In
gardens, beauty is a by-product. The main business is sex and
death.
Sam
Llewelyn
With
this story I return to the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World in Second Life (SL). My last
trip
brought me to the Great
Pyramid of Giza. On
this leg of my journey I go the Hanging
Gardens of Babylon.
For the late arrivals, my
rationale for this series about the Wonders of the Ancient World is that I’ve
been blogging about a variety of topics in Second Life (SL) lately. Fashion, steampunk, sex, pirates,
and friendship to
name but a few. (I’m nothing if not
eclectic.) However, I feel I’ve gotten
away from my roots. My
original intention was to travel across the grid to see new places and meet new
people. I think I’m
doing pretty well with the latter but the former maybe not so much.
So, I’ve decided to strike
out and visit more places further afield inworld. One group of places that I’ve always wanted
to visit in Real Life (RL) and have been frustrated mostly by time and to a
certain extent by distance is the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Given that only one of them still stands and
that unfortunately seems to be surrounded by a swirl of political turmoil which
looks like it won’t be ending any time soon, SL seems to be a pretty good bet
to go looking for them. (Significant Other
also likes the idea of me not clocking up any more frequent flyer miles in RL.)
This is the second in what will be a series of seven stories. The ancient world has always had a certain fascination for me. Maybe because I grew up in a country where we seem to have more people who are over one hundred years old than we have buildings and monuments has something to do with it.
Working from Wikipedia’s
list of the Seven Wonders, I was able to locate all seven within SL. This was a good sign and I have my marching
orders. I’m going to visit all of them
for my own sake and to bring the places and stories back to my readers.
I arrive at the Hanging
Gardens in the Babylon
Empire Port inworld. I’m in
awe. My last visit in SL to an Ancient
Wonder had been, let’s say a tad disappointing, more like a poor Las Vegas copy
than an impressive, ancient monument. This
is something altogether different.
What waits me is an a four
tiered ziggurat which
dominates an impressive recreation of ancient Babylon. Pictures do not do any of these scenes
justice. They must be seen.
Each level of the ziggurat recedes
back from the one underneath it. Trees,
plants, and shrubs are placed on each level.
As I ascend from one level to the next, I see impressive views of the
city and the sea coast. (Yes, I know
ancient Babylon was in the middle of a desert!
This is SL! Creator’s license,
whatever you want to call it. Get over
it!)
Attention to detail is
evident everywhere. Textures are varied
and realistic. Wall decorations are very
reminiscent of those found in books and museums. Bas-reliefs adorn the walls. Besides being a work of art, the Gardens are
an ideal place to come and meditate.
The scripters have done a
superb job of recreating what the Hanging Gardens of Babylon could have looked
like. Since we don’t have much in the
historical record and ruins have been scant.
(I hope I don’t ignite an academic firestorm here.)
While I didn’t explore the
surrounding city itself, my brief tour impressed me with both the quality and
quantity of work done. The city walls
are marvelous and remind me of accounts I’d read previously.
My last visit had left me worried
about whether or not I was wasting my time with this series of stories. This visit has reaffirmed my original enthusiasm
for the project. Like other ancient
sites I’ve visited like Alexandria and
Rome where there is considerable attention to period detail and the scale is large,
Babylon and its Hanging Gardens impresses.
I hope that the next five Ancient Wonders meet or exceed these my
expectations.
As I wrote earlier, my
travels across SL have brought me to many different places. Admittedly, many of these journeys were
random. Now, I’m moving along on a
journey with a purpose. (Maybe I’m
growing up? Significant Other may have
another opinion here.) Searching for the
famous sites from antiquity seems like a worthwhile thing to do.
My reasons for this journey still
stand. First, how much of the ancient
world can I find inworld? Second, how
well has the ancient world been reconstructed?
My travels to date have brought me in contact with many residents who
are either building worlds in SL or are living their virtual lives there.
One observation from my
trips so far. When I visited these sims,
no one else was around. Except for local
sounds like birds or running water, there was total silence. I’m beginning to think that in SL there are
either monuments or communities. The two
don’t seem to mix. Maybe I’m wrong but I’ll
keep looking at this as I continue my journey.
The Great Pyramid and the
Hanging Gardens of Babylon are just the first stops on this journey and I have five
more to go. Anyone who would still like to join me for part or all of it,
please reach out to me and we’ll work out the calendars. I’d be glad for the company!
I’ve included links to
several pictures of the Hanging Gardens that I took while there. But check the site out for yourself. Pictures, especially when I’m the
photographer, are never as good as being there.
As always, I’m grateful to
all for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was
passing through their lives.
I welcome feedback from
readers, please either comment on my blog or
e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com
.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
Photo No. 1 View
from Top of Gardens
Photo No. 2 View
from Base of Gardens
Photo No. 3 Gardens’
Wall Bas-Relief
Photo No. 4 Gardens’
Trees and Shrubs
Photo No. 5 Gardens’
Bird Bath
Photo No. 6 Gardens’
Winged Guardian
Photo No. 7 Another
View of Babylon from Gardens
Photo No. 8 Gardens’
Courtyard and Fountain
Photo No. 9 Coastal
View from Gardens
Photo No. 10 Terrace
View
Photo No. 11 Statues
of Lions
Photo No. 12 Yet
Another View of Babylon from Gardens