Karaite Temple in Trakai

And the stories unfold as always and I am not sure ever very well, and I see the present housing, the historic homes, and the homes in which others prospered, and the homes in which others failed, and I make it home to the US.

Thank you I was born in this time and place with unprecedented freedoms, and educational and employment opportunities as a woman. Travel and History give you perspective to see where you are.

You know I loved Lithuania. Still the history is often harrowing, like most histories, as I walk comfortably through the streets. The negative seems all but erased. It’s not. But decades pass and we focus on the day not the past. Unless you are in the US of course.

The Karaites practiced Judaism in Lithuania from the 15th century. But they were also Turkic, so how does that fit into the popular pigeonholes? Well, it doesn’t, and this is why travel and history are important.

The Karaite museum was closed as I wandered by on the wrong days.
In addition to Karaites, Tartars resided here as well.  And it is said they left the Golden Horde and remained in Lithuania.
So, am I Turkic, Jewish, Tartar, or what? Well, am I still white?

Again, I’m really laughing as I say this in response to popular absurdities.

Both the Tartars and Karaites had connections in cities surrounding the Black Sea and were employed in trading with those in Poland, Prague, Nuremberg, Hamburg and Leipzig.

They were involved in exchanges with Italian and Turkish merchants. Popular items were spices including pepper and nutmeg, furs and Eastern textiles.

 

 Non-Turkic Jews began living in this town in about 1800 trading and mediating goods from Czarist Russia to Baltic seaports. Unfortunately, there were conflicts with the Tartars and Turkic Karaites, and as it seems to go with this minority they were banned from Trakai from 1834 to 1863.

Of course, the socialists hated the Jews despising conscientiousness, high IQ, and work ethic, and they were wiped out by the Nazis. Only 5% of the Lithuanian Jews Survived. When I hear anti-Semitic rhetoric in my own country, even from elected politicians it doesn’t surprise me. It seems to have been the way of the world from the beginning of Jewish history. Maybe if some weren’t stupid lazy bums they wouldn’t hate and envy the prosperity of the Jews.

The Lithuanians love wood carving particularly with religious orientation. So, do you think because you are so extremely brilliant you are not religious and way above it? What is it? Political systems, climate change, veganism, fitness, multiculturalism, humanism, your girlfriend, or what? You have a code of values, delineating good and evil, what people should and should not be doing, and how they must conduct themselves. And of course, if they fail to behave according to your standards they are clearly sinners.

So, since you are the mediator of good and evil in the world, and others transgress your commandments, what do you think should be done with those terrible people? This is a slippery slope that hundreds of millions have died upon in this century. Study Mao, Stalin and the equality boys like Pol Pot.

Furthermore, keep in mind not all faiths require a deity. Study Confucianism, and consider Buddhism. No deities in these systems. And what about the ever-popular Socialism? And what about the fact nobody wants to be socialist or they would be living in communes in their own communities. Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot seemed to think it all had to do with money, and if you didn’t adhere to the money faith you were dead rather quickly.

So, after you get over superiority you can look at the Trakai Church of the visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary without hyperventilating.

In 1409 grand Duke Vytautas built the first Church of this name which was destroyed during a war with Moscow in 1655. It was then reconstructed in Baroque style.

There are legends regarding its existence from the 14th century, and there is more regarding its historicity in 1718. The altar is from the 18th century.

This Cathedral contains one of the oldest known images of the Virgin Mary in Lithuania, and the oldest Lithuanian wall paintings dating from probably the 15th century. I didn’t see any images of Stalin here and he is clearly unpopular in Lithuania. I think he is much more esteemed in America these days.

I loved the silence and inspiration steeped in the romance of history, the importance of faith and what that means for the future. Ah, those pesky minor things like why we exist and what we should be doing. The list of faiths supra is not dispositive.
I loved the silence and inspiration steeped in the romance of history, the importance of faith and what that means for the future. Ah, those pesky minor things like why we exist and what we should be doing. The list of faiths supra is not dispositive.

