My Images of SEE – 18:15, Thursday 25th August

I wondered to the continental breakfast, and read up on the rail times to Ljubljana. Ideally there should be one at 12:30. I asked the receptionist for an iron, which she had and passed it over. I ironed, washed & changed, then left for the day.

I walked north, towards the train station, retracing my steps from last night. The sun was on form again today, even at an early hour as this. I passed under the railway station, then up to the first of 3 green squares leading to the main Jelacic Square. The squares were more rectangle, surrounded by Austrian type buildings, and all looking to a similar style building at the centre of the square. Trams hummed by and cars crossed by along east/west roads, opposite to the north/south squares.
 

 

I passed the archaeological museum on my left, leaving it for later. I walked up to the main square. All the while the buildings were of the same era – Austro-Hungarian. A large, dark stature centered on the city’s main square, that of Ban Jelacic, whom the square is named after. I walked to the right, and up a hill, swinging around to the left of the buildings that were initially in front of me. To my right was a massive twin towered Cathedral. I ended up wondering around a market, and bought my tourist necessities. Wasps buzzing around the fruit made my stay short. I went back down the hill, still behind the initial face of buildings behind the square’s statue, to reach a café. I had a rest and a read.
 

 

I then took this curving road that I was on, up the cobbled street, up towards a square that contained the Croatian ‘Sabor’ or Parliament. A cobbled square, dominated by a colourful church, contained not only the Parliament but (judging by the Ministerial-type cars) also many Ministries. A nearby road contained the Museum of Croatia. I walked down the thin street to reach it, and entered, walking up the stairs to pay. They only had an exhibition of the very Ban Jelacic whose statue I saw earlier and have read about. So I went in eager. They had a mass personal collection of the Ban’s from his private former home. This ranged from the outfit he wore for his induction as Ban, to letter of congratulations he received; to household possessions and personal items such as weapons and pipes. It was an intriguing visit.

I then walked south to a lovely view of the city below. A few feet on, you could see the Cathedral again. I went down the hill, back to the main square. I stopped off at a café for a beer to whet my mouth during the strong noon sun. I moved on then, heading to Trg Marsala Tita (Tito again), and stopped off on the way to buy a t-shirt. I then made my way to the Ethnographic Museum. Luckily it was free today. So I wondered around the ‘fire’ exhibition they had on, then to the garments worn by Croats of old. Similar to other regions that I have been to, in that they are ornate and colourful. I then went back to a square just off the main one for a lunch break.

I then meandered through side streets to the archaeological museum. It had varied exhibits – both from home and abroad. It had a selection of mummies & coffins. Vast amounts of pottery and jewelry; and to my taste – coins. I spent over an hour there. I then went back to the small square for a beer and read.
 

 I then walked slowly back to the hotel. Under the railway station, I looked for an English newspaper. I have done the entire time I have been out here, but only the Financial Times I have stopped twice and is not to my liking. But alas, I found the Guardian for 24KN. I could read something at length, physically, in English. Hurrah. I then walked back to the hotel to rest and read.

My Images of SEE – 19:10, Tuesday 23rd August

I quickly got ready and made my way out. I walked into the old town and had a coffee in one of the small cafes and read. I then made my return journey, in the shade, towards the Parliament building, and to the museum. Luckily it was open, so I went in. There were three sections, so I began with the Archaeology part. It had a lovely collection, which started with exhibits from outside BiH, but then moved on to it. I then explored the Botanical Gardens then on to the Ethnographic part. Here, they had an exhibit on 20^th century children’s toys. That was a bit modern and seemed slightly out of place. I then moved into another odd exhibition about ‘Love’ – more specifically about tokens for love. I then went upstairs where they recreated 19^th century Ottoman homes – parts of which were from an original home.

I then walked back through the gardens, located in a courtyard, surrounded by the museum. I went to the small Natural History museum that wasn’t worth seeing. I sat in the gardens for a while, to rehydrate, then left. I walked back into town then, and sat at a café next to the water spring. After that I wondered around and managed to find a couple of leather/cord bracelets for me and Liam, so I bought those. I then went to the hotel to see where this Ottoman house was. I located it on a map and walked up the narrow lanes, up a hill, to it. Within 10 minutes I was there, but it was shut. So I returned to the old town and grabbed a nice, white coconut cake and coffee. I then meandered my way around again, and led myself back to my hotel to relax. I did a bit of preliminary packing.

