New York World's Fair, International Pavilions
For those of you who love the international pavilions from the New York World's Fair, sit back and enjoy! I confess to being more enthralled with the industrial exhibits. Futurama! The Magic Skyway! Sinclair Dinoland! And so on. But there would be no World's Fair without the countries of the world, now, would there?
So here's the Indonesian Pavilion. Apparently its design is based on a sketch done by then-President Sukarno. Various aspects of life on Java, Sumatra and Bali are shown, and there are demonstrations of puppetry and handicrafts. I came for the culture, but stayed for the puppetry!
Here's the United Arab Republic pavilion. Originally the UAR was a union between Egypt and Syria, but that ended in 1961 when Syria seceded. Egypt continued to use the UAR moniker until 1971. So, this is basically the Egyptian pavilion! Anyway, I thought that Egypt was nothing but sand and pyramids and mummies and sphinxes (sphinxii?), but boy was I wrong. Models of the Aswan Dam and the Suez Canal are among the many displays that emphasize progress in this ancient land. The snack bar's "Tutsicles" did not sell well.
There's the pavilion for the Republic of the Sudan. Displays include 4000 year-old relics of Nubian civilization and a newly discovered fresco of the Madonna. Among the items sold in the gift shop were leopard skin stoles and ivory trinkets. There were too many elephants anyhow...
You can still see the dome of the Sudanese pavilion, but the kooky, wavy building in front of it is the pavilion of Jordan. The age-old cultures of this land -- a seedbed of civilizations and religions - are graphically displayed in an unusual pavilion. I guess it wouldn't kill me to learn something.
Finally we get to move inside one of the pavilions - in this case it's Pakistan's. An ancient land's history and hopes are reflected in priceless relics and models of modern industrial projects. In this photo we see a tapestry and display heralding the exciting and erotic world of jute processing. Those burlap pants you are wearing? Made from Pakistani jute, my friend.
10 comments:
I came for the pictures but stayed for the people! :)
What a great collection of NYWF pics you have! First, I'm amazed at the height of those skyway buckets. Yiy!
I like the mid-century modern exotica air of the Indonesian pavillion (what's with the wreckage on the left? That truck run over stuff?)
Someone is filming, professionally, on scaffolding seen above the UAR pavilion. Did themselves proud by the way, the UAR: I dig the joyous celebratory tile-like work to either side of the entrance way. It even upstages Otho with fur-collar beige coat, hat and umbrella styling implausibly under the Egypt sign on the left.
A parade is passing by in front of the Sudan pavilion for a few devout parade-consumers; a surrey with fringe on top, 6 horsepower team about to run over a man in blue and 9 cold and wet dignitaries. All under an unoccupied Skyway closed for rain.
Jordan represented by a most distinctive structure whilst Greece sent 4 stones from a building ruined 2,658 years ago that nobody there had even started to fix yet. How's that for making a statement.
If a model of the world's largest jute mill doesn't getcha well... you shoulda gone fishing after all. But the novel tapestry will help brighten things. :)
Egypt. Indonesia. Sudan. Jordan. Pakistan. Nowadays, of course, they wouldn't be allowed to have so many pavilions from Muslim nations so near to Ground Zero! Ah, remember the days when America was a more hospitable nation? (just don't mention those pesky Commies!)
Just remember to wash your burlap pants in cold water and low heat for the dryer.
@Petroleum Jelly: You may think that a pithy comment. Lest you forget, there was no "Ground Zero" in 1964.
Major, at first I thought you wrote "Tusticles" which almost almost made me choke on my own saliva. Then I reread it correctly as "Tutsicles" and almost choked on it again!
I wonder if the macrame shirt that I'm wearing right now came from Pakistan?
@Petroleum Jelly: I'm sure you think your opinion about ground zero is just too perceptive, but frankly your flip and snarky attitude disgusts me.
I've had three friends/relatives killed by Muslims. One was the Flight Engineer on the Lockerby Flight, One was killed on TV in front of my eyes when the second plane went in (he was in the impact zone so I didn't have to wonder if he jumped), and the last was my aunt in tower 7, who had so much industrial debris deep in her lungs she died in sheer misery of cancer seven years later.
So yeah, Muslims make me twichy. Like the Jews were kinda twichy about Germans in 1948. How many more of my family have to be murdered before my "discomfort" is justified?
Take your cheap and self-congratulating opinions over to the Daily Kos where you can feel as superior as you want. Far away from me. I am embarrassed to think you might be an American.
Chiana, I want to thank you for the thoughtful and detailed comments that you leave! Really, I enjoy reading them. A lot!
Matterhorn, your advice is excellent... nothing worse than burlap pants that are too tight due to shrinkage.
TokyoMagic!, I wanted "Tutsicles" to sound like an anatomical reference!! You wear macrame shirts too?? ;-)
KatellaGate, I'd like to believe that PetroleumJelly's comment was not meant to make light of 9-11 or the terrible losses that so many people suffered. At least I hope so...
My comment was not at all intended as a slight against victims of terrorist atrocities. I merely wanted to highlight the changing nature of my fellow countrymen’s irrational prejudices and the Islamamphobia now rampant in American society. Most murder victims that I personally know (and this includes two people who died in a terrorist incident) have been killed by ‘Christians’. This doesn’t mean that I now equate my fellow Christians with murderers the way that some people shamefully equate Muslims with murderers.
This is not a political commentary forum.
Out of respect for this blog's host and its congenial readership, I am going to drop this subject.
Everyone in this thread...
"What Katella Gate said".
JG
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