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TMAAT NEWSLETTER
FEBRUARY 2012

Life was slowly returning to normal after 7 years of disastrous plagues. All the frogs were gone and there was not a locus in sight. Peace had returned to the Valley of the Kings. Pharaoh Rickett II was a big and benevolent ruler of his people. He lived extravagantly with his wife Neffi and his son Tut in his enormous palace overlooking the Nile. In the early mornings he would take great pleasure in seeing thousands of slaves toiling in the terrible heat, building his great pyramid - his passageway into the skies, his house of eternity for him and his queens.

He held the title of “Lord of the Lands” and “High Priest of Every Temple”. As the High Priest, the Pharaoh represented the gods on earth. To do so, he had to build temples to honour his gods. Two lights that shone from the pyramid into the sky would beam the Pharaoh up to the stars to sit next to the gods making him the direct ruler of Egypt, the centre of the universe.

For us it is impossible to imagine how a pyramid could ever have been constructed and