My Images of SEE – 18:10, Monday 22nd August

I walked to the market and bought a couple of magnets, 4 postcards and a key ring. I then went to the museum near the Latin bridge about the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. It was simply a large room, but covered the Austro-Hungarian occupation and then the incident itself. They actually had Gavrilo Princip’s clothes and gun used on the day. Very intriguing. I then walked alongside the river out of the old town, west. Again the sun was piercing.

I reached the Parliament building that was opposite the shopping mall I went to two days ago. I took a photo and continued to the museum. The first one I went to was closed today; So I continued to the next one. It was housed in a Soviet-esque building, with weeds growing in the cracks in the tiles and being shrouded in bushes and trees. I went in, paid, and bought a programme.

In the main atrium there was a board, 20 ft long that was a wall that Sarajevans were asked to put up info on loved ones last year. It was housed here now. There were news clippings, photo’s of loved ones murdered, photo’s of people houses – then and now. But two things specifically stuck out. One was a blue and white-stripped jumper. It had a dark stain on it. Below was a photo of a 7 year old boy, who was wearing the said jumper Luckily for me, the viewer, the photo was of a happy occasion. But it got to me, emotionally, that the boy was no more – and would have been a young adult now. The second was a series of photo’s. 4 A4 sheets, 2 photo’s on each. On it was written the town of Visegrad. It showed men cowering, near red plastic chairs in what must have been a former canteen, and in the process of being bludgeoned to death. From cowering, to blood soaked, to laying there motionless. I felt sick.

I went upstairs to a room split between 2 exhibitions. I continued with the siege first of all. There was the story of the siege, in government documents, photo’s, newspaper articles – and a range of exhibits such as uniforms, weapons, make shift cookers, food examples, and evidence of continued culture and arts. It was very emotional. I left a comment in the guestbook.  I then went around ‘the history of 1,000 years of Bosnia’ exhibit, that was more a written experience, but had a couple of exhibits. Back downstairs in a side room was a small explanation of the first written acknowledgment of the Banate of Bosnia. In another, there were several before and after shots around Sarajevo. I then left and went to the mall. I ate at Viapiano again. I wrote my final postcard to Kirsty and Sean then.

I walked back to the old town, with resources for the train ride from the mall. I found a post office near the Bezistan, and sent it off. Around the corner I saw a pub the other day, “Cheers”, so I popped in for a drink and read. After an hour I left for the hotel again.

My Images of SEE – 20:57, Tuesday 16th August

We arrived at the hotel, and then freshened up. We went to the bar and had a beer while reading. It was quiet in the hotel, only us and the reception staff. Later on a couple went to the restaurant are and ate, joined by another two tables later still. An English man bar then a Romanian joined him. The Romanian asked what he was doing here. He replied “Business”. The Romanian then asked if he was bringing a woman back to his room. He said no. The Romanian then persistently badgered him about it. The English guy did well, but why do people have to be brash about it. We left after an hour and slept. And gosh did we sleep. From 22:00 until 09:15 the next day – like logs.

We awoke fresh, yet dozey. We decided upon an Ibis breakfast – so we went downstairs and asked to put it on our invoice. We filled up for the day in the shadow of the Parliament building.

I asked reception for our check out time. 12:00 she said. Excellent. We went back up, and read for a while, then slowly got showered, changed and packed. We went downstairs for 11:45, paid, then left our luggage there for later.

We walked up to Izvor park, and its Metro station. We caught the train to Piata Unirii, changed, then onwards to Piata Victoriei. 

The Metro system is small, yet dazzingly modern in a not so modern city. Both comfort and uneasiness came with an armed guard on each train. They were similar to the German U-Bahn ones that have no connected parts, but are hollow from front to back like a fleshed out snake. We arrived at Piata Victoriei, and reached ground level. It was a massive expanse of concrete with confusing traffic measures, a car park seemingly in the middle, and surrounded ¾ in the way by past Soviet buildings. 

We were here though for another purpose. That was, to the north, the Museum of the Romanian Peasant. We located it within 300 yards of the Piata, in a building seemingly constructed for its purpose. Its surroundings were leafy and suburban. We went in and viewed the exhibition in 4 parts.

