WOW Zamboanga!

Zamboanga City has long been on my wish list of places to visit. With my days in the Philippines counted, I flew to the Western Mindanao metropolis for what turned out to be an enjoyable and interesting stay. Coming from rainy Manila, the blue and sunny sky was a relief. I booked into the first class Garden Orchid Hotel, which is within walking distance from the airport. There are other good hotels, some of them downtown. The traditional number one place is the Lantaka Hotel which has seen better days. It has a prime location right on the sea front and offers good views from a porch with a bar, where you can enjoy a drink and overlook parts of the harbor. Like other Philippine harbors, Zamboanga City doesn’t make much of its maritime location. I find the city rather inward oriented. Still. you get a good feeling that you are actually close to the sea on RT Lim Boulevard.

Getting around the city is easy. Just hop into any of the ubiquitous tricycles, and the driver will take you anywhere for a few pesos. I spent an entire morning exploring the downtown area on foot. At the center lies city hall, an old Spanish edifice built in the early years of the last century. Here and there, the efforts of the municipal authorities to preserve the few architectural remnants of the colonial era are apparent.

Arguably, the most striking feature of Zamboanga City is its multiculturalism. Depending on who you ask, the ratio of Christians and Muslims varies from between 70 to 30 to 50 to 50. “It is almost like Malaysia,” said the ambassador of a Western country, whose recent praise of the hospitality and friendliness of the Zamboanguenos was an additional incentive for me to visit.

Fort Pillar is the main tourist attraction. Built in 1635 by the Spaniards to ward of attacking Moros and pirates (I have this account from the official tourist brochure), it is now a religious shrine where the Lady of the Pillar is venerated following stories of miracles since the Spanish era. Importantly, the protector saint of Zamboanga City is venerated by both religious communities - Christians and Muslims alike. I was impressed to see veiled Muslim women pray and light candles at the shrine. When I asked them, how come they are doing this in a place that has all the religious symbols of Christianity, they smiled and answered: “For us, there is no difference.”

Taken from Dr. Ronald Meinardus Blogspot - My Liberal Times
Dr. Meinardus is the Resident Representative of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation

small world

I discovered Google Earth when my earstwhile boss saw me bored one Saturday afternoon in the office. I was so amazed with the software. You can easily download it anyway for free. Just by clicking and rolling your mouse, you can go to places and see them as if you are riding on an airplane. The pictures are taken from a powerful cameras on satellites roaming the earth atmosphere. You can view different cities and see how they were planned. No doubt Goggle Earth is an effective tool on doing research on urban planning and architecture of modern cities of the world. More