I've seen those in Eastern Anatolia. They were pretty simple dots and lines. The most extravagant female facial tattoos I've seen were in on North African women. From what was told to me they were tribal marks that in addition to beautification helped discourage kidnapping.

The site below is sort of an imitation tattoo, but it looks exactly like the one's I've seen.

http://www.harquus.com/how/

FWIW, A Berber lady who was a very good friend told me the women who wanted to be rid of them used hair remover to erase them. It took a while, but in the end they faded to nothing.

Well, feel free to lose your new found respect for me Alameda because I am not a Botanist!!! I work with very clever Botanists and it's a subject close to my heart, but I am not one myself!

Oh well, that's close enough.

Well my dear Aenigma, I'm sure there are many things we agree on. I too grow much of my own food. Things like tomatoes, chard, beans, peas and many native species that are edible(all organic). Once you actually plant a seed and watch it grow, you eat with much more reverence. There is nothing like a tomato ripe andwarm from the sun, or a green bean only a second of two off the vine. Close your eyes and feel the taste as it goes through your whole body. There seems to be much more life force in food treated in this way as well.

A botanist....amazing...you have gained a new level of respect from me. In my little garden I use insects to control insects. Lady bugs, praying mantis, earthworms and such. Marigolds to control nematodes. Earthworm casings...and so forth.

Quoting AEnigma III: Quoting alameda: Actually, that is quite true. Have you ever read "The Secret Life of Plants" by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird? Truly amazing. It shows us that we should have respect and reverence for whatever is sacrifised to sustain us. Finally a subject we can agree on Alameda I work in botany and I never cease to be amazed at how clever and adaptable plants are! From plants which mimic a piece of rotting meat (in looks and smell!) to attract flies for pollination through to plants which actually stab and kill animals so that they will die at their base and fertilise the soil! I try not to think about it too much, but when we "farm" vegetables we are preventing them from fulfilling their "life destiny"!!! The real devotees of plants become "fruitarians" who only eat vegetables which have fulfilled their seeding cycle and fruit which has fallen to the ground naturally I could not take things THIS far, but do try to eat only organic vegetables, and ones that I grow in my garden are never stripped of all their fruit or seed ! Even the most cynical of the gardeners I work with have been known to cry when chopping down a tree. There is something very spiritual about trees... All forms of life deserve respect....

Actually, that is quite true. Have you ever read "The Secret Life of Plants" by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird?

Truly amazing. It shows us that we should have respect and reverence for whatever is sacrificed to sustain us.

As we have so much difficulty understanding other cultures, how much more difficult it is to understand different species.

Quoting girleegirl: Quoting ninja: There's life in vegetables too. They will feel the pain. Have you ever heard them screaming too? from crazy

Wow, that is really beautiful. Where is it?

Yes, nothing hurts like the pains of love. A very dear older and wiser friend of mine, who has now passed on, once told me " sweat it out honey"

Wooww thx Ayla,
First one is lovely,second im still waiting for it to open
i wonder if its sewing with something,or its just wraped ?!


It is wrapped, not sewn. Your petticoat should be sewn though. The petticoat is a must for anchoring all in place. The petticoat should have a strong waistband in order to support things and hold them in place.

The USA is a very multicultural, multiethnic society. On the coasts, New York and San Francisco you see more diversity than in the interior. As I have lived all my life on one coast or another it's difficult to comment on the interior.

New York City has a lot of Europeans as well as an influx of Caribbean and other immigrants. Walking down the street, you hear 20 different languages.

When I travel to other places, like Idaho, or Texas, I'm shocked at the cultural difference. Having spent very little time in those places, it's hard for me to talk about them other than they are very White and I only heard English being spoken. In Boise, ID I only saw one Black in a week. I did see a number of Mexicans, but they seemed to be pretty segregated from the other parts of that society.

CA and New York are less than 50% white. There is a very large Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and other) community as well as Mexican and other Latin Americans, Blacks from the South and other groups from Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria, Eretria or other places in Africa) or Asia (India, Arab, Pakistan, Afghanistan)

California was part of New Spain, then Mexico prior to becoming part of the USA, thus there is a lot of Spanish colonial influence. That Spanish influence was from in large part recently Catholic Spain, thus a large part of the architecture has strong Morrish influence. You will see a lot of Palm trees in CA. In fact it looks so much like the Mediterranean it's hard to realize you aren't there.

The parts I've lived in are very heavily influenced by these different cultures. That is what I really love about where I live, the cultural diversity. I see Pakistani and Indian women with their Shalvar Chamis and Dupatas and the ladies with the saris, Ethiopian women in their beautiful traditional garments as well as other groups in their beautiful traditional costumes.