Subject: Educational Use of Photograph

Date: Tue, 5 Nov 2002

Greetings from Canada!

Before I launch into my spiel, I want to say that I was amazed by your web site. Thank you for that list of essays. I started to delve into it and read three before I realized that it's not what my boss is paying me to do so I bookmarked it.

I am a photo researcher working on the clearance of images for the interactive exhibits being installed in the new Science and Technology Museum in Saudi Arabia. One of the interactives that we are creating is a touch-screen quiz on the Seasons. During the quiz the child is shown a picture of a city somewhere in the world and they must guess what season it is in the photograph. Currently, I am searching for a photograph of Santiago in the month of May and I came across your web site containing some dandy photos of said location. Were your photos taken in May?

If they were, would you be willing to grant us permission to use one of your photos for non-profit educational purposes? Unfortunately, a photo credit on the credits screen of the kiosk is all we can give as most of the budget is being paid to the graphic programmers in the office around me who stay up all night staring at their high-resolution monitors.

Thank you for your consideration.

Best regards,

Rob, Media Sorcerer

Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002

Dear Shunya,

I have no words for your photography. It's a pearl in the web dunghill. I have made some links to your pages and if I may have a request ... [clipped to protect identity]

I wish more power to your elbow.

Janos R

Hungary

Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002

Hi, I'm Shyam and I just visited shunya.net. What a wonderful site you have put together! I just stumbled upon it but I was impressed by your pictures and the sheer number of places that you have been fortunate enough to visit. If you don't mind me asking, how are you able to visit so many places, with the limitations of time and money? I have done a bit of traveling myself but not nearly as many as I saw on your site.
I look forward to hearing from you.

Subject: Pride of Haroon

Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2002

I came across your text while looking for images of Gour-Emir in Samarkand. Your writing is very clear, surely very well-informed and scholarly, concise, and most interesting! You have made your own contribution to culture.

Much appreciated.

Nicholas B

Subject: Further explorations ...

Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2002

Help! It's 2:36 in the morning, and I must turn in. Why be shy? Would appreciate your posting your full name, but you chose not to, and that's OK. Your writing is excellent! It's very scholarly, yet very clear and to the point. My father, who translated Tertium Organum in the 1930s, would have loved your text, I'll bet. He became a Theosophist; was born Russian Orthodox Christian.

Best regards, indeed.
Nick

Subject: Compliments about the shunya site.

Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2002

Hello, my name is Dave T. Mr. Nicholas B, a member of the T-- mailing list, posted a link to your pages about Islam. That's how I found out about your site.

What excellent pieces of work! The pages are very well written and a joy to read. I perused the rest of your site as well; it seems your writing ability is matched only by your ability to take excellent photographs. Truly, the entire site is a rare gem.

I would, at this point, like to make a small pitch ... [clipped to protect identity]

Notwithstanding, I hadn't intended the point of this email to be a pitch to join T-- (although I suppose it turned out that way), but rather a compliment: I think you have a great site; I'm very glad you made your writing and pictures available.

Thanks for your time; may you go in peace.

Dave

Subject: Ugarit

Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2002

hi. 
i just wanted to say that i really enjoyed reading your site about Ugarit. i am Syrian myself and i really love history and archeology. out of all the historical places i've been to in Syria and other countries, i liked Ugarit the best. i studied the architecture and history of it, and i thought it was amazing. its a shame that media destroys such valuable facts about my country... i had a history lesson at school today where it said in the book that the first alphabet came from Greece (?). No one believed me when i said Ugarit-Syria ... no one ever heard of it neither.

well i just wanted to say that i liked your site, keep it up :)

Noor J

VDK from California:

Greetings to The Shunya,

Thanks for sharing.  Your pics are truly amazing.  My favorite is the shot in Cuzco.  It is surreal.  And your travelogs brought back a flood of memories of life on the road. Someday soon, I hope you'll let me buy you a beer and trade some stories.

Subject: namaste

Date:  Sun, 18 Aug 2002

dear Sir, 

i would like to make a web page with informations and links related to Ganges. i ask you for permission to use your photo "morning dip" as background. 

thank you and good luck.

sincerely, Jasna S

Subject: Copacabana

Date: 17 Aug 2002

Dear Mr. Shunya,

first of all a great commendation on your pictures from all over the world!
I had loved to see them all and especially enjoyed to watch the pictures you took in brasil.
I'm German and also know most parts of brasil shown in your Internet-site. 
Although I know the city of Rio de Janeiro very well and have been several times there, I´ve never seen such a lovely panoramic view of the Copacabana beach and therefore would like to know from which place you have taken this gorgeous picture.

Please, would you be so kind to send me the name of the hotel or the right address of the building, which offers that lovely view of the Copacabana beach.

Thanks a lot,
Best regards,
A, Frankfurt am Main

Subject: Request

Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2002

Dear Sir,

Assalam-o-alaikum. I hope you are fine.

I have just seen your Islamic website. It is really very great and informative and so much appreciateable.

