ATDTDA (2): Drave (39/940)

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

     "So it's one of the old church modes."

     "Lydian. In the old folk songs and dances of the Balkan 
villages, as it happens, although the other mediaevel modes 
are well represented, there is this strange and drastic absence 
of Lydian material---in our own project, to date, we've found 
none at all. Bit of a mystery for us. As if it were still forbidden, 
perhaps even feared. The interval which our awkwardly 
unflatted B makes with F was known to the ancients as the 
'devil in the music.' And whenever we play it for anyone out
there, even whistle it, it seems they either run away screaming 
or assault us physically. What could it be they're hearing, that's 
so unacceptable?"

     "Your plan," Cyprian guessed, "is to go out there and find the 
answer to that.

     "Also to look into some rumors recently of a neo-Pythagorean 
cult who regard the Lydian with particular horror. Not suprisingly, 
they tend to favor the so-called Phrygian mode, quite common 
through the region." He addressed the keyboard again. "E to E on 
the white keys. Notice the difference. It happens to coincide with a 
lyre tuning that some attribute to Pythagoras, and may be traceable 
all the way back to Orpheus himself, who was a native of Thrace, 
after all, and was eventually worshipped as a god."AtD 940

     "Not for the first time, he experienced a kind of waking swoon, 
which not so much propelled as allowed him entry into an urban 
setting, like the world he had left but differing in particulars which 
were not slow to reveal themselves." AtD, 38
 
". . . .In a small courtyard within a courtyard, he came upon a group 
of men and women, engaged in 





          a slow ritual movement, 

          a country dance, almost---though Lew, 

          pausing to watch,

          was not sure what country. 





Soon they were gazing back. as if in some way they knew him, and 
all about his troubles. When their business was done, they invited 
him over to a table under an awning, where all at once, over root 
beer and Saratoga chips, Lew found himself confessing "everything", 
which in fact wasn't much---"What I need is some way to atone for 
whatever it is I've done. I can't keep on with this life. . . ."

     "We can teach you," said one of them, who seemed to be in 
charge, introducing himself only as Drave. AtD 39

http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Drave

Welcome to Bulgaria!
http://bulgaria.overseas-homes-direct.com/visitor-information.html

When Bulgarians nod their heads up and down, they mean NO. 
When they move their heads from side to side, they mean YES.

Making a toast when drinking liquor is de rigeur. When toasting, 
raise your glass and lightly clink it with all the others present, 
while looking the people with you in the eye (to not look them 
in the eye is rude) and saying, (naz 


                                              drave


) (good health to you). 
If there are 10 people at the table, you do this with all 10.

http://www.investbulgaria.com/tips.htm

Up to the 1920s, rural people relied on traditional or herbal 
medicine and went to a doctor or hospital only as a last 
resort. Traditional healers believed that many illnesses 
were caused by evil spirits (baiane) and could be treated 
with magic, chants or medicinal herbs.

Did you know?
     	
Fire-dancing, nestinarstvo, an ancient religious and ritual 
dance on burning embers, was believed to expel illness 
and bring health and blessings.

Traditional medical treatments often required a patient to drink, 
wash or bathe in water from mineral springs. Springs and spas
can be found throughout Bulgaria and people continue to visit 
them for relief from problems such as asthma, arthritis and 
rheumatism. Some of the most famous spas are at Hissar, near 
Plovdiv, Bankya and Momin Pzohod, near Sofia, and Sandanski, 
near Melnik.

http://www.cp-pc.ca/english/bulgaria/health.html

http://bulgaria.usaid.gov/cdir/bulgaria.usaid.gov/files/Bulgaria_in_Facts.pdf

Offering passage through Poland was a test of faith, since 
the Crusaders often took things when they were hungry. 
For example, at the Hungarian border, the Crusaders were 
stopped and they remained there for three days in the
month of September. The Hungarian king was not happy 
to see the Crusaders crossing his country. To show his 
army's intentions were honorable, Duke Godfrey de 
Bouillon left his brother Baldwin, together with his wife 
and children as proof that he would not cause harm to 
the Hungarian people. The Poles and Hungarians 
rarely involved themselves in the Crusades. Godfrey's 
family was returned after they got to 

            the river Drave, at the Bulgarian border. 

Again they were met at the 
border, this time by Emperor Alexius and his Greek 
forces. They all marched to Philippolis, where they 
were provided with an abundance of food and wine. 
>From Philippolis they crossed the sea and went to the 
city of Nicaea (at that time possessed by the Turks). 
The Turks had subjugated the whole land of Roum as 
far as the city of Nicomedia. The Crusaders massed 
together and Nicaea fell on the Summer Soltice on 
June 19, 1097.

http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/polcrt/DabrowskiClans.html