The first part was mostly wood cross carvings and religious iconography on wood. However, there was an original village church hut that they moved here. No more than a shack, but it held the village together via faith. The second part was an extension of the collective prayer theme previous. There they had a massive boat-like construction that was another prayer room. The third was more ethnographical and to my taste. Upstairs it had male and female clothes, pottery, and kitchenware – and again, a massive construction. It was an actual village house. It had a dark, aged wood as its material of construction, obviously weathered through time. It had an ‘allsorts’ part for tools and labouring. It had a kitchen, and then a bedroom. The attic was used for storage and, quaintly, Christmas decorations. The final part was a look at Soviet propaganda in the village, but basically contained busts of Lenin and portraits of past Romanian leaders. 

We got some bits from the gift shop then left. We went back on the Metro to the university then walked to the Romanian History Museum. However, it was closed. So we went for a coffee on the Strad Lipscani. This was the quarter that had a load of cafes and bars, and was in receipt of EU funding. 

We had a coffee, but a disturbed man was kicking off, first with people, then with dogs, some 50 yards away. So I said we should leave and we did. We went to the shopping area and killed time by having a look around. We then walked back to Lipscani. The temperature and sun was unbearable at this point, so we found an Irish Pub, went in a supped two ‘pints’ slowly. This ws the first time we found an internet connection, so we caught up on e-mails. We then walked around the corner to an Italian and sat outside.

The street was becoming busier now. We had a lovely and fulfilling meal then walked through Piata Unirii one last time, up the boulevard to the Parliament. The sun was nearing dusk now. We walked around the Parliament back to the hotel. We picked up our luggage then walked around Izvor park to the Metro, catching it to Gara de Nord. We entered Gara de Nord, which was bustling with activity, and noticed Beograd on the departures – ‘Lina 2’. So we got some snacks from the kiosk and waited on the platform. 

At 20:30 our train arrived, fresh and ready for the journey. We showed our ticket to the carriage guard and he nodded us on. The cabin was luxurious. A 3 seater in the day, it was now a two person bunk. A sink, complimentary water and morning bag/pack. It was lovely. We settled in before it departed into the night. Our attendant came to check the tickets, and took ours until Belgrade.

My Images of SEE – 14:10, Sunday 14th August

So at the hostel we just opted for the free beer, leaving the pasta for tonight. As we sat on a large U-shaped sofa, a young lad from Bristol was sat next to us. He had just finished uni, so wanted to spend as much money as possible before starting his job in September. He was 3 weeks into his 6 week trip. We chatted about where he had been, and where he is going to. He said he’s off south – to Skopje. We gave him our positive opinion of the place. However, the opposite was in store for us when we mentioned Bucharest. ‘Spend one day there’, he said. Thankfully, we are: with that he left, so we went on the PC’s for 20 minutes.

We then walked past our apartment to a restaurant a couple of blocks up that served ‘traditional Bulgarian food’. The venue looked 150 years old architecturally, but was nicely painted red with white features. We entered via a side courtyard, and got taken inside to our table. The interior was homelike but with guns on the walls. I wondered how ‘Bulgarian’ that was. We ordered a bottle of local red, which was lovely, when all of a sudden the House 3-piece band started playing. A drummer, guitarist and & accordion player stood next to a group in a nearby room. Afterwards they played near us, with a familiar tune. It was Careless Whisper by George Michael!

We had a starter of cooked Goat’s Cheese, thin pitta-like bread, Blueberry Jam and roasted ring of apple. It was amazing. Liam then had chicken with asparagus – which turned out to be babycorn. I had mixed meatballs and ‘sausage’, which was lovely and filling. The spices went well with the red wine. It did take a bit of time between courses, but the dessert was amazing – Walnut Cake with ice cream. The bill only 60 Lev - £30! Bargain.

So we left, departing with our bag, and went to the hostel’s bar. It was 7 doors down from the hostel and on the first floor of a tall block. As we walked in only a small group of people were there. The barman gave us our free shot. Something green and strong. Liam had a coke, and me a vodka with ice. For an hour and a half we sat there and chatted, as a large group came in and entertained themselves behind us (we were at a bar running across the window). Then another, smaller group came in. The larger group of mixed nationalities 30 minutes after their arrival, and soon after, so did we. We then slept through the night until 09:00 this morning.

