s-afshar

Latest Posts by s-afshar

"Om mani padme hum" Mantras are the combination of all of the Buddha’s teachings condensed into six syllables in the form of mantra. It is very powerful that you do not need anything else. Avalokiteshvara said that merely through this mani mantra , many people will be liberated from samsara. Lama Thanka Painting School @lama_thanka

Ausflüge in Ägypten mit deutschsprachigem Reiseleiter

Ausflüge in Ägypten mit deutschsprachigem Reiseleiter

Wenn du Ägypten besuchst, sind Ausflüge mit einem deutschsprachigen Reiseleiter eine hervorragende Möglichkeit, das Land zu entdecken. Ein solcher Guide hilft dir, die faszinierende Geschichte und Kultur Ägyptens besser zu verstehen. Egal, ob du die Pyramiden von Gizeh, das Tal der Könige oder die beeindruckenden Tempel in Luxor besuchst, du erhältst spannende Informationen direkt in deiner Sprache. So kannst du dich ganz auf die Erlebnisse konzentrieren und die Schönheit dieses einzigartigen Landes genießen.

Ausflüge in Ägypten mit deutschsprachigem Reiseleiter

Breakfast at Punta Tragara Hotel. Capri. Italy.

Your summer in Italy.

Architecture of Isfahan

Source: 1, 2, 3

Nasir almolk Mosque/ Shiraz/ Iran

Photographer: reza adeli

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Today, May 16th, we commemorate the Roma resistance against the Nazis in what is now remembered as the International Roma Resistance Day. Via Roma Antidiscrimination Network & Roma Center e.V. : "From the very beginning of World War II, Roma and Sinti fought against the deprivation of their rights and their racial classification. They protested against discriminatory regulations and attempted to secure the release of deported family members through petitions or personal intervention. They worked closely with resistance groups in the occupied territories. They played an important role in the national liberation movements, particularly in Eastern and Southeastern Europe. A large number of Roma and Sinti lost their lives in the armed struggle against National Socialism. Roma and Sinti also engaged in various forms of resistance in the concentration camps. A high point was the uprising in Section BIIe of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the "Z-Camp. On May 16, 1944, approximately 6,000 people—men, women, the elderly, and children—barricaded themselves in the barracks of the "Z-Familienlager." They had been informed by the resistance network within the camp that the camp was to be "liquidated" at night. Therefore, they decided to fight back. They confronted the SS with tools, stones, and, above all, with courage and determination when they came to take them to the gas chambers. Structural and legal discrimination against Roma is not a thing of the past. Even today, Roma around the world are still fighting for equal rights. More and more ethno-nationalists are using Roma as scapegoats for economic decline and all kinds of misfortune. Inspired by these people's resistance, we continue to fight. Today and tomorrow."

Image of the Milky Way over the Temple of Karnak in Egypt.

Path at Varengeville (1882) by Claude Monet

🔊 Amalfi Coast...Italy 🇮🇹

“If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.” - Gautama Buddha

Ashtamangala Talon Abraxas

Ashtamangala: Eight Auspicious Symbols of the Buddha.

The Ashtamangala are a sacred set of eight auspicious signs or symbols. They are considered a teaching tool, which point to the qualities of enlightenment. Within Buddhism, the Ashtamangala, are symbols of good fortune and represent the offerings made to Buddha by the gods upon gaining enlightenment

The Seine at Asnieres (1879) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Planet Earth is very beautiful, but the enemies of life and world peace continue to destroy it and spread chaos, wars and tragedies.

Taormina. Sicilia.

Italy 🌹 🇮🇹 Cinque Terre

Palermo (Punta Raisi). Sicilia. Video credit: pillole.di.sicilia

Welcome to Sicily.

Pair of Deity Earrings with Vishnu on Garuda (front) and chepu (monster mask) (back), Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, 1600s or 1700s. Cleveland Museum of Art (ID: 1915.338). A green Vishnu with four arms, each holding his attributes of discus (his upper right hand), mace (upper left), lotus (lower right), and conch (in pearl, lower left) rides on a coral Garuda with lapis wings, arms outstretched. The blue figures on either side are probably celestial beings praising him in dance postures, with one leg crossed over the other. On the back sides, delicate filigree floral scrolls form the backdrop of a protective mask popular in the Nepal; a sun over a crescent moon are inlaid above his head. (Cleveland Museum of Art)

“Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at the moment.” - Eckhart Tolle

Cosmic Sun Pyramid Talon Abraxas

Model of a Multi-Storied Tower, Chinese, 1st century. Earthenware with unfired pigments.

