NEIGHBOURHOOD ICON

The definitive harbinger of Spring on my street corner is this gigantic flowering cherry tree.

Its voluptuous deep pink double blossoms have ushered in the warm months for as long as I've lived here, and longer before that. Before I had the good fortune to occupy this home, I passed this beauty with my young son (now 28 years old) on the way to playschool twice a week; and always we were moved by its beauty. Now, neighbours and visitors alike stop to stare, snap photos, and brush up against the soft petals. . . . . .

KYBELE, QUEEN OF EVERYTHING

Kybele (kee-bày-lay – English equivalent to Sybil)

Kybele is all about woman. She is the mother of Earth, but also born of Earth. Strength, wisdom, fertility, continuity, nurturing, regeneration, family.

My introduction to Kybele was in Ankara’s Museum of Anatolian Civilizations – the national archeological & anthropological museum of Turkey. Here sits a 2-foot tall ceramic rendition of the Queen of Everything. She’s a very impressive figure: matronly, regal, voluptuous, seated on her throne flanked by lions – an 8-thousand year old ceramic embodiment of all things powerful, in feminine form. No wonder she is omnipresent in Anatolian/Turkish art & culture.