How “Far from the Madding Crowd”?
There is something romantic about unspoilt nature. It has inspired not only poets and artists but also philosophers with their fine distinction between the “beautiful” and the “sublime”. The difference is between the view of nature that gives us pleasure and that which creates awe and trepidation. It is always assumed that man is a threat to nature and his role is in the main destructive. I want to argue that this is not always the case. My argument is based on my experiences when visiting remote islands, such as the Outer Hebrides.
For the last twenty years, I have returned every year, or every other year, to Scotland. Back in my youth I used to drive around and settle for any B&B for the night, then start the drive the next day. My wife and I saw a great deal of Scotland this way. But then we selected the Western Highlands and the Outer Hebrides as our usual escape. We made many friends there, especially owners of B&B's, and some of them became like family members.
But we also ventured in the wild and stayed in a tent, and even slept by the side of the road, between the mountains. The one feeling I always have, especially if I have been round the small islands for a few days, is that of a longing to return to civilization again; the busy towns; the fresh food; the bookshops and the luxury of modern civilization.
Perhaps this is why we return through Edinburgh, especially during its festival, to be able to attend the Military Tattoo and to come down from the Castle through the Royal Mile in the huge crowd that is following the bagpipe bands, drowning in the sound of the authentic Scottish music, echoing through the great stone buildings that were built to last for centuries. The spirit feels lifted above the clouds in a mixture of the pleasing beautiful and the awesome sublime.
On this instance and many others, we feel proud of human achievements, in the arts, science, life style, architectural monuments and great institutions. This may be part of what God intended when he created a “Viceroy” to develop nature. It is the duty of everybody to maintain this role and to create what is useful and to preserve not only nature but also the comendable human achievements we inherited throughout history.
We highlighted in this issue a number of beautiful places, in northern Iraq, Morocco, Sierra Leone, Germany and Spain. We hope that you will enjoy reading about them and maybe visit them.
For all feedback, please send your comments to (post@islamictourism.com) or visit our website (www.islamictourism.com).
Dr. Abdul-Rahim Hassan
Editor-in-Chief
|
