Story ~ Roaming in Rome

Take a real Roman holiday by catching the must-see sights of the ancient city.
It's been featured in many romantic comedies (think the evergreen
"Roman Holiday" or the more recent "When in Rome"), its cuisine is
well-known (count the number of Italian restaurants in any
metropolitan city), and it's the 'in' place for fashion and style
(heard of Armani, Prada or Fendi?).
But what really sets apart this magnificent metro apart is the
historical and cultural significance. Sure, New York and Mumbai are
important metros too, but are their streets lined with quaint little
pizzerias and cobblestones? Can one see beautiful sculptures along
major crossroads and piazzas? No, it is only in Rome where these are
daily sights. Since there's so muchto see, here are a few do-not-miss
sights:
The Colosseum
About 1900 years ago, Emperor Nero, the much hated monarch, built an
artificial lake of about 300,000 square feet. After his death, the
pool was covered up and in its place was built the largeamphitheatre
we now call the Colosseum. At its peak (during thetime of gladiators),
it could seat about 75,000 spectators (about 1.5 times the capacity of
Chennai's cricket stadium). But what really strikes the viewer is the
aging grace of the structure. Even after having been half-broken down
by the invaders, it serves as a symbol of the grandeur once associated
with the Roman Empire.
Food and Fashion
Rome contains the headquarters of fashion brands like Valentino and
Bulgari and has the distinction of being the hometown of pasta!
For food, stick to the small pizzerias by the street sides. Theymay
seem a bit cramped as everything seems to be in Rome, where lack of
space is a huge issue, but the mouth watering food makes up for it.
Pizza, traditionally associated with Italy,first originated in Naples.
When the citizens of Naples showed their invention to the
city-dwellers of Rome, they were laughed upon… Guess the joke is on
them, now! Don't miss out on Roman specialities: Pomodori conriso
(Baked tomatoes filled with rice and potatoes) and Gnocchi alla Romana
(potato dumplings doused in butter and melted cheese).
Fashion-wise, things might be expensive, but don't be afraid to
splurge a little. The Via de Condotti is home to top designer stores
such as Armani, Prada, Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, Gucciand other
global brands. Once upon a time, store-owners used to charge up to €10
for customers to just walk through the doors! Thankfully, now we can
window shop and dream about these luxurious products without having to
pay a penny.
St. Peter's Basilica
It's true that the most famous structure in the Vatican City is the
Sistine Chapel, but the St. Peter's Basilica is not something you can
miss! The interiors are just as impressive as its exteriors. St.
Peter's is vast and spacious, leaving a lot of room for visitors to
wander and explore different parts of the church. Inside, one can see
statues by artists such as Michelangelo of popes and figures who
played a crucial role in the construction and maintenance of the
basilica.
Fountain of four rivers
Rome boasts of a collection of public fountains unmatched by any other
city. They were once used as a way of distributing drinking water to
the poor. Rome's greatest fountain, the "Fountain of Four Rivers" is
found in Piazza Navon and depicts Gods of the four great rivers in the
four continents then known to geographers: the Nile in Africa, the
Ganga in Asia, the Danube in Europe and the Río de la Plata in
America. Each sculpture is enhanced by decorations of flora and fauna
of the respective regions. To top it all, a giant Egyptian-style
obelisk towers over the whole piece. People were originally worried
that the obelisk would cause the whole structure to tip over, but it
has held strong.
Varalakshmi Sarathkumar, actor
Last August, I visited Rome for the first time. It was one of my best
trips. It is the food that reallymade my trip great. I ate everywhere
possible, from street food joints to luxury hotels and I wasn't
disappointed anywhere. The gelatos were particularly special.
Also, a discussion about Rome would be incomplete without a mention
about its splendid architecture. Vatican City is beautiful. What I
feel is that we may take photographs to relive moments but witnessing
the breathtaking landscapes there in real is a different experience
altogether
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ISLAMIC ARTICLE ~ The Hidden Blessings of Illness and Hardship

