The programme of culture and events at EXPO 2000: "Where worlds meet"

From 1 June until 31 October 2000 some 190 nations and international organisations will come together in Hanover not only for a world exposition but also for a grand festival. Roughly 40 million visitors from around the world, according to the estimates by the EXPO organisers, will view the pavilions of the participation countries, will learn about future ways to life in the thematic area and the projects around the world, and enjoy being on the spot for encounters between people from very different cultures. The cultural and event programme will have major impact on the atmosphere and the flair of the world exposition. Basically, the programme will be the first major festival in the millennium. It will surprise and entertain, preserve and excite. Culture at the EXPO means hundreds of events from spectacular rock concerts to daily small-scale performances and thematic days. the nine themes, it should be said, promise much, ranging from "Wanderers of the World" to "Stars, Galaxies, Utopias", "The Forest", or "The Day of the Drums".

In the evening concerts, the worlds of music will come together: interpreters of classical music like Hildegard Behrens, Marjana Lipovsek, Thomas Quasthoff or Grace Bumbry, ensembles and orchestras like the Bamberg Symphony, the 
Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra from London or the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra, conductors like Thomas Hengelbrock, Leonard Slatkin and Christoph Eschenbach, rock and pop 
artists, jazz and world musicians, actors and dancers will all come and perform on one stage, illustrating the theme with their individual form of art, their style and their culture. Not a concert in the traditional sense, but a music exhibition which takes the public through the styles, the continents and the centuries.

But culture at the EXPO also includes "Flambée", a light show at night, and the 19-hour staging of Peter Stein's "Faust". Visitors will be presented with the entire range of international cultural activity up to contemporary art from youth orchestras from around the world. In addition to stars, newcomers from around the world will be presented, still virtually unknown - but after EXPO many will be unforgotten. Risk and innovation are on the programme. Therefore, the cultural programme is intended to give many artists a chance to do something new, something never tried before. Logically, therefore, a key emphasis is on contemporary productions and the promotion of young talent. At the same time, traditional, popular and regional culture will be presented and will occasionally be combined with the avant-garde -where worlds meet. The various types of cultural activity will open up unusual interfaces, young artists will work with famous stars. And the distinction between classical and popular music will certainly disappear.

EXPO 2000's thematic area: Energy for the next millennium

Imagine you are a space traveller paying a visit to Earth. Your spaceship takes you through the atmosphere, you experience a massive storm with thunder and lightning, you float over the land, see the underwater world and penetrate the inside of the planet where coal, oil and gas are created. This is not a vision, rather from June 2000 it will be reality, albeit some of it virtual. You are in Hanover, in the middle of Germany, in Hall 5 of EXPO 2000, where the thematic area's "Energy" exhibition promises to become a key attraction.

Energy is the key to all organic life, all development, and demands a high price: exhaust gases, ruined landscapes, toxic and radioactive waste. The search for sources of energy is as old as humanity itself. But how long will our fuel reserves last? What new resources can be tapped? Searching for answers, the visitor moves on walkways through the entire Hall - which itself covers some 10,000 m². A simulated journey down a mine takes the visitor inside the Earth's interior. In the underwater pavilion he sees the deposits of untouched energy reserves, such as frozen gas. Illuminated circular portholes provide a window into the future. The tour follows a deep-sea cable to a globe on which the world's transport routes look like life-giving arteries. At the exit from the underwater world, the visitor has a direct experience of hydro-electric power. A large tank is emptied, and the enormous surge generates so much electricity that a radio can broadcast news from all round the world.

The experience of the thematic area: Between illusion, vision and provocation

Every world exposition needs a motto appropriate to its time. In 1958, for example, in Brussels, where the first world exposition after World War II was held, the theme was "Give the world back its humanity". The motto of the first world exposition in 150 years on German soil, the first in the new millennium, is "Humankind-Nature-Technology", also focusing on humanity, but ranking it equally with nature and technology, symbolising as it were a coexistence and mutual dependency. Discovering new continents has ceased to be an issue. The voyage of discovery in the thematic area goes deep into the virtually unknown world of the brain, the world of networked communication, of genetic engineering, of research into the resources of our cultural heritage, of nuclear fusion. The magical year 2000 provides us with an occasion to reflect about ourselves and develop practicable solutions for the future.

The eleven individual topics of the thematic area are: o Humankind o Environment: Landscape, Climate o Basic Needs o Nutrition o Health Futures o Energy o Mobility o The Future of Work o Knowledge, Information, Communication o Planet of Visions - Perspectives for the Future o the 21st Century

The thematic area in particular will be presenting the visions of industry, commerce and science for the next millennium. The idea is to avoid the simple exhibition halls found at an industrial trade fair, and instead to offer spectacular experiences - a must in the multimedia age. Information becomes a three-dimensional event which addresses all the senses, sometimes an illusion, sometimes reality, occasionally highly provocative: why not eat dog meat or locusts? Received as a guest by foreign cultures, the visitor is intended to consider that sort of issue. 

