of my favourite cities in the world. With its superb location, overlooking the calm blue waters of the Adriatic, it is undoubtedly one of the world’s most magnificent walled cities. It was once the capital of the wealthy sea-faring Republic of Ragusa (1358-1808) and today it is a UNESCO heritage site. In the 16^th century, at the peak of its golden age, it had one of the largest merchant fleets in the world and the people became extremely rich. The residents were living sophisticated lifestyles and they valued refinements and the arts. I was blessed with two enlightened visits to the limestone-paved streets of the city’s Old Town. I discovered the city’s churches, monasteries and palaces and walked the 1.2 miles (2 kms) of walls which were first built in the 12th century.

Croatia is just a stone throw away from the country of Montenegro. In fact, they share a common border and yet until today I had never set foot on this little-known Balkan state which is now a new member of NATO. Hence, I decided to make a trip; to get a glimpse into the history and culture of Montenegro and to walk the walled city of Kotor. This southeastern European country is the newest member of NATO since the Alliance’s first expansion in 2009 when Croatia joined. The accession of Montenegro to the alliance of NATO took place on 5 June 2017. The arrival of Montenegro as the latest member of NATO appears to be a sign of the Alliance’s continuing relevance at a time of renewed tensions in Europe. To spread a security blanket across Europe’s once fractious south-eastern flank (after the bitterly fought Balkan wars) NATO is thinking of bringing the new democracies of the region into its fold.

Montenegro

On this journey, putting geopolitics aside, I was able to find myself in a situation to be dazzled at a distance by the shimmering Adriatic Sea …and enjoyed the beautiful Bay of Kotor dotted with medieval villages and flanked by towering craggy mountains.    

We visited the UNESCO World Heritage site of Kotor. This old town of Kotor has all the features of a typical Mediterranean town: antique monuments, small shops, narrow streets and picturesque buildings. This is where its history, culture, and tradition are being preserved. The town was settled during Ancient Roman times, when it was known as Acruvium. It was first mentioned in 168 BC. It has been fortified since the early Middle Age, became part of the Venetian Republic in 1420, and except for two short periods of Ottoman rule, it remained under Venice until 1797. It served as a naval base during the first World War. The fortifications of Kotor are integrated historical fortification system (that protected the medieval town of Kotor) containing ramparts, bastions, gates, a castle and ancillary concrete structures. Together with the old town and its natural surroundings the fortifications were inscribed in the list of World Heritage Sites in 1979. These were military architectures of the past; of Illyria, Byzantium, Italian and Austrian. We approached the castle through the picturesque gate from which we had the perfect view…the perfect view of the old city!  I endeavoured (perhaps without success) to picture this place as it was in its supreme glory. It was a perfect day for us to see the hoary castle and its wall with the feeling I was on hallowed and haunted ground.  “To muse, to creep, to halt at will, to gaze” – William Wordsworth

China

Through my globetrotting I have visited many similar fortified villages with walls around the European trail and have always harboured mixed feelings about these ancient fortified cities. It has always appeared to me, from the perspective of early civil engineering, that the construction is highly impressive, and the walls of Kotor are no exception. It is a living monument to the story of Kotor. The wall appears to me to be frozen in time within the contrast of the streets, the relatively new buildings and modern technology of the larger city. To me, walls not only recounts an important aspect of the historical narrative of Kotor and those of many walled cities around the world…I as the modern visitor viewing it from the present perspective, harbour a feeling of incongruity about the aesthetic design and planning of a city being encased in such a solid and forbidding mass. Perhaps I should understand that the incumbents at the material time might have had less desire to quibble over architectural niceties when their priority really was more inclined towards safety and security…Yes, safety and security! The importance of fending off belligerent attackers and invaders would certainly take precedence over artistic necessity. As we strolled along in Kotor, I could not help thinking about the Great Wall of China, an ancient series of walls and fortifications, totaling more than 13,000 miles in length conceived by Emperor Qin Shi Huang (who had proclaimed himself first emperor of China in 221 B.C. and laid an extraordinary underground treasure of an entire army of life-size terra cotta soldiers and horses which have been interred for more than 2,000 years) as a means of preventing incursions from barbarian nomads!

As I strolled along these mighty walls

Securing my steps for fear of a fall

I imagined that I have seen what came before

and realized that I just simply watched them in awe

But never really understood the necessity of them all! – Nicholas Fung

Vatican City

I also recall visiting the wall surrounding the present-day Vatican City. History shows that back in 846, the Saracens raiders looted St. Peter’s Basilica and the Papal Basilica of St. Paul outside the walls. In consequence thereof, Pope Leo IV created the Leonine Wall, surrounding the Vatican Hill. Additional defenses were added in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Jerusalem

The city of Jerusalem, except for brief intermittent periods, has been surrounded by walls since ancient times. In the period known in biblical terms as the era of the Patriarchs, a city named Jebus was built and well fortified on the southern hill of Jerusalem. When Rome destroyed the Second Temple in 70 A.D, only one outer wall remained standing – known as the “Western Wall”. The Western Wall “Hakotel Hama’aravi” is all that remains of the Jerusalem temple where Jesus taught and prayed. This wall formed part of the plaza upon which stood the remodeled temple of Herod the Great. It is an ancient limestone wall in the Old City of Jerusalem – (http://www.freepilgrim.com/the-holy-city-understanding-the-past/). The total height of the Wall from its foundation is estimated at 105 feet (32 m), with the exposed section standing approximately 62 feet (19 m) high. The Wall consists of 45 stone courses, 28 of them above ground and 17 underground. The first seven visible layers are from the Herodian period. This section of wall is built from enormous Meleke limestone block, possibly quarried at Zedekiah’s Cave. During the reign of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent decided to rebuild the Jerusalem city walls fully, partly on the remains of the ancient walls. Being built between and 1541, they are currently the walls that exist and surround the city of Jerusalem.