The Hidden Blessings of Illness and Hardship
~
I'm glad and grateful that I am ill right now, and that times are
hard. Does that sound crazy?
~
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Messenger of
Allah (pbuh) said, "For any adversity a Muslim suffers, Allah erases
some of his sins, even though it may be no more than athorn pricking
him." (Related by Al-Bukhari).
Another version of this Hadith is also related by Al-Bukhari on the
authority of two of the Prophet's (pbuh) companions, namely, Abu Saeed
Al-Khudri and Abu Hurairah who quote him as saying: "Whatever befalls
a Muslim of exhaustion, illness, worry, grief, nuisance or trouble,
even thoughit may be no more than a prick of a thorn, earns him
forgivenessby Allah of some of his sins."
My father recently suffered a fall and broke his leg badly, and is now
in a rehab center. In my personal life, two moves and one divorce in
the last five years havemade it hard to retain friendships,and I find
myself feeling isolated. I've been through some painful personal
experiences. And these are hard times economically as well. So there's
a lot of stress in the household.
I do my best to love my daughter more than ever, to play with her, hug
and kiss her, and always remind her of Allah's barakah. I try to make
her world full of happiness, learning, and talks about Allah. I try to
never let her see me sweat, as they say. But once she's sound asleep
in bed, I feel the weight of responsibility on my shoulders like a
sack of stones.
So if by patiently enduring this illness and these hard times in
general, I will earn Allah's forgiveness for my sins, and maybe will
be blessed in ways that I do not see, then I am grateful.
One more hadith: Jabir ibn Abdullah narrated that Allah's Messenger
salallahu alayhi wasallam said, "On the Day of Resurrection, when
people who have suffered affliction are giventheir reward, those who
are healthy will wish their skins hadbeen cut to pieces with scissors
when they were in the world." (Al-Tirmidhi, 1570)
In other words, when people see how much reward is given to those who
suffered in life, they will wish that they had suffered terribly, in
the worst possible ways, so that it might become a cause of
forgiveness for them in the Hereafter.
SubhanAllah, whatever pain we suffer in this life is not in vain. It
is not wasted. We may cry and wince and groan over small pains,but
Allah sees our suffering and will compensate us more than we can
imagine, as long as we are patient and keep faith in Him. Allah the
Most High has a plan for us, and He is the best of planners. We must
have faith in Him and Hisplan for us.
Seeing the Good
Also, let us not be blind to the good things that have happened. I
think this is very important. All too often we get caught up in
ourlosses and dismiss some of Allah'squiet gifts and blessings that
have budded and opened up when we were hardly looking.
For example, I have always thought of myself as a writer at heart and
have been happiest when I was pursuing that calling. When I was single
I was obsessive about it. Even after a long day at work I would sit
down in front of the computer in my little San Francisco loft, and
write. After I got married and the responsibilities of family life
fell on my shoulders I neglected my writing. Lately, however, I find
myself writing daily and expressing ideas that have been growing in my
heart for decades. The words flow as if they have been bottled under
pressure, waiting for release. What a blessing!
In my teens I studied martial arts for some years. Life carried me in
different directions and I stoppedpracticing but I still thought of
myself as a martial artist, and keptmeaning to get back into it.
Finallyin my late thirties I realized that my dream was passing me by.
I got back into it and made a do-or-die commitment. Since then, with
the moves from the Bay Area to Panama City to El Valle to Fresno, it's
been a struggle to find teachers and training partners, but I have
persisted, in some cases creating my own training group out of
scratch. For the last year and a half, partly as a way ofdealing with
loneliness and stress,I plunged myself into an intensivestudy of the
arts.
Now I suddenly find myself entering this phase when my understanding
of the arts is expanding like a tidal wave. I seem to have moved
beyond rotememorization of techniques and Iam able to spontaneously
create combinations and visualize new possibilities.

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ISLAMIC ARTICLE ~ Lead the Way

Do you want to see something different in the world? Show it. Do you
want to see things moving in a better direction? Then get stepping and
walk it, and I guarantee that others will follow, because they have
seen the problems as well, and they arewaiting for someone to lead the
way.
Do you want to be a better Muslim, father, mother, son, daughter,
sibling, or friend? Then be it. Now is the moment. The past is
prologue leading to this moment.
Are you waiting for someone elseto show love and kindness first? Are
you waiting for someone elseto be vulnerable or brave, to put himself
out there, to take the first step, to show the way? There is no
someone else. You are the someone else. You… are… someone.
Le'ts open ourselves to faith, love and kindness. Let's change the way
we move in the world, the way we behave with Allah, the way we treat
people, the way we interact with every person. Let us become
testaments to the power of these transformative behaviors, not through
our words but through our actions. Let's express a new sincerity from
our hearts and walk through the world like believers. Let's become
people of Allah, people of Jannah (Paradise), people of imaan (faith),
love and mercy

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Health Nutrition

Time And health are two precious assets that we don't recognize and
appreciate until they have been depleted.
~
The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while naturecures
the disease.
~
Measure your health by your sympathy with morning and Spring.
~
I had my moments when I got very frightened that I would not recover.
~
He who enjoys good health is rich, though he knows it not.
For every minute you are angry,you lose sixty seconds of happiness!
~
People who eat breakfast are less likely to overeat later in the day
~
The average adult?s weight is made up of about two per cent calcium

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