Thursday, March 13, 2008

Canadian Content

When you are far from home, national symbols or icons you didn't think about that often take on new meaning.

A few weeks ago, we took a trip into the Western Desert. Golden sand, blue sky and spectacular mountain ranges. Inspired by the vast and majestic space, my husband and our friend Dwight who was visiting from Toronto decided to mark our travels with a quintessentially Canadian symbol.

They decided to build an Inukshuk.

I was sitting comfortably on a rock nearby, sipping Bedouin tea and documenting "The Making of." Take a look:
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All photos copyright Sufia Lodhi 2008
Wikipedia: "An inuksuk (plural inuksuit) is a stone landmark used as a milestone or directional marker by the Inuit of the Canadian Arctic...The Arctic Circle, dominated by permafrost, has few natural landmarks and thus the inuksuk was central to navigation across the barren tundra....

It is a symbol with deep roots in the Inuit culture, a directional marker that signifies safety, hope and friendship."

3 comments:

Yasir Khan said...

I'm sure you meant to title this Canadian KHANtent. Please fix it.

Anonymous said...

what beautiful photos. every photo you show of the egyptian landscape is so dramatic. i'm sure a passing traveller appreciated yasir's gesture of hope and friendship - so Canadian!

Anonymous said...

The arctic as a desert so what a fantastic sight to see in the middle of another desert!

I agree with Amreen, a lovely gesture of hope & friendship.