Hanover, a gateway to the world: National pavilions at EXPO 2000

But back to Hanover.... Did you know that Ireland lies between Italy and Greece? That China is the new neighbour of the Czech Republic, Spain and Croatia? At least in 2000 in Hanover, during EXPO 2000. For five months, the world exposition will totally change the Earth's familiar geography. It will be easy to travel between the continents. A brief sojourn in Central America, a walk through Switzerland, combined with a trip to Nepal - you can do the lot in a single day at EXPO 2000! A near-record 190 countries and international organisations are coming to Hanover to show us their perception of the motto "Humankind-Nature-Technology". 57 nations have constructed their own pavilions on the EXPO site - the traditional way for a country to present itself at a world exposition since the turn of the century.

Architecture and imagination

The national pavilions have always been more than prefabricated trade-fair architecture, even though they are rarely built for the long term. EXPO 2000 also has some striking architectural surprises. The Dutch have built on five levels, a 40-metre-high building piling Dutch landscapes on top of one another; dunes, agricultural areas, forest, a wind farm, even a lake with an island. The EXPO motto leaves sufficient scope for the most varied ideas and scenery which every world exposition must have. For example, the United Arab Emirates brought along a plane-load of desert sand and 60 palm trees for its desert pavilion. And to make it really authentic, a caravan of camels will be arriving on 7 August, the national day. Other countries relied externally at least on the effect of recognition: Viet Nam is displaying traditional buildings, a lot of vegetation and water. Bhutan is designing pagoda architecture and focuses simultaneously on Buddhist traditions, modern education and environmental protection inside. Japan is presenting a pavilion made entirely of paper, a sort of monumental origami. The multi-storey pavilion is almost 90 metres long and 42 meters wide. Internally, it is supported by a woven mesh of 12.5cm thick compressed cardboard, externally, the exhibition hall disappears behind colonnades and the curved roof. The special feature: the entire pavilion is to be recycled after EXPO - for example as school exercise books, fully in line with the motto: "Humankind-Nature-Technology"!

Further information on EXPO is available on the Internet at: http://www.expo2000.de  
 

Whoever read my previous article would have noticed from the sketch of the route of the journey that the Danish warship, "Grönland", under the command of Heinrich Fischer sailed from Copenhagen north almost to the shores of Iceland until the wind changed direction to go south in a heavy storm. They made it to Marseille where three Danish merchant ships joined them. At that time central Europe was ravaged by the Seven Years War (1756-1763) while France waged war on England over the colonies in India. Denmark was not involved in either of these conflicts, but it was of no surprise that English warships wanted to search ships sailing out of French harbours. The captain of the "Grönland" objected to this practice and did not allow the British naval officers to board his small flotilla even though threatened by cannon shots. It is obvious that these were very unpleasant and tense moments for Niebuhr and his colleagues.

Prior to the onset of the journey, the King of Denmark issued specific instructions to each member of the expedition listing very clearly what was expected from each of them. These instructions took the form of a book with 43 paragraphs on 20 pages that left no doubt about the manner these scholars were expected to carry out their work day by day throughout the journey even to the extent of the King's expectation for a happy ending. It is against this background that each member of the group worked in his field of specialisation during their stay in Malta. 

Following is a translation of the section dealing with Malta from the book "Reisebeschreibung nach Arabien und anderen umliegenden Ländern". One has to state immediately that there is nothing fundamentally new in this book. Before and after Niebuhr's visit many famous travellers, among them many Germans, were in Malta and published their records - to mention a few: Ludolph von Suchen in 1336, Sebastian Münster in 1544 and Ludwig von Hessen in 1619. Most of the nobles came to Malta on the invitation of a Grandmaster just for fun, whilst being on a "Grand Tour" to Egypt or India. Niebuhr was here for professional reasons. (The translated text will be shown between quotation marks while the parts of the text put in brackets indicate my own additional remarks, opinion or conclusions.)

"We arrived in Malta on the 14th of June 1761 and dropped anchor in the Grand Harbour that is, so to speak, in the middle of the town. The capital of this island, as we know, consists of several small towns, most of which are surrounded by creeks which are sheltered ports. From our view the towns have an excellent appearance. The buildings, which have a flat roof in an oriental style, are mostly built on steep hills." (One must imagine that N. saw flat roofs for the first time in his life. He must have been impressed by the many steps leading up to the town's centre.) "Not only the buildings are made of stone which is cut out of the rock, also the extensive fortifications are constructed from this material directly hewn out of the rock. The rock of what the island consists of is a very soft limestone which can be worked on easily like wood." (N. only knew of buildings made out of bricks or timber.) "As the Order does not lack money and skilled master builders one must not be surprised to spot many splendid churches and palaces all over the island. But the most important temple in Malta is the magnificent St. John Cathedral. This is not only showered with gifts by the Grandmasters and richly decorated with their fine gravestones but, as I was told, shares of the booty, that the Order captures. Here they amassed an incredible treasure. Among the lots of objects made of gold and silver, heavy in weight, such as statues and candelabras and so on, there is a chandelier with a chain of pure gold that must have cost 500,000 Maltese thalers.

