This was an awesome edition of National Geographic! It had a little bit of everything I enjoy in my magazines.
The "Black Pharaohs" article was great! New information regarding Egypt's "Nubian" 25th Dynasty who ruled for the Two Lands for seventy-five years has been uncovered. These black invaders came from the South and were part of a Southern-Nile civilization that deviated from the stereotypical Egyptian culture. The ancient Nubians adopted the Egyptian language, burial, and pantheon of gods. This copycat society was even complete with its own Sudanese-style pyramids (as a random fact, present-day Sudan actually has more pyramids than Egypt)! As National Geographic put it, these were the first people struck by "Egyptomania".
"Mexico's Other Border" didn't particularly interest me, but I got the jist of it from skimming it. Mixed among the illegal immigrants crossing the American-Mexican is a portion Guatemalans who work there way up through Central America in an attempt to reach the States.
I got the cute bird picture from the "Philippine Eagles" article. This article was the typical case of a disappearing species due to deforestation and human development in their habitat. One of the largest raptors in the world, they only produce one youngling every other year, which combined with the loss of their homes creates an obvious issue.
"Drying of the West" was an upsetting and somewhat disturbing article that prophesied the end of the American West by drought. According to the article, the 20th Century was the wettest century in the last two milleniums; it's close marks the beginning of the end for our desert society.
The "Outsiders in Afghanistan" article talked about the Hazara people of the Middle East who are set apart by geography, beliefs, and are oppressed by the Taliban. This is the classic story of a suffering culture under subjugation of terrorist organizations.
The last article, "On the Poet's Trail" was a historical trek along the 1,200 mile path of Japan's haiku master, Basho. He is described in the piece as "... a quirky philosopher tour-guide who pretty much leaves readers alone to experience traveling in those remotre places for themselves." This article was definitely different from any other I've read in this magazine, but still good!
3 comments:
i couldn't decide on whether to vote that i liked the old or new better... i think changing the colors definitely gives the journal a fresher look but i think i liked the old colors better. not that i don't lik the patrioticness of the new! :)
I thought the same thing. I like how it's new and all, but green's still my favorite color! I like the whole patriotic theme though, too.
ditto to you both.
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