It is significant to note that at the time of my visit to the walled city of Kotor the United States was politically embroiled on the topic of building a wall in her Southern border. Attorney General Jeff Sessions (referencing the Bible) said God told Nehemiah to build a wall when he got back to Jerusalem. “That’s the first thing he told him to do,” Sessions said. “It wasn’t to keep people in. It was to keep bad people out. I don’t think there is a scriptural basis that justifies any idea that we must have open borders in the world today”. It is important to observe that there were many episodes of opposition to Nehemiah’s mission. The opposition gradually intensified. Opposition came from Sanballat and Tobiah (Nehemiah2:10) to the addition of Geshem, the Samarians, the Arabs,Ammonites, and Ashdodites (Nehemiah 4:7. The opposition climaxed to “all our enemies” in (Nehemiah 6:16). The adversaries were hostile, moving from displeasure (Nehemiah 2:10) through “mockery” and “ridicule” to threats of physical violence (Nehemiah 4:8) and malicious personal attacks (Nehemiah 6:1-9). Despite this opposition, Nehemiah worked tirelessly at his appointed task. He finished building the walls of Jerusalem in a remarkable fifty-two days (Nehemiah 15:1).

During the Second Intifada that began in September 2000 Israel constructed The Israeli Wall as a security measure against terrorism. The Israeli government defended its construction as necessary to stop the wave of violence inside Israel that the uprising had brought with it. The wall (initially presented as a temporary security measure in a time of heightened tensions) has since been rapidly associated with a future political border between Israel and Palestine. The International Court of Justice in the July 9, 2004 advisory opinion advised that the barrier is a violation of international law. The Israeli government says that the barrier has been effective as the number of suicide bombings carried out from the West Bank fell during the relevant periods from 73 to 12. On February 20, 2004 the World Council of Churches (while acknowledging the serious security concerns of Israel asserted that the construction of the barrier on its own territory would not have been a violation of international law) called on member Churches, Ecumenical Councils of Churches, Christian World Communions and specialized ministries of churches to condemn the wall as an act of unlawful annexation. The contentious issue of the wall continues unresolved. Pope Francis on another occasion reiterated that we should be building bridges instead of walls! At this moment in time the partial federal government shutdown in the United States enters its fourth week without a deal to re-open the government, as both sides dig in over the funding for building the Southern wall bordering with Mexico. The semantic appear to be changing the time I write this article but “Steel slats, concrete barriers, or bollard-style fences – they are all the same.” History will record whether the Southern wall of the United States would ever be built.

Berlin 

The construction of the Berlin Wall started in 1961. It separated the country of Germany for a whole generation. On 12 June 1987 President Ronald Reagan, at the Brandenburg Gate, challenged General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Wall as a symbol of increasing freedom in the Eastern Bloc: “We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace. There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev open this gate”. “Mr. Gorbachev tear down this Wall”.  The fall of the Berlin Wall began on the evening of 9 November 1989 while I was in Hamburg for the World Economic Forum.

I have been groping blindly for the insight into the necessary of walls in our lives. I had an enlightening conversation with a structural engineer friend of mine who is no fan of President Donald Trump. I asked him why we needed walls for our houses. He told me that they were to hold up the roofs! Then I asked him why doors were there. He said the doors were only for decoration purpose! A Jewish friend once told me that the Western (Wailing) Wall is no mere historical asset. It is the Jewish root. At the Western Wall, the Jews water the Wall with their tears and melted the stones with their kisses. I am informed that Jerusalem was destroyed and rebuilt nine times. And through it all, one symbol remained intact:

The Western Wall

In establishing the eternal covenant with Abraham, God promised that the Jewish people will never be destroyed (Genesis 17:7). The Western (Wailing) Wall thus became the symbol of both devastation and of hope. The Wall is a symbol of the Jewish people. There have been many efforts to destroy the Wall and yet it remains eternal. Will the Jewish people outlive its enemies and remain eternal? As Mark Twain wrote: “…Other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all… All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?” God warned the people of Israel not to listen to false voices (Jeremiah 29:8-9). The same is true for all of us. All these false voices can be deafening. What is the way I can navigate the cacophony of opinions which come barreling at me? I believe that knowing our Creator and His voice, we can hear Him above the noise and feel in His guidance through the Holy Spirit…

Just a thought:

Do physical walls really matter? Some say walls are premedieval but so are wheels. Perhaps walls, it is arguable, may not be in every country’s best interests. I realize perhaps there is somewhere we all can agree on the necessity of walls i.e. the invisible walls: in cyberspace.

“Every wall is a door.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“There are no constrains on the human mind. No walls around the human spirit. No barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect” – Ronald Reagan