I lit a candle and prayed for some friends back home and tried to communicate with a lady in the gift shop. I wanted to buy a little Sacred Heart emblem in silver, but as we each tried, we finally did an uncertain exchange.

So now I had my own replica of what I had seen in the museum.  And I love this little heart and what it represents. 

But in a more worldly way, I love bicycles and had to stop to take a photo amidst the art of the centuries. This little item touched me somehow.
I also stopped by the Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the most Blessed Virgin. By the 15th century there were seven Orthodox churches, but by the 18th century none remained. This church was partially destroyed during the first world war.

A statue of St. John Nepomuk mentioned in 1811 is still located in the same place. Nevertheless, during the socialist occupation, a different sort of Guardian was imposed by the government.

The peoples’ this and the peoples’ that, on the people, for the people and all the people is really a big warning of big government wiping out the people. 

So regarding the patron saint of the city, don’t get nervous. Lithuanians don’t worship idols. Think of the photos you have around your house of your dead relatives. Then consider the paraphernalia you possess for your favorite sports teams, movie stars, movies, or causes. Everyone has mementos to remind them of what they consider significant. Go Team!
I tracked back and took a backtrack to the Hill of Angels, on all sorts of paths. I didn’t have enough time, but that stop didn’t me. It was several miles walk and it was getting dark. I hoped to find a cab, but none passed. It occurred to me

It occurred to me that perhaps hitchhiking was something Lithuanians were doing, but I hadn’t seen it.

This park was very recent being established in 2009, but wooden cross crafting is considered an intangible Lithuanian heritage included in the UNESCO world heritage list.

I rushed out quickly, questioning my determination in the dark, but while having the perhaps unwarranted confidence of one who has traveled much.

When I got to the Hill of Angels it was late and really too dark to see much, but sometimes if things aren’t 100 years old, or a few thousand, they seem to lack interest. I rushed back aware that I had missed the last train and bus. I spoke to a couple of elderly men at the bus station who confirmed my doubts, but showed me the numbers for a couple of cabs. I was alarmed because the first one was unavailable, still the second one arrived. Whew!

The driver’s brother lives in Fort Myers, Florida and he visits America. His wife is from Poland and he seemed to indicate he had German heritage. Mixed like the rest of us.

 The cabbie after my own heart decided to drag race another cab, and I had some difficulty understanding the heavily accented “ I drag now” which has a different connotation in America. Much to his disappointment he lost, still in male styled clothing, much to my relief. 

The van was too deluxe and heavy for some light thing. He was bragging constantly about his nice Americano vehicle. It was a very large Dodge van that seemed quite fancy. A decent stereo played, and I was relaxed. When I travel I resign myself to being flexible which includes staying up all night or two or three.

 So I am very sad to leave my little Lithuanian home, and one thing I always regret in travel is leaving because I easily adopt and attach to locations. If I didn’t I probably wouldn’t be the traveler I am.

I’m going to miss this country in a way I didn’t expect. It could involve romanticizing a bit, and perhaps I am delving into some collective memory of a homeland. But it’s time to get back to work, an expletive in America. Americans don’t really respect work very much, and speaking of collective memories, Americans lost it because very few of us have been in our country long enough to understand and appreciate its history.

So, seen supra, are a few last photos of Angels Hill. I didn’t have time to consider these in keeping with the Vilnius Museum, but accomplished what I had come for. I jumped back into a frenetic world at home with insufficient quietude, but still with contemplation.

Previously I said that seeing is an art as well as a skill. Now I add it is also a privilege in a world of millennia of servants, soldiers, slaves, suffering, servitude, sickness and young death. 

Instead of looking away there is another view, a vision, something lovely, excellent, true and this is the panorama of privilege? Or can even the most miserable of lives behold beauty. You know the answer.