We got our rags on and went over to breakfast a little early. Liam had bread and cheese, I had bread with a lesser known brand of Nutella. I was feeling tender. We then got back to the apartment, wash and changed, then packed. We walked back to the hostel, and I settled the bill. We could leave our baggage under the watchful eye of the receptionist/manager. So we departed then for a second day of exploring.

We walked the route to the main square, the right heading south down bul. Vitosha. This has many western shops on and about halfway down, before the park, we stopped for a coffee. After our break from the sun, we continued to the park. It was a lovely wide park with parallel tree lines on either side of a wide pedestrian boulevard, centred with a series of water pools. As it stretched south, it culminated in fountains. Behind those was a behemoth of a construction. 

The Palace of Culture may make it seem grand, but it looked like a 1970’s hypermall. Behind that was Mt. Vitosha. A lovely view. We walked towards it, then beyond it to ‘lover’s bridge’. But it was a damp squib, so we walked back to the top of the park, and turned left down a main street that took us to the bottom of the shopping street we were on yesterday. 

We walked up this, then back into town where we entered a food place we saw yesterday. We had a fulfilling meal and then walked to the Museum of Natural History. Basically stuffed animals. But it wasted another hour of the day. We then walked the way we came, via a park, so sat there and read for a short while, before going into Costa Coffee across the street. 

My Images of SEE – 17:33, Sat 13th August

Had a lovely night’s sleep, but any dream of a lie-in was rudely disturbed by renovation work occurring downstairs. So we slowly woke up, and I dipped in for a shower. We walked across the road from our apartment to the main inn, where we entered upon a busy common room wrestling with a ‘buffet’ breakfast. I grabbed a seat, whilst Liam went ahead. Upon his return, I then got in line. One sale person was in charge, and things looked like they were running out. So I grabbed a slice of bread, some cheese, Apple juice and a milky tea. We devoured it then left.

Back at the apartment we set about our first round of washing. I washed whilst Liam constructed a Crystal Maze style washing line – involving the windows and a nearby cupboard. He then rinsed and wringed the clothes whilst I did. We then packed and walked back up along the long road to the train station. The buildings went from Mid-1800 imperial, to small 1960 constructs, on to crumbling fronts by the time we approached the station. This was another Communist experiment, yet a recent addition was made at the front in the form of a massive tent.

We went to information, where a local lady in her mid 50’s recited the phrase “International desk” whilst pointing. Following her fingers, we reached our destination. We booked two couchettes in a cabin of 4 all for £16 – bargain! We then departed the station, armed with 2 bottles of water and a Coke, for another main road into the centre. Again, crumbling buildings led to 1960’s ones, that led to older, nicer ones. We reached a square with 5 attractive points.

First was the synagogue, tucked down a side street off the square, behind the second point of interest. It had 4 points rising, and its central, larger point too. We then walked through an old building that contained a modern market. Meats, nuts, fruit, mixed with beauty products & cafes. We then appeared at the square again. We crossed the road to get on to the main part of the square, and then saw the mosque. Very impressive it was too, akin to the one in Skopje. Behind it were the ruins of the old baths. Nearby was a fountain, and behind two old former baths looking opulent. To the left of them, over an adjoining road, were several taps of hot spring water. We bottled a bit of the warm stuff, but decided to pour it away afterwards.

We then walked via the metro (to bypass the roadworks) to the next square that had the Orthodox Church on it, but to the east had the modern Presidency. As we walked past, we peered to our right. In the Presidential courtyard was an old church. We could freely walk in, so we did. It was such a juxtaposition, that church and the modern, neo-classical construct encircling it. We then exited via a different route and saw the old Communist headquarters. A ‘V’ shaped building facing west, it was imposing and impressive. South of it, on a plaza, was an old Orthodox church, now an archaeological museum. So we went in. 

75% of it was early Roman/Greek ruins. Statues, headstones, pots, carvings, coins. All very interesting. 25% was Christian Orthodox frescoes. Liam did ponder whether the building was Greek Orthodox (as the roof was glossed white, but cracks exposed some paintings underneath).We then departed and walked on the southern fork of the road split by the ‘Party HQ’, that took us to the largest Orthodox Church in the Balkans. It had a massive dome of gold, and was adjacent to the Assembly building. 

We then cut down a side street to the main shopping street, stopping for a blended ice coffee on the way. We walked up the shopping street to the main square, where we had lunch and cocktails for an hour, before heading back to our room. After our rest, we went over to the main hostel.

