02-18-2008
I heard a lot about the grand Canyons and Sedona, I never thought that one day I would go and see all that. Gigi, Andy and I woke up a little early and headed for Sedona at about 8: 20. We stopped at MacDonald’s to have breakfast. We had English muffins but without any meat, just eggs and cheese. They were good. However, with the muffins I had a coke. And as in America you can have as many cokes as you like paying only the first one, I had two. But later I ended up having a stomachache; I’d better stop completely drinking all those kinds of sodas.
After two hours by car we were in Sedona, a place that could be part of the seven wonders of the world, not because of anything but because of its uniqueness as a natural marvel. We first went to see a movie about the place, its history, different rocks and spirituality. I liked the movie a lot because it gave me a preview about the place.
Apparently Sedona was named after the wife of the first postmaster who moved a long time ago to the southwest of America. They were living in the place happily when Sedona lost one of her babies in an accident. She was so sad and depressed that her husband took her out of the area. However, they came back later to spend the rest of their lives there.
Sedona was created in 1902 and is located in the heights of Arizona plains. It was the land of native Americans. The red rocks surrounding the area are so high and exquisite as if men had at a certain time in history sculpted them. Each rock has a name depending on the shape it has. There is the cathedral rock, the coffeepot rock and even the snoopy rock. I can’t remember the other names.
All the region has shops that sell different things: souvenirs, clothes, books and so on. Restaurants and cafés are also along the alleyways. It is just a pleasure to go around looking at the different articles of Indian handicraft. I like anything that is authentic, simple and expresses some ideas; and I think that the Indian creative arts express a lot about the people, their culture and way of life. I bought some small souvenirs: a t-shirt for my son Hamza with Sedona and Arizona written on it,
A table set with an Indian symbol and other small things. The city reminded me of all the western films that I used to watch when I was a kid.
We later went to a restaurant specialized in different kinds of bread. I had a salad and a tuna sandwich. On our way back we went into a Spanish kind of place also with shops but mostly with a very beautiful architecture.
The highway was busier when we were driving back and so it took us more to get home, so I slept in the car. All what I can say is that that spot is now part of me and somehow or another it is my muse because now I can appreciate more God’s work of art. People from a lot of places and with a tendency of new age go there to get more spiritual and mystical because the place inspires that awe and wonder that only very few places can inspire. Andy told me that here in America they use the expression Mecca to refer to a spiritual place; and Sedona is his and other people’s Mecca. It is surely not my Mecca as my Mecca is the real Mecca, but Sedona is a place where any religious person can feel the strength of God the Creator.