The wealth being kept in the annexed chapels is far more valuable; among other things there is a crucifix made out of pure gold weighing 12 kilograms and a piece of the manger of Jesus Christ set with lots of precious stones. In short, one can treat these valuables as equivalent to the wealth of the Caaba of Mecca, according to information that I have, and probably it surpasses the treasures of Mohammed's Grave in Medina." (N. seemed to be overwhelmed by the beauty and wealth of the Cathedral's interior. The weights and the values attributed by Niebuhr are his own estimates. The cost of this seven years expedition all inclusive of salaries, two years of preparation, transport, hire of ships, horses and camels, guides, foodstuff, gifts to the many sheikhs amounted to just 21 000 thaler; N. was the treasurer!) " In this town there is also an excellent hospital where all the sick without distinction, name or descent, are admitted and catered free of charge, and, so I was told, are even fed from silver plates. But the latter, I think, is only for the knights and persons of rank. Big grain-stores are hewn into the rock and fresh water is flowing into the town from a spring nearly 3 miles far away through an aqueduct, that was built at the beginning of the 17th century. The island of Malta is only three and three-quarters miles long and two and one-quarter miles wide. In the south, the coast is steep, whilst to the north, where it is mostly flat, they built towers and entrenchments to prevent the landing of enemies. In this way the island seems to be one single fortification. On the rock, of which the island consists of , there is only a thin layer of soil. But this is very fertile with all kinds of superb fruits, and as the inhabitants seem to have much liberty, therefore the island is populated in large numbers." 

(N. comments and doubts about the use of silver plates for everybody in the Sacra Infimeria because he must have been influenced by the marked class hierarchy existing in his homeland. Because of this class distinction, N. mentions the expedition's common servant, Berggren, only once - at the time of his decease. The remarks with regards to the Maltese population can also be derived from his descent and country of origin: only a free man with sufficient foodstuff can survive and accordingly can have a number of descendants. The measurements referred to are the Prussian mile which is equivalent to about 7,5 kilometres.)

"In the harbour in Malta I saw that Turkish warship, which the Christian slaves had taken from the island of Stanchio on the 19th September 1760 while the captain Pasha together with the Turkish nobles were ashore. The slaves, who freed themselves, sailed towards Malta and anchored somewhere offshore. The Maltese, who through its construction identified the vessel as being Turkish could not at first understand such behaviour and so they sent a boat to investigate. The freed slaves offered to hand over the ship and guns on condition that the rest of the haul be shared out between themselves. The ship was brought into the Grand Harbour on the 6th October that year. The sensible ones amongst the slaves returned with their share of the booty - which must have been considerable - to their respective homeland. The others remained in Malta and spared no effort to get rid of their fortune; some of them whom I have met had already spent all of it. The captured ship was equipped all in all with 83 cannons, among them 66 of metal, some of which were of Imperial (German) make, some Venetian and the rest Turkish. The ship was of Turkish design and very strongly built. The Order, or how they refer to them here, the Religion, had the ship repaired and equipped similar to European ones. Some time after in Egypt I was told that the ship was purchased by the French and they gave it back to the Sultan as a gift. The French, whom we met in the Levante, thought this as being unlikely because at that time the French lacked both money and ships to continue fighting England. But because of the intensive trade that the French had in the Levante, that might have come just at the right time to oblige the Sultan in other matters. The Order at this time probably was not so eager to wipe out the infidels and therefore did not make any objection to the return of the ship. But they definitely were afraid of reprisals by the Sultan and therefore maintained every fort on the coastline and all Maltese were trained in the use of firearms." (N.'s version of the return of the ship is different to that of Fr. Laspina, who writes in his book, Outlines of the Maltese History, that the Maltese directly returned the ship to the Sultan by the intervention of the French. In my opinion N. had better information to the current situation - the Order would never have made a gift to the Sultan.) 