My Images of SEE – 17:30, Thu 11th August

After another snooze at the hostel last night, I collected enough energy, and given enough prompting from Liam, to go out to eat. That was at 21:15. We walked along 11 October to the square. We just settled on the Pelister again. We sat down – busy as last night there too – and ordered a medium Margarita to share. We didn’t want to mis-judge the meal size again. So I managed a couple of slices and also some ice cream to cool my stomach. We then walked back to the hostel for 23:00. It was to be another restless night.

We woke up slowly at 08:00, and understood we had to pack. So we half did so, before we went out to the pharmacy 150 yards away to get medicine. Armed with my Eastern European phrasebook, I (hopefully) ordered the correct medication. We then went back, showered, then packed up. We left the key in the door to our room for our host then left. We walked to the train station where I again asked if the train to Nis. A different lady gave me the answer I wanted. “20:45, Platform 4” Excellent. And no need to book either.

We walked around the dark, dingy and altogether sinister train station to the baggage room. No-one was there, so we returned to the lady at the ticket booth. She said to go to the man at information. We did, and he off loaded our bags for us. He gave Liam a chitty and wrote down ‘YY’ that we interpreted as seventy seven to pay when we return. So we left the train station for the old train station, now home to the City of Skopje museum. 

Somewhat surprised that it was free, we appreciated a free visit. However, the exhibit was tiny. However it was informative about the earthquake and local archaeological finds. We then walked into the square, then left, to the post office. I then posted my postcard to Kirsty and Sean for 36 denars – bargain. I just made note of our progress, and where we were going to next.

I then walked Liam past the nearby Government buildings, who didn’t appreciate its architecture at all. Neither did I to be honest. We then turned a corner to observe the St Kliment Orthodox Church. Almost tent-like in its shape, the domes I felt owed more to the Ottoman Empire than any Christian theme. It was new however, and perhaps wanted to fit into its historical surroundings. 

We then went to a café between the river and the mall for a beverage. After that we ventured across the bridge again to the bazaar and beyond to the National Museum of Macedonia. Again, architecturally it looked more like a disused school, but inside this dated building were interesting documents on the history of Macedonia covering the last 150 years. 

A small section had archaeological finds. The other side of the building had the ethnographic exhibition. This I found the most interesting. It had 40 + mannequins of past national dress and small models of how houses and homes looked like in times past. 

Before leaving, the nearby Mustapha Pasha mosque began its call to prayer. It was an amazing experience. It felt far removed from ‘Europe’ but also fit in with our location. We then made our way further up to the Museum of Contemporary Arts. The exhibition was ‘Balkans: Love it or leave it’ and had some provocative pieces and some excellent political messages. One focused on the various names the ‘West’ cast him/her as ‘East Europe, Central Europe, South East Europe, Balkan’ all the while remaining in Bucharest. Very interesting. 

We took in the magnificent views of the city on this glorious day, then walked back down the hill to the square, and on to the Irish bar. Here we ate and had drinks for 2 hours, just to relax and use up our time. We then headed over to the Ramstore to buy some local wine to take home, and snacks for the train. I then exchanged 2,000 denars back for €30 and we then had coffee.

My Images of SEE – 15:34, Tue 9th August

Our last day in Thessaloniki today, so we packed up and left our quaint hotel room for the last time. The hotel kindly kept our bags for us until later. We set off walking in the mild heat towards the White Tower, going via backstreets to keep in the shade. We decided to stop in Starbucks for an hour to pass time and read. Even Starbucks wasn’t a no-go area for the street sellers.

At 12:00 we departed for the Museum of Byzantine History, near to the Archeological Museum and adjacent to City Hall. For €4 apiece we wondered around a well laid out exhibition and architecturally easy to walk building. We saw paintings, mosaics, coins, tombs, photo’s of digs, kitchenware etc. All very interesting. It had a definite ‘Macedonian’ edge to it as opposed to a ‘Greek’ theme.

We left just after 13:00 and walked back to the White Tower. Local police were still monitoring the area in anticipation of a repeat of recent protests. We walked along the front to a small café and ordered food. One thing I noticed more and more was the Greek passion for smoking. Everywhere we were, people lit up. A filthy habit. The waiter apologized as the oven failed to start, so my pizza was late. Liam’s Greek Salad looked lovely.

