Banjarmasin (pop 611,000)

South Kalimantan

Indonesia

March 7, 2015

05:00

Salamat Pagi – Good Morning

Before dawn, I am picked up by motorbike and delivered to a dock where an awaiting boat transports me up river.  The river is black.  The sky is black.  The shoreline, barely visible.

The delta city of Banjarmasin is known as the “Venice of the East.”  Four major rivers are interconnected by numerous canals.  The name of my river?  I haven’t a clue.

A thin daylight begins to illuminate the river’s mist.  And as the mist disperses, we encounter our morning goal.  

Banjamasin
South Kalimantan
Borneo
Indonesia

March 8, 2015

Who needs to travel to the jungle to watch the orangutans?  The antics of young children are much more entertaining!

My quiet City Tour begins with a visit to Mesjid Raya Sabilal Muhtadin, a massive mosque that my guidebook describes as “resembling a landed spaceship.” 

We continue to Soetji Nurani, a Chinese temple where we encounter a group of young girls in local costume.

We stop at the obligatory batik shop where I choose a perfectly outrageous cotton shirt.

For the main attraction, I board a small motorboat for a Canal Tour.

Balikpapan

East Kalimantan

Borneo

Indonesia

March 10, 2015

When I called my Cousin Stanley in Florida and mentioned my upcoming trip to Borneo, he had one immediate response.  When I called my dear friend Bill in Connecticut and mentioned my upcoming trip to Borneo, he had the same immediate response. 

Stanley was born in 1932 and I believe Bill was born in 1931.  And so “Borneo” triggered their boyhood recollections of land and sea battles during the Second World War.  

Oscar White Muscarella

Research Fellow - Retired

Ancient Near Eastern Department

Metropolitan Museum of Art

New York, New York

USA

Dear Dr. Muscarella,

Cc: Family and Friends

Oscar, I am sure that you are familiar with the Biblical passage from the Book of Matthew referring to the Gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. But perhaps it is puzzling for the modern mind to understand that two plant products, two dried resins, were once equivalent in value to gold. 

Frankly, I was not familiar with the properties of frankincense.  But apparently, from ancient times (8000 years ago?) until today, the medicinal as well as religious uses of frankincense (and myrrh) are well-known and well-respected. 

Oscar White Muscarella

Research Fellow - Retired

Ancient Near Eastern Department

Metropolitan Museum of Art

New York, New York

USA

Dear Dr. Muscarella,

Cc: Family and Friends

Oscar, I found the copper!

In 2007, I wrote to you and told of my visit to Lothal in India, the site of the Harappan Civilization (3300-1300 BCE).   

Located in the Indus Valley, in what is now the Indian State of Gujarat, and neighboring Pakistan, and into Afghanistan, this advanced civilization of more than five million was known for its navigational prowess, city planning, art, astronomy, metallurgy and the manufacture of delicate copper jewelry.

The copper jewelry was traded around the ancient world across the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea to East Africa, Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Where did the Indus Valley obtain the copper?