SURFER’S Paradise

FOR THREE DAYS, Dean Izzi rode the waves off Sorake beach in the North Sumatra regency of Nias Selatan. The Australian surfer enjoyed waves of up to 10 meters.

Dean Izzi said the waves at Sorake were great for surfing, adding that Sorake Beach was a surfers paradise.

“The waves here are far out, extreme and fit very well for surving,” Izzi told The Jakarta Post at Sorake Beach on July 26.

Sorake Beach is located on Nias Island west of the Sumatra mainland, more specifically in the village of Botohilitano in Telu, Dalam district.

The beach face the Indian Ocean, which explains the extreme waves wit hcrests as high as 15 meters. The waves also tend to roll perfectly before breaking at the water’s edge. Sorake Beach’s waves spoil surfers with five levels of height to choose from. Skillful surfers can perform incredible stunts on each level as they ride the waves, which can reach a length of 200 meters.

Once a best-kept secret among surfers, the beach is becoming quite a well-known tourist spot. From April until August, the beach hosts many surfers from various countries.

Social Zagoto, a Sorake community figure, said for five months starting in April Sorake Beach is packed with surfers. Zagoto added that, during that period, the rolls can reach a length of 200 meters.

“That’s what draws the world’s surfers to Sorake Beach,” Sosial told the Post on July 26.

Social also said that, this month, hundreds of surfers, including Macekly from Hawaii, had gathered at the beach to try and tame Sorake’s rolling waves. The surfers usually stay for several days at Sorake Beach, which has some starred hotels.

“The shortest period of stay is one week; some even spend a few months here. They want to really enjoy the beauty of the nature and extreme waves,” said Sosial, who has been accompanying and helping the surfers who come to Sorake Beach.

Social explained that Sorake Beach had several specific characteristics not found at other beaches, namely that the waves don’t rely on the direction of the wind, so surfers can ride the waves to their heart’s content. This, according to Sosial, also makes the beach popular with surfers.

“Many of the wolrd’s top surfers say the waves here are the second-best for surfing after Hawaii,” he said, citing several international competitions that were held at Sorake Beach.

In a matter of weeks, the administration of South Nias, in cooperation with the Tourism Ministry and the World Surf League (WSL), will hold the Surf Qualifying Sereis Nias Pro championship. The event will be held from Aug, 24 to 28 at Sorake Beach.

The head of the South Nias Office of Tourism, Youth and sports, Anggraeni Dachi, said the event was the government’s way to support, introduce and develop tourism at Sorake Beach.

“Our aim is that the international surfers participating in the Surf Qualifying Series will get to appreciate the special characteristics of the waves at Sorake,” said Anggraeni. 

The event offers a total of US$15,000 in prize money and trophies.

The WSL is a professional surfing tour founded in 1976 and dedicates itself to promoting world-class professional surfers. The WSL has its headquarters in LA, USA.

Aggraeni noted that various international serufing events held at Sorake Beach had positively affected the local economy.

“We are grateful that the people’s economy is getting a boost with Sorake Beach drawing in many surfers from many countries,’ said Anggraeni, who added that the regency was reliant of beach tourism.

Aside from Sorake Beach, south Nias regency also has Lagundri Beach. The white-sandy beach is located some 13 kms to the south from Teluk Dalam district. The beach borders directly with Sorake  Beach, and like Sorake Beach, Lagudnri Beach is popular among international surfers, even though the crests are not as high as those at Sorake Beach.

At Lagundri Beach, we’ll see more visitors swimming, sunbathing or snorkeling. The beach of the nhosts attractions like diving and snorkeling activities as the sea off Lagundri Beach is filled with beautiful fish

Hour China

Ep1. ANCESTORS

*wuxi – qinhuan : Zhangguo – yellow river

*Zhukou – 1950 communits

*Yangzhou 1900 BC : xia, fuxi , nuwa . Erlitou, Henan province : old town, grandcanal 605 BC

#Xia Dynasty

#Shang Dynasty 16^th – 11^th cBCE : first chinese letter :  big, water,heaven

*Anyang – Henan

*Shangqiu 1511 : King Di Xin 1105- 1046 BCE

#Zhou dynasty 1066 – 256 BCE : Taoisme, Qufu capital – The Analect of Confuncious, warring states period 5^th cBCE (metofora hidup) : kemanusiaan & morality. 551 – 479 BCE, what a joy it is to have friends come from far away/kebahagiaan adalah memililik teman yang datang dari tempat yang jauh.