We then left. I was convinced I saw a ‘Spar’ shop, so we walked the length of the shopping street, past the Ladidika area. I must have been mistaken, as there was no shop. So we meandered back to Aristotle Square, then up to the park further up the hill for the last hour before picking up our luggage.

My current thoughts on my visit to the Byzantine Museum, and the observation of the ‘Macedonian’ presentation of history on show, continues my observations made in a previous post – that of nation building in the new state of Greece, and nationalism as a goal and process.

To put the first idea of nation building in context, the modern interest in Greece began around 200-300 years ago, and revolved around the West’s rediscovered fascination with Hellenism. This connected Ancient Greek writers, philosophy, architecture, etc, to the present and was dubbed Philhellenism. This developing sense of common Greekness allowed the disparate populations to become even more strongly identified as Greek across the Ottoman Empire and claim almost 2,000 years of common descent. The Orthodox Church acted as the strongest pillar of unity via the millet system at the time. However, only a small grouping pursued this idea. Indeed the first hope of a Greek state was actually in the Ottoman vassal Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The Phanariots – Greeks who lived in a quarter of Constantinople and exercised great power in the Ottoman administration – ruled here and were seen as harbourers of Greek culture. An initial revolt there, soon suppressed, led to the uprising surfacing in the area now occupied in contemporary southern Greece.

Concepts of time and space shifted to allow for the perennial linking of modern Greeks to the Ancients and for the disparate groups to sense their commonality even over distances. Whilst not disputing that culturally similar tribes of Greeks existed prior to modernity, the fact is that only by a small group being able to (re)invent and communicate a national Greek narrative could people gain a sense of belonging to similarly defined peoples across space and time. But only the tools that states possess could accelerate these processes to ‘awaken’ those not already so. Education, a bureaucracy, the ability to communicate swiftly, all lent themselves to expanding the notion of a Greek national identity. But I’m getting ahead of myself as this is nationalism as a process.

Nationalism as a goal, according to Eric Hobsbawm, seeks to make the nation and the state congruent. And social constructivist authors, like Hobsbawm, all agree on the order in which this occurs. “Nations do not make states and nationalisms but the other way around”. So in the 1830s a Greek state was established not by a mass uprising of all Greek nationals, but by small segments of the population possessing nationalism as an ideal to achieve a national state for Greeks, as they saw them in their definition of what it meant to be Greek.

Yet by the 1830s, they had their state but it was in no way homogenous or national. The reality on the ground shows the folly in such nationalising and homogenising projects led by Greek nationalists – Greece at present still has Albanian, Turkish, Bulgarian and Macedonian minorities, however they are recorded or treated. Prior to World War Two it was in effect a multinational state. Thus nationalism as a goal, taken up by Greek nationalists, sought to create a homogenous Greek nation-state. But only by possessing a state could homogenisation take place.

Going back to the concept of time, opens up another observation. The link to Ancient Greek was only one era of history the Greek nationalists drew on. Many eras and empires existed between these two snapshots in time: Roman, Byzantine, Macedonian, and Ottoman. E. H Carr’s quote, that millions have crossed the Rubicon but it was Julius Caesar’s crossing that history documents, highlights’ the selective nature of historians (and through them nationalists) to mould their national narrative. This selectivity, by different people for different purposes, results in differing interpretations or frames which one can present a version of history by highlighting certain events or eras (or avoiding events and eras altogether). One example is Greek nationalists erasing Greece’s Ottoman past, as evidenced in Thessaloniki mentioned previously, as it did not fit their national narrative.

Conversely, at the start and end of the 20^th century, Greece laid claim to a Macedonian past centred on the ancient Kingdom of Macedon. However the Republic of Macedonia also laid claim to this. So we have a resulting conflict by two nations over one period of history in time and space (territory), both of which are seeking it solely for themselves. The recent Greek reasoning stems less from their historical claim to this heritage (which does play its part), and more from the desire to deprive the Republic of Macedonia of it as they see them utilizing it for territorial claims upon Greece. This dispute is still present today with the withholding of NATO membership and

EU accession talks.

I will discuss further the issue of disputed claims to history later on in this blog, but I wanted to give a flavour of how museums, whether archaeological, historical, national or even city focussed, all have a function in providing a narrative. More often than not it is presenting the national narrative of the state within which the museum resides.