In Yiddish, "kush" means "kiss." My telling you about Kush is only slightly related to this post. We adored him. My sister, Dale, and I knew him as "Uncle Murray" — to the eternal frustration of his wonderful wife, Selma. "Why is he always "Uncle" and I'm just "Selma"? I never knew why. We loved her, too. Kush had probably simply told us to call him "Uncle." (When I was 6, I asked my mother if Uncle Murray was her brother or my father's brother.) But back to Madrid... While visiting Madrid's ancient Egyptian Temple of Debod, I thought of Kush. Read on and you'll understand why.
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| TEMPLE OF DEBOD. (CLICK ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE.) |
The construction of the Temple of Debod began (as a single-roomed chapel) in southern Egypt in the 2nd century B.C. by Adikhalamani, the "Kushite" king (and there you have it... why I thought of Kush). The Kushite kingdom was established around 1000 B.C. and existed until around 350 A.D.
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| BEFORE IT WAS MOVED FROM EGYPT. |
In 1960, when the Aswan Dam was built, several ancient sites were threatened by flooding. As a "thank you" to Spain for its response to UNESCO's call for aid, Egypt donated and moved the Temple of Debod to its current site in Madrid in 1968.
End of history lesson. On to Kush and the Kushite temple.
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| GUADALUPE, AFTER LEAVING (ALWAYS TEXTING OR TALKING WITH ONE OF HER TWO DELIGHTFUL DAUGHTERS.) |
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| KUSH THE KING (PRE-SELMA) WITH THE DOWAGER DUCHESS. CONEY ISLAND, SUMMER 1947. ANY 12 RIDES, $1.00!!! My father serving his 2nd stint in the Army, Kush (back from the Navy) "looked after" my mother. My grandmother told me: "It wasn't nice the way those two fooled around." |
I had no idea there was a Kush Temple in Madrid. Fascinating.
ReplyDeleteStephen:
DeleteApparently, neither do many people in Madrid! Beautiful and beautifully situated.
I'm guessing that your grandmother was your father's mother (not your mom's).... we moms are always suspicious of our kids spouses.... we do take our children's happiness seriously, you know ;-)
ReplyDeleteSharon:
DeleteNope. That would be my mother's mother. My mother was shocked when I repeated it to her.
Great photo of your mother and Kush :) And, more interesting "can't believe it's in Madrid" stuff!
ReplyDeleteJudy:
DeleteSo many surprises (and of course they have Starbucks and McDonald's, too... Oh well.)
"Looked after." Hahaha
ReplyDeleteI need to visit Madrid again. When I went there I was 16 and had no appreciation for it.
Nubian:
DeleteOf all people to be left to "look after" one's girlfriend... (as you can see in the photo)...
There are a lot of places I should probably go back to! I think you'd love Madrid this time around... (And hey have bacalao, of course, too.)
Where is this Temple in Madrid which Park? I do not remember seeing it.
ReplyDeleteLaurent:
DeleteIt's in Parque del Oeste. If you're heading south on Calle Bailén, you'll pass the temple just a few minutes before you reach the Royal Palace.
I love ancient ruins. Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Central & South American, Asian, you name it. So amazing to think about how they were designed and built so long ago and how they've survived for us to wonder at.
ReplyDeleteWalt the Fourth:
DeleteGuadalupe and I talked about the same thing!
so where are you in the royal succession of this noble House?
ReplyDeleteI am related on my father's side to House Plantagenet; on my mother's side to House Pancakes.
Spo:
DeleteYou could even be related to San Geraldo. He's also descended from the Plantagenets. I, on the other hand, simply married well. My ancestry is the House of Cards. House of Pancakes would be SO much better.
Kush was a hunk.
ReplyDeleteMaria:
DeleteThat he was. You should have seen those blue eyes.