#Qin dynasty 221 – 2016 BCE / Qin Shi Huang Di 259 – 210 BCE :  Xian – changgan

#Han Dynasty / Liu Bang 265 – 195 BCE / 206 BCE – 220 CE :

*Luoyang – Sima Qian 145 – 86 BCE ; choi’s city

Ep.2 SILK ROAD & CHINA SHIP

#TANG Empire 618 – 907  AC * Xuan Zhang : Longmen Caves  - Matanga. Taklamakan Desert / masuklah kau tidak bisa keluar kembali.

Empire taizong 598 – 649 – Anxing

*Gaozhang 640-648 Taizong’s campaign in the west ; Grandcanal : Du Mu “Saat Yangzhou berjarak 16 km dari angin musim panas” 830 eufisme dalam puisi.

*Xinjiang – expanse muslim – Li Bai / bertempur di barat. Sungai kashar – Sung patia – Tiangasan mountain – Jiara, Xuanshong empir vs An Lusan, Sin Siming : “Adegan musim semi “ by Du Fu.

*Xi’an 638 AC. : xian ling mosoleum 700 Ac.

GOLDEN AGE

#TANG EMPIRE 967 AC collapse/ Kaifeng – Central china

#SONG DYNASTY 960 AC -  chen duan – hua san – 20 banjir besar –  Shanghai china art palace 1120  - AC – Meng Yuan Lo

Taizou Song Founder

Expansion of Kaifen 960 – 980 Pagoda Besi di Bukit Panjang Umur. – festival di sungai 1120 AC the festival on the river Kaifeng  -karakter china – bi seng.  – susong 1020-1101.

Sima guang – Henan university

1100 Emperor Huizong 1082 -1135

The siege of Kaifeng 1127

Qing Zho On the defeat of the nation – Song Retreat 1129

Capital of the southern song 1132 Hang Zhou.

Tieshan 19/03/1279

Lu xiu fu  : the end of song dynasty

Hong Wu Empire 1328 - 1398

Ep.4

#Ming Dynasty abad ke-14 (1368 – 1644); Nanjing / sang pembawa lentera; Zhu Shuan Yang; Hong Wu emperor 1328 – 1398 /Shaoxing / Zhao Village : Fujian / Zhang Dai (Biksu) 1645.

Wang Ren yu (penyair) / Xian (Tang’s City)

Manchu / Qing Dynasty

Kangxi Empire

Quangzhou  / Canton

Note: silk road or silk route

Silk Road, also called Silk Route, ancient trade route, linking China with the West, that carried goods and ideas between the two great civilizations of Rome and China. Silk went westward, and wools, gold, and silver went east. China also received Nestorian Christianity and Buddhism (from India) via the Silk Road.

Originating at Xi’an (Sian), the 4,000-mile (6,400-km) road, actually a caravan tract, followed the Great Wall of China to the northwest, bypassed the Takla Makan Desert, climbed the Pamirs (mountains), crossed Afghanistan, and went on to the Levant; from there the merchandise was shipped across the Mediterranean Sea. Few persons traveled the entire route, and goods were handled in a staggered progression by middlemen.

With the gradual loss of Roman territory in Asia and the rise of Arabian power in the Levant, the Silk Road became increasingly unsafe and untraveled. In the 13th and 14th centuries the route was revived under the Mongols, and at that time the Venetian Marco Polo used it to travel to Cathay (China). It is now widely thought that the route was one of the main ways that plague bacteria responsible for the Black Death pandemic in Europe in the mid-14th century moved westward from Asia.