Courtesy Alain Truong

Columns inside Medinet Habu, Ramesses III mortuary temple colors are still vibrant. Can you imagine how bright they were back then?

Wall of the Temple of Horus in Edfu, built by the Ptolemids between 237 and 57 BCE.

Nefertum, god of the lotus and son of Ptah and Sekhmet.

Wall painting from a Christian church, Qocho (Gaochang), 683–770 CE. The murals from the Christian temple at Qocho (German: Wandbilder aus einem christlichen Tempel, Chotscho) consist of three fragments from Church of the East wall paintings—Palm Sunday, Repentance, and Entry into Jerusalem. These were discovered by the German Turpan expedition in the early 20th century, led by archaeologists Albert Grünwedel and Albert von Le Coq.

Dating from the 7th to 9th centuries, the murals originated in a now-ruined Church of the East structure in Qocho, an ancient oasis city in Chinese Turkestan—modern-day Xinjiang, China—which once served as the capital of the Uyghur Kingdom of Qocho. The original Entry into Jerusalem mural has been lost; only a line drawing made by Grünwedel survives. Today, the surviving murals are housed in the Museum of Asian Art in Dahlem, Berlin.

The Stele of Roma the Doorkeeper, Dedicated of the Goddess Astarte

The Egyptians almost never depicted illness. This instance is one of the exceptions. One of the man’s legs is withered and the foot only supports itself on the toes. It is the opinion of quite a number of doctors that these deformities are due to polio. This may be the world’s oldest representation of that disease.

New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1401-1363 BC. Now in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Copenhagen. ÆIN 134

Ardashir Captures Ardava, Folio 181 from the Demotte Shahname, Ilkhanid, c. 1330-1340 CE. Freer Gallery of Art (ID: S1986.103), Smithsonian, Washington D.C.

Mosaïque d'Hadrumète, Triomphe de Neptune, Mid third century AD Musée archéologique de Sousse

Right wing of the 1st pylon, Temple of Isis, Philae, early 20th century.

Many call it the most beautiful pool in history. Azure Blue indoor pool at Hearst Castle, completed 1934. Architect Julia Morgan

So, I saw this image on Facebook, and it was supposedly showing what Queen Nefertiti would have looked like in real life:

Now, I thought this AI generated garbage was just truly terrible on a number of levels; first off, she looks wayyyyyy too modern - her makeup is very “Hollywood glamour”, she looks airbrushed and de-aged, and as far as I’m aware, Ancient Egyptians didn’t have mascara, glitter-based eyeshadows and lip gloss. Secondly, her features are exceptionally whitewashed in every sense - this is pretty standard for AI as racial bias is prevalent in feeding AI algorithms, but I genuinely thought a depiction of such a known individual would not exhibit such euro-centric features. Thirdly, the outfit was massively desaturated and didn’t take pigment loss into consideration, and while I *do* like the look of the neck attire, it's not at all accurate (plus, again, AI confusion on the detailing is evident).

So, this inspired me to alter the image on the left to be more accurate based off the sculpture’s features. I looked into Ancient Egyptian makeup and looked at references for kohl eyeliner and clay-based facial pigment (rouge was used on cheeks, charcoal-based powder/paste was used to darken and elongate eyebrows), and I looked at pre-existing images of Nefertiti (namely other reconstructions). While doing this, I found photos of a 3D scanned sculpture made by scientists at the University of Bristol and chose to collage the neck jewellery over the painting (and edited the lighting and shadows as best as I could).

Something I see a lot of in facial recreations of mummies is maintaining the elongated and skinny facial features as seen on preserved bodies - however, fat, muscle and cartilage shrink/disappear post mortem, regardless of preservation quality; Queen Nefertiti had art created of her in life, and these pieces are invaluable to developing an accurate portrayal of her, whether stylistic or realistic in nature.

And hey, while I don't think my adjustments are perfect (especially the neck area), I *do* believe it is a huge improvement to the original image I chose to work on top of.

I really liked working on this project for the last few days, and I think I may continue to work on it further to perfect it. But, until then, I hope you enjoy!

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