Travelling through Northern Ireland by bus, we passed Stormont Estate, a representative building in Greek classical style which is used as the seat of the Parliament of Northern Ireland. The symmetrical structure and well-kept grounds are effective symbols of power. When used, the building is heavily guarded. (There has been a security breach in which a royalist terrorist managed to enter the building with weapons such as explosives, but he did not manage to do serious damage.)
Walking up to the building, the well-trimmed trees caught our eyes ... they seemed almost identical. It's amazing that this effect comes about to be as actually nothing in nature is entriely identical to any other thing.
About halfway there, the sun broke through the dark clouds in the sky, illuminating the building like a flash. The white stone gleamed even more so ... in front of the building, you can see the statue of Edward, Lord Carson, a unionist politician and judge who earned merit in the political struggles of the islands. His statue was one of the few to be erected during the lifetime of the persons concerned.
Upon reaching the building, we saw the Attic columns supporting the roof ... imagine that classical culture (in this case 2,500 years old) managed to stay alive by being continuously used for its notorious quality! However, the fence prevented us from going any further.
Looking back, we could see that the estate is located on a favourable site: A hill overlooking the countryside. It's a calm, yet symbolic place ... with another impression in our minds, we walked back to our bus and continued our trip through the island.
My next posts will be about the Western coast and some places close to it ... stay tuned!
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What to see Belfast,
Belfast,
United Kingdom