Part of the Silk Road still exists, in the form of a paved highway connecting Pakistan and the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, China. The old road has been the impetus behind a United Nations plan for a trans-Asian highway, and a railway counterpart of the road has been proposed by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). The road inspired cellist Yo-Yo Ma to found the Silk Road Project in 1999, which explored cultural traditions along its route and beyond as a means for connecting arts worldwide across cultures.

France, Italy mark 500th anniversary of Leonardo's death

#Italian President Sergio Mattarella (L) and French President Emmanuel Macron pay their respects at the tomb of Italian renaissance painter and scientist Leonardo da Vinci to commemorate the 500th anniversary of his death, at the Saint-Hubert Chapel of the Chateau d'Amboise during a visit in Amboise, on May 2, 2019. (POOL/AFP/Philippe Wojazer)

French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella on Thursday kicked off commemorations to mark 500 years since Leonardo da Vinci died in France, paying their respects to the Renaissance genius in a show of unity after months of diplomatic tensions.

"The bond between our countries and our citizens is indestructible," Macron said after the two men lunched at the Clos Luce, the sumptuous manor house where Leonardo spent the last three years of his life.

Mattarella and Macron, who was accompanied by his wife Brigitte, began their visit at the royal chateau in Amboise, where the heads of state laid wreaths at Leonardo's grave.

The Italian leader had started his day with a visit to the fire-ravaged Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.

The joint celebrations come after months of mounting diplomatic tensions between Paris and Rome over the hardline policies of Italy's populist government and its support for France's anti-government "yellow vest" protesters.

In the worst diplomatic crisis between the two countries since World War II, Paris briefly recalled its ambassador from Rome.

Amboise, a sleepy town on the Loire River where Leonardo died in 1519 aged 67, was in virtual lockdown because of fears of protests by France's grassroots "yellow vest" movement.

Amboise was turned into a ghost town, with traffic banned within a five-kilometer radius and the usually teeming restaurants and shops shuttered. On Wednesday, dozens of cars were towed away, with some foreign owners apparently unaware of the draconian security measures in the town of just 13,000.

The presidential helicopter arrived on a river island in the heart of the town, touching down on a pad usually used to launch hot-air balloons over the chateau-studded valley.

Also Thursday, the two presidents visited the sprawling chateau of Chambord -- whose central double-helix staircase is attributed to Leonardo though the first stone was not laid until four months after his death.

Among glitterati attending the events were Italian star architect Renzo Piano, French astronaut Thomas Pesquet and historian Stephane Bern, a prominent French television personality.

At Chambord, Pesquet told a group of around 500 Italian and French youths: "If Leonardo were alive today, maybe he would be a European astronaut."

The entire Loire Valley has seized on Leonardo's quincentenary as that of the Renaissance in general, planning more than 500 events across the region, with Bern as the figurehead.

Read also: At Amboise, Leonardo's last years paint a picture of Franco-Italian harmony

'Architect of the king'

Francis I, known as the "Sun King of the 16th century", is widely credited with bringing the Renaissance to France, even if his predecessor Louis XII had begun the process by bringing in architects and artisans from Florence, Milan and Rome.

Leonardo was 64 when he accepted the young Francis I's invitation to Amboise, at a time when rivals Michelangelo and Raphael were rising stars.

With Leonardo's commissions drying up, it came as a great relief and no small vindication for the Tuscan artist, who received a handsome stipend as the "first painter, engineer and architect of the king".

At the time, Francis I was barely 23, and his ambitious mother Louise of Savoy "knew that Leonardo would be the man who would allow her son to flourish", Catherine Simon Marion, managing director of the Clos Luce, told AFP.

Leonardo brought with him three of his favorite paintings: the Mona Lisa, the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, and Saint John the Baptist -- all of which today hang in the Louvre museum in Paris.

Italy and France have also sparred over an accord under which Italy will lend several Leonardos to the Louvre in October.

With fewer than 20 Leonardo paintings still in existence, many Italians are resentful that the Louvre possesses five of them, as well as 22 drawings.

During his three years in Amboise, Leonardo organised lavish parties for the court and worked to design an ideal city for Francis at nearby Romorantin -- one of the polymath's many unrealized projects -- all while continuing his research