Lost Pages

Martin Parker has  a fascinating piece   where he explores what London's rising skyscrapers says about society. This quote is particularly interesting : Skyscrapers are terrifying and beautiful at the same time. They are both monuments to human ingenuity, and to massive inequality, as their occupants look down on the people living in cardboard on the city streets. The question they provoke is not really about boom or slump, but about the nature of an economic system which makes such projects possible.

I read earlier this year that work on Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Tower is expected to start later this year. It is being constructed by the same company that built London's Shard skyscraper. At the time of the announcement in February 2014, it was set to be the world's tallest with at 1 km, more than three times taller than the Shard. The owners believe it will be "a landmark building that will clearly demonstrate Saudi Arabia's ambitions to the world".

Krac des Chevaliers  was one of the crown jewels of the crusader Latin kingdoms of the east. It was built as an Hospitaller stronghold by the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem to hold onto the gains that had been made during the crusades. It became crucial to the defence of the Crusader kingdoms between 1142 to 1271. While other Crusader strongholds were under threat from opposing forces, Krak des Chevaliers and its garrison of 2,000 soldiers dominated the surrounding area. It was   the centre of the Crusader defences  until 1271 and was the only major inland area to remain constantly under Crusader control in during the 13th century. Without the Krac des Chevalier all other kingdoms were vulnerable. One of the images of presented of God in the Bible of God is similar to that of Krac des Cheveliers . The Prophet Nahum declares, "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble" [Nahum 1:7]. God is a stronghold! Many of us live thankfully insulated from wa...