Sir I have a little request. Actually I have also designed an Islamic website which is about Miracles of Islam. (Miracles of Allah Almighty, Miracles of Holy Prophet Peace Be upon Him, Miracles of the Holy Quran, Miracles of Hazrat Ali R.A, Articles about Jinn, Evil Dajjal, Yajooj Majooj and Angels, Articles and pictures about Allah's fury & Punishments and many more important islamic articles). It has the biggest collection of the Miracles' Pictures.

Sir can you please add a link of my website in your website? I shall be very thankful to you for this.

I hope you will like it and add its link in your site.

Hope to hear from you soon,
With best regards,

Farhan B
Pakistan.

Subject: Ugarit

Date: Sun, 16 Jun 2002

Thank you for your most interesting writing on Ugarit. My husband and I were there in April 2001 and found it exactly as you described. The translations of the texts were wonderful.
Carole

Subject: a little correction =)

Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2001

hi there,

the purpose of this mail is first of all to congratulate you for the beautiful page, full of pictures you have ... have you taken all those? cause if so, really, really, congratulations, cause they are very good and beautiful pictures. i love all stuff related with that ... to do what you have done ... taken all those pictures from all your trips around the world, is just amazing and also, one of my life dreams.

anyway, the thing is, that i live in santiago, chile, and i was looking to the pictures you have from my city, and in one of them you wrong named one of the santiago hills. you know, here in santiago we have two important hills, San Cristobal is one (where the statue of maria is) and the other is Santa Lucia. the point is, that you have a picture of the Santa Lucia hill, named after the San Cristobal hill, and i think you should correct that, cause at least here in santiago is impossible and unacceptable to confuse both hills.

i hope you check this thing, and i also hope you continue taking pictures from all around the world and putting them on the internet so all of us, unknown people could enjoy them ...

take care and keep going on!

bye,

ana

Subject: Numen Inest

Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2002

I came upon your site while looking for homes displayed by Inest, a residential development marketing organization.

You were MUCH more interesting.

I guess I'll have to get my copy of  the Seven Pillars out of the box and I guess I'll have to get a copy of The Uncrowned King of Arabia.

I worried about you in the sandstorm, I envied you the night and the stars, I agreed with the two couples about the dishes, but wished I had been there too

I spent  an enjoyable lunch hour.  Now I have something to work toward. The Desert of Wadi Rum.

Chick S
Chicago, IL, USA

P.S.  Thanks for nothing!

TD from California:

I looked at many of your photos and I thought they were amazing. The dawn and dusk ones were simply stunning. The lost cities collection captured the seductive mystery of places unknown, peoples only glimpsed at; naturally, it made me want to go to all of those places. The portraits of people were strikingly earthy... all that everyday humanity captured with photographic clarity and perfect color. I know that's not at all easy to do. I used to dream of photography, till I saw the results of my attempts. Things don't just come out on film the way we see them. Obviously, a real photographer has a different eye for the world. You are obviously a gifted photographer. Have you ever tried to get paid for your photography? Submitted to National Geographic, for instance?

Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002

Just a cursory browsing shows me that you have your atheist-materialist-libertine theory first and evidence and comment are intended to justify your theory. No amount of erudition (and I see no great erudition in your articles) can by-pass the invincible 'ideas and emotions steering-power' of deep-rooted prejudices and misguided emotional grievances and the terror of abandoning the prurient and imperious ego. Muslims did their part in the modernization of civilization and development of science and also the soaring of not lamentable but enviable mysticism and what the West made of the Muslim legacy hasn't the best of what it could be.  There are such esoteric sciences and devastating and then radically reshaping and re-building sciences and technologies of the mind that you cannot suspect.

More discussion later if you wish.

Prof SA,  Chemical Engineer.  Trained Sufi.  Rector of  Prophet's Academy

Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002

Hello,

I'm writing to enquire about a photo of an elephant at a stop light somewhere in the south of India.  The picture in question is in the "Deccan" section of your India pictures.  I'd really like to know in what city the photo was taken.  I lived in that part of India for a year and the surroundings seem quite familiar.  The picture was called:  WaitingForSignal.jpg

Thank you for any help you can give me.

Sincerely,

Douglas

Subject: numen inest

Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2002

i haven't fully read your words; but your images and ideas are numinous.

dctr. maikal a. - a celtic aboriginal living in the desert continent

 more words later.

Subject: Wadi Rum

Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002

I just read your piece on your trip to Wadi Rum. Excellent. Well written, and you are very descriptive.

I also have a question for you since you have been to Jordan recently. I only have 5 days to explore Petra and Wadi Rum. I know it is not enough, yet that is all the UN will give me at this time. So my question to you is: What is the best course of action? also who did you do the tour with in Wadi Rum? Do you still have a contact number?

If you get a chance to write back that will be great, if not no worries.

Thanks a lot for your time and story. Can't wait to go myself.

Jeff

Subject: "On Early Islam"

Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2002

Excellent article.  Thanks for making available on the Internet. 

Robin, U. of Delaware