DERVISH CONVENT, MAHAN

Dervish convents have qualities of beauty and seclusion comparable to many in the West. At Mahan, in Persi, an outstanding group of buildings dating from the IX/15th century onwards houses the community founded by Shah Ni'matullah Wali, a sufi poet and mystic who settled there in 809/1406. His tomb is under the blue dome, built by Shah 'Abbas in 1010/1601. Mahan is a green oasis surrounded by desert and mountains, an image of the paradise garden. Four open courts flank the shrine. The 'spiral' roof illustrated earlier covers one of the rooms. Left: part of the ceramic decorations of the ceramic decorations of  the tomb of Al Ansari  at Gasurgah, near Herat.

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EXPO '70, TOKYO

The soaring Tower of the Sun pierced the roof of the Theme Exhibition building below it appeared the sun's "face."

Drumlike structure of Japan's pavilion symbolised the cherry blossom.

Bird's eye view of EXPO '70: at the bottom left is the spire of the U.S./S.R. Pavilion; at upper right is the low "quilted" roof of the U.S. exhibit.

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OF TONGKAT ALI AND KACIP FATIMAH

Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia)

The roots of Tongkat Ali, a small woody plant when mixed with the oil of Buah Keras and raw rice, serve as an ointment to ease abdominal pain and fever. Often the roots are boiled and administered as a tonic to women after childbirth. The leaves are used to treat cuts and head wounds and when pounded into a paste, can relieve headaches. The bark of the Tongkat Ali root can be brewed and consumed like tea to bring down a high fever. However, Tongkat Ali is probably best known as an aphrodisiac. Wood from the Tongkat Ali is extracted from the deep interior of the montane jungles, processed into capsules and sold on a commercial basis at 100 capsules to a bottle. Orang Asli suppliers claim that the effectiveness of these capsules equals or is superior to that of Viagra, and have the added advantage of being cheaper.

Kacip Fatimah (Labisia pumila)

It is a herbaceous plant that can be found quite widely in the forest. A decoction made from Kacip Fatimah is given to women in labour to hasten childbirth. After childbirth, it may still be consumed by mothers to help regain strength. The plant is also used to treat gonorrhoea, dysentery and eliminate excessive gas in the body.

LESONG KAKI - LUTUT LENGOH

Sebahagian bangunan kompleks Museum Pasir Salak yang terletak ditepi Sg Perak.

Lesong kaki yang dipamirkan di Museum. Bila pangkal lesong dipijak antan di kepalanya akan naik dan jatuh bila kaki diangkat dan padi ditumbuk. 

Teringat menolong  emak menumbuk padi menggunakan lesong kaki masa budak2 dulu. Tokonang dikampong.

MALCOLM X

His pilgrimage to Mecca further impressed of diversity, and race-colour-blind in Islam.

SUNGAI MATI MENEBAR JALA

The 'sebarau' is a medium size freshwater fish much sought after by net casting (menjala).

Orang asli much depend on freshwater fishes but the catch now is low due to polluted waters.

This river near my kampong house used to be (say 40 years ago) deep and wide where ikan kaloi was abundant and crocodiles marauding. It is now knee-deep due to siltation and the water is always murky. Only small fishes are found. What a pity state we keep our ecology. 

WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES

Figure below: Occurrence of lightning involving ground objects.
(Left) A close lightning flash striking a tree at a distance of 60 metres. (Top) Lightning"; the discharge is triggered by the presence of a tall tower. Lugano, Switzerland.