A story about the Temple Mound in Wired reminded me of a connection from some years ago... back before revelations and revolutions - yes, when Matrix was A movie. Nebucadnezzar II - was King of Babylon and way back when in 586 (BC), he concured Palestine and the mysterious Ark dissapeared. In The Matrix it is the ship of Morpheus. So is he (or all of them) on a quest to take back the holy land - to expand their position from small to great? Or is it more about N. and his chase of a dream - that he is unable to grasp the meaning of according to legend?
Which brings us to Saladin - the light, the chivalry embodied - not by the "noble" cursaders but by their fierce foe. A man of a strict code of conduct, fighting a war - but when possible keeping it out of the way, avoiding civilian casulties (or collateral damage as the term goes). He even offered to share power in the holy land with the crusaders, but was unable to convince them. For a nice take on the bond that might have been - take a look at the Crusades series, or read about the spin-offs related to Arn [main, select language]. Could a knight templar and the legendary Light of the Faith actually see eye to eye, respect each other and see beyond their religious differences? Is there still hope for a joint solution - or do we really need the famed Arc or the Temple of the propecy in order to create balance?
...and the sun is back - two hours of leisurly reading on the balcony today...
