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SOLTIMES JULY 2013
23
Venice in Italy exists as a city living over floating lagoon waters, and in Spain, Setenil De Las Bodegas is the city living under mountainous rock formations. In the province of Cadiz, about 18 kilometres away from Ronda lies this exquisitely unusual little town of Setenil De Las Bodegas. Just over three thousand people reside here, and the quaint charm and natural beauty of the landscape that surround this town, is surprisingly not overly popularized amongst sphere of Spanish tourism. The most striking feature of Setenil De Las Bodegas is the way the surrounding rock formations of the area engulf parts of the buildings and houses within it. Signature white-washed walls and red roofs - a recurring vision in Andalusia – fill the town that is, as travel writer Messy Nessy Chic describes is “literally living under a rock.” As visitors walk along the narrow village streets they amazed to see such a rare
habitation. The town began as a network of caves and cliffs, until much of its traditional houses were then developed and built into the mountainous rock that overhang their very structure. This creates an earth-made shelter for residents living
Candice Parsons is a writer and avid Spain and Spanish culture lover from Melbourne, Australia. ‘Like’ my Facebook page: www.facebook. com/pandemicrhapsody and follow me on Twitter @MiLlamoCandi
below. Setenil derived its name from the Latin term ‘septem nihil’, meaning ‘seven times no’. The story behind this dates back to the Christian reconquest, in which Christian Kings took seven tries till they finally claimed the territory from the Moorish rulers, who had occupied the Iberian Peninsula since 711. Modern Setenil De Las Bodegas began in 1484, although it is believed that the region has been settled since prehistoric times. Many of the caves still bear
ancient rock paintings that remain from the many cultures that have occupied this town over time. Like many of the other towns in Andalusia, Setenil De Las Bodegas is also famous for its cuisine and local produce. Both visitors and locals enjoy its specialty produced chacinas (pork-sausages), pastries and olive oil.
Surfer knocked off board by whale
An Australian surfer is recovering - after a 50ft humpback whale knocked him off his board at Sydney’s Bondi Beach. The whale was frolicking in the water among surfers when it got too close to Bishan Rajapakse, 38, and knocked him off his board. Dr Rajapakse lost consciousness for about 10 seconds and other surfers managed to help him back to the beach. He was treated by paramedics and lifeguards before being taken to St Vincent’s Hospital in a stable condition. Despite his injuries, Dr Rajapakse said his encounter with the whale was a “very beautiful experience”. “I’ve seen a few whales in Bondi before, just walking, but this was the biggest I’ve seen and we were so close to it,” he said.
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Stop frying eggs on the pause for thought road, tourists told Tourists in America’s Death Valley are being asked to stop frying eggs on the road. Sweltering at the best of times and currently experiencing a heatwave over 50 degrees, visitors to the area which straddles Nevada and California are leaving behind a mess of runny eggs, cartons and shells as they look for a photo opportunity. The Huffington Post reports that exasperated officials used the park’s Facebook page to urge visitors to keep their experiments in a proper pan, writing “the Death Valley NP maintenance crew has been busy cleaning up eggs cracked directly on the sidewalk, including egg cartons and shells strewn across the parking lot.”
http://lh3.ggpht.com/-38Dz2Df1MMA/UFsyydOelcI/AAAAAAAAdZA/gPBHeYTQh7A/Setenil-de-Las-Bodegas-3%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800
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I guess we all tend to subconsciously compare ourselves with others, setting our behavioural standards at a level where we think we’d pass, whilst those around may fail. But St Paul, in his letter written in the first Century AD to Christians living in Galatia, prescribed standards that depressingly few of us could hope to attain, as he lists a variety of behaviours, apparently common in the World of his time, that his readers were urged to avoid. And reading it today, that list, compiled some 2000 years ago, can seem amazingly topical, up-todate and relevant to our own culture as he warns against “adultery, fornication, debauchery, crudity, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, quarrelling, jealousy, anger, conflict, divisiveness, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness and orgies”. An interesting mix. And difficult to explain the order in which they are listed. Few would be too surprised at Paul’s disapproval of adultery, fornication, debauchery, idolatry, drunkenness or orgies, which seem fairly normal targets for Church criticism, but strange perhaps that these are treated with the same level of censure as murder, which most would consider to be far worse. And it may seem stranger still that such apparently minor failings as quarrelling, jealousy, anger, conflict, divisiveness and envy (faults we probably all share) are similarly lumped together with all the rest, with no suggestion that they are considered any less serious. But in God’s sight there really is no difference. Any imperfection, however minor we may consider it, is still a failure to live up to His standard, so there’s no place for complacency or judging others. I need to keep checking myself and just myself against these absolute standards and recognising that my anger at the stupidity of others; my envy of all those abilities and possessions others have; my bitter arguments or attempts to persuade folk to take my side in a disagreement, all miss that mark just as much as someone who murders, commits adultery or practices witchcraft. We’re all just as bad in God’s eyes and equally in need of a saviour. Further information about the Anglican Church and details of forthcoming events may be seen on the web site www. mojacarchurch.org . Duncan Burr is Licensed Lay Reader for the Anglican Chaplaincy of Costa Almeria and Costa Cálida and may be contacted at djburr@avired.com
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