Carsten Niebuhr wearing Oriental garments (Drawing by Baurenfeind)

"The Order had three warships of their own with 64, 62 and 60 guns each, furthermore four galleys and two half-galleys. Each galley has three guns and 50 oars and on the half-galleys there are 36 oars and one gun each. The men locked to the rowing benches are either malefactors, Muslim slaves, Barbarians or Turks. Following a treaty between the King of Naples (Malta was still a fief to the Kingdom of the two Sicilies) and the Sultan, Maltese ships were no longer allowed to go offshore further than the Maltese archipelago: so they rarely brought in Turkish ships. Meanwhile sometimes one still finds private people to whom eagerness to fight with great enthusiasm for Christian-ity is not lacking especially if they otherwise can find no better opportunity to make their fortune. Faith in profit is hence greater than the enthusiasm for Christianity. As it is said in the Levante if they just own a ship they need nothing else than a passport or any instructions from the Prince of Monaco or from any other Italian prince, to start war with the Muslims and capture booty even though the Muslims would probably neither know them nor have quarelled with them at any time. It is said that all these Christian privateers are permitted to bring in ships which are captured from the Turks to Malta. It is of no surprise, that the Muslims have the same opinion about the Maltese as what we have of the Marrocan, Algerian, Tunisian and Tripolitan namely, that nobody can trust them. These barbarians live in friendship with many Christian nations, but the Maltese Order will never do that with Muslims." (N. always uses the term "Maltese", whether he talks about the people of Malta or the members of the Order, probably it was the way of thinking of that time.)

"Forskal and I went for a trip to the salt-pans some one and threequarters miles far away form the town (what must be nowaday known as Salina Bay). In the vicinity someone showed us a small cave by the shore, large enough to shelter a small boat. This must be the place where the Apostle St. Paul was shipwrecked. Not far away from this place there is a chapel, some 55 feet long and 45 feet wide, which the inhabitants built to the Apostle's honour." (In spite of intensive research nobody could show nor tell me anything about the mentioned cave or shelter. What I found out is, that at Tal-Hasselin there was a chapel, Cala di Paolo, that had to give way to the St. Paul's Bay Tower in 1609. Another chapel whose foundation stone is a slab from the altar of the first chapel and which although rebuilt since then, still exists today, is probably the one mentioned by N.)

"Not far away from here is the town Citta Vecchia." ( For N. as well as for other visitors at that time there was obviously no difference between Mdina and Rabat - the following report is in fact all about Rabat.) "Remarkably in this town is a very splendid church under which is a small grotto where the Apostle St. Paul, after being shipwrecked on the Island, was hidden for the first three months. This grotto is very small. One does not see more than a statue of the Apostle and around this a considerable pile of small pieces of stones cut out of the rock of the grotto. These stones should be able to work miracles even nowadays. Apart from other virtues one should not to be afraid of a snake's bite if one carries a piece of it in his pocket. For this reason a quantity of the stones is sent to Roman Catholics all over the world, but the pile of stones in the grotto does not get smaller by a miracle as well." (About the Pauline Cult and the stone chippings, Terra di S. Paolo or Terra Melitinensa, one can read many reports, before and after N.'s visit. N. only describes the grotto under the Church and the statue of St. Paul donated by Grandmaster Pinto de Fonseca in 1743 standing on the right hand side. I cannot imagine why he did not see or does not write about the main grotto - the chapel - with the statutes of St. Paul, St. Luke and the relief of St. Trophimus, which were also in existence at that time.) "In this church there is also on display a portrait of Count Roger the Norman who chased away the Saracens from Malta." (I was told that there was only one portrait of Count Roger in the sacristy of the Cathedral in Mdina; but I found out that there is another one in the Collegiate Museum in Rabat which probably was in the St. Paul's Church at that time.) "Not far away from the church is a hill where the apostle gave his sermons. Here in memory of this event is a statue which shows him preaching." 

"In the surrounding area of Citta Vecchia are many catacombs or underground-dwellings hewn into the rock. Several passageways are walled up probably not to get lost inside. One can still see here besides several small chambers, one larger vault, what was probably a meeting room, and at another place there seems to have been a little mill. For whatever use these dwellings may have been cut into the rock, one thing is certain - it was very comfortable for those occupants who were not able to afford splendid houses, especially during a period of great heat, and furthermore they needed not to be afraid of looting." (The significance of the catacombs as pre-Christian burial places was not known for a long time. That the catacombs were used as dwellings or even as animal pens is recorded in old documents. With regards to what N. describes to be a little mill, he obviously was referring to an agape-table having a flat, rimmed top. N. was also a farmer and hence he must have been very well familiar with mills consisting of a fixed rimmed bottom part and an inlaying, rotating millstone as upper part. Niebuhr finishes his Malta diary thus:

"We left the Island of Malta on the 20th of June and we did not see any land before the 25th of that month. I was attacked by a very acute illness, so that I lost hope of ever seeing Constantinople let alone Arabia...... I had to endure so much pain due to the great heat at this time of the year.............". (Dieter Salto)

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