The Russians are coming...The Russians are coming

While that might have been the battle cry growing up back east in the 60's and 70's here it should have been "The Russians are here". Anywayyyyy besides the beauty of landscapes and wildlife Kodiak has to offer there is a rich history here beginning back about 7500 years ago, I know I know the world is only 6000 years old according to some but I’ll stick with my science class and besides I like bananas. I have taken a few photos of some of the native culture and history here but I’m going to wait till I have more before doing a blog on that. So skip ahead a few thousand years to the first white settlers and we have the Russians and a LOT of Russian influence here. One of the most prevalent is the Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Church.

The distinct blue onion domes catch your eye from just about anywhere in the city and make for a beautiful picture on a sunny day. I'll post some beautiful ones if / when I get them.

This a view from inside the church that I did not take. Hopefully I can get to explore inside at some point, I'm sure its amazing.

Another reminder of the Russian Orthodox influence here are the cemeteries. We took a walk through one and took the following photos. I’m used to the ones back east and while when you see one headstone you’ve seen them all, this cemetery was different and a real representative of local history. I recognized names that I have heard or read somewhere or other here. Also unique were the different types of graves some dating back before the turn of the century and most not even having a grave marker.

The Russian Orthodox Cross differs from the cross that I’m use to or the traditional cross (traditional to me at least). The top bar represents the plaque that was hung over Jesus’ head. The middle bar, as in Western Christianity, is the cross beam on which Jesus’ palms were nailed. The slanted bottom bar is the footrest.

Now a personal observation about this particular cemetery. Having seen death in many forms and God knows way to many times I have come to the conclusion that once a person dies his soul, spirit, essence or what ever your word is, leaves the body and thus leaves an empty shell or vessel. Attend a few autopsies and you will probably agree about the shell part. That said I still find myself saying a quiet sorry sometimes when walking in a cemetery when I walk over a grave. This cemetery, I guess with the passing of time or the fact that "6' under" doesn't apply here had me apologizing a lot as the next picture shows.