CTH World Tour Part 4

Aesthetics & Existence – Architecture, City Planning, Preservation

In this segment of the World Tour to ports illustrative of human development the focus is on the immediate last century to the present. In the 16^th century adventurers left the Old World-Europe, to discover possibilities in the New World-Western Hemisphere. When Magellan landed in Cebu, he mistook the unknown for the inferior, as did James Cook in Hawaii. Today ports of the Far East and Pacific Islands are sought after destinations for cruise travelers. 

Vibrant ports of the world today offer well-planned cities of icon architecture, often with exceptional museums, that successfully preserve the past as they exalt the new. Safety, cleanliness, and reliable transportation attract visitors. Could-be great examples of human endeavor, mishandled by governments to their detriment, are not ports of distinction on the CTH World Tour. 

This newsletter is a world cruise brochure, a brief signposting of events in world history. Travel to experience indicia of great human advance. Rather than count countries or World Heritage Sites visited, consider counting visits to steppingstones in societal development, port to port. How many ports on the CTH World Tour have you visited?

As in this entire project, choice of ports is subjective. Comments are welcome. 

To begin Part 4 –

City Planning

The fortuitous, yet ungrateful, monarch of the late 16^th century, Philip II of Spain, Portugal, Low Countries, and momentarily Sicily and England, was a failure in attacking England to unseat former sister-in-law, Elizabeth I, but he was a master at city planning. An ardent Catholic, Philip decreed the Law of the Indies across Spanish domain. The nucleus of each town was a church on a central plaza facing a government building. Evidence of Philip’s decree is seen in Port Los Angeles and pueblo beginnings of cities of California and the Mexico coast. Port Manila Intramuros is a Spanish city.  (CTH #7 & 13)

Port Singapore began in the 19^th century as a planned commercial hub, with parks, a cricket pitch, and a premier hotel, devoid of social services for a resident population. The first president of the independent country, Lee Kuan Yew, took Singapore from 3^rd world to 1^st world in one political lifetime. The country/capital city is a world banking center and instant World Heritage Site exemplifying the ultimate in city planning for beauty, efficiency, and vibrancy.

Landscapes of Icon Architecture and Inviting Homes of the Arts

The ultimate city of architecture is Port Barcelona. It has been so since dean of the school of architecture Domenech I Montaner established Catalan Modernisme in the 19^th into the 20^th century, also known as Catalyn Art Nouveau. Sculptor, dropout of Montaner’s school, Antoni Gaudi, wanted no straight lines in his work, as opposed to Puig I Cadafalch in his stair-step-roofed commission for a Dutch chocolate merchant. Buildings of all three adjoin on Ile de Discordia in Barcelona, a tribute to artistic independence.

In Barcelona, favorite sons are joined by German Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe and American Frank Gehry’s Barcelona Fish Stadium. Walk historic streets of chocolate merchants and see works by Dali, Miró and Picaso. (CTH #1)

Port Bilbao, a dying city, was revitalized by a museum known to Americans as “The Bilbao,” and to Spaniards as “The Guggenheim.” Revenue from tourism funds restoration of the historic quarter. Port Abu Dhabi, a city of arts and Arabic culture, rose from sands with limitless funds to establish a world class destination, including an isthmus of museums: Louvre Abu Dhabi; a resident dinosaur in the Natural History Museum; and rising falcon plumes at Zayed National Museum, honoring Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan father of the UAE. (CTH #1 & 5) Port Helsinki began as a city planned by Russian czars, later was the birthplace of Scandinavian modernism by architects Herman Gesellius, Armas Lindgren, Eliel Saarinen, and Alvar Aalto. (CTH#11)

Meritorious Preservation of Historic and Enduring Living Cities

Preserved historic cities must remain alive to avoid becoming open-air museums or theme parks. US preservation began in Port Charleston, from Fort Sumpter, where the Civil War began, to homes of pre-war white and black residents. In Port Newport an unlikely duo of White House historian Katherine Newman and tobacco heiress Doris Duke preserved Gilded Age mansions on Cliff Walk and 17^thcentury pre-American Revolution homes. In France, preservation of Occitanian fishing village Port Sète, along canals where oysters and mussels of the saltwater lake were harvested for 400 years, was the passion of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. His 19^th century efforts to preserve medieval France is also seen in restoration of the walled city of Carcassonne and Notre-Dame de Paris. (CTH #6 &2)

Port Marseille was a shopping destination since Greeks claimed the harbor as Massilia. Later Romans, then Muslims of North Africa, and Christians of Spain haggled over the price of goods. Marseille is where French gastronomy was born, and tarot cards were the rage with elites. In 1858, style maven of the era, Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, settled into the mansion at Parc du Pharo, across from the Major Cathedral, begun in the 11^th century, both of which flank 21^st century MuCEM, a fiber-reinforced concrete cube. The museum connects by rooftop walkways to forts dating to Knights of St. John. (CTH #1)  

The World Heritage Site Committee stepped into a political sinkhole in delisting Port Liverpool. The 8 attributes for listing Liverpool remain uncompromised. Standing as solemn monument to expatriation of Irish and Scottish, in cultural cleansing, are 18^th century Albert Docks. City of the Three Graces – the Cunard, Port Liverpool, and Royal Liver buildings, are now discretely joined by the sweep of the City History Museum. Secure above the freeway tunnel is the 19^th century Cultural Quarter. Beatles fans may be disappointed to learn that though Mathew Street of the Tavern Quarter is preserved and populated with Beatle statues, the Merseybeat, though significant, is not an attribute of WHS listing. (CTH #10)

The CTH Virtual World Tour ends at cruise traveler favorite Port Shanghai. Sitting on the deck at night, docked at the International Terminal, visitors are treated to views of brightly lit Bund, where early 20^thcentury glitterati of the commercial, fashion, and banking world worked, shopped, and dined. Tucked behind International Concessions, a restored Chinese Shanghai is preserved. Across the river in Pudong are icon buildings of 21^st century commerce, flashing a light show of the #1 commercial port in the world. (CTH #15)

Relax and reflect on your travels. If you have visited numerous ports on this virtual world cruise count yourself a fortunate traveler. Consider whether ports not experienced may be in your future travels.

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