Middle East. A Few Remarks on Geography, History and Art

摘要

This article results basically from personal impressions gathered during my visits to the Middle East in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2011 and 2017, as well as from some suggested readings. Special emphasis is laid on geographical factors, as well as on historical circumstances connected with architecture and sculpture in the ancient Middle East. Important to stress is that the tale of the Mesopotamian hero Gilgamesh is much more than the first epic ever written in the world; Gilgamesh’s wish for immortality is the drama of every single man, no matter if he lived in ancient Mesopotamia during the 3~(rd) millennium BC, or if he lives in the 21~(th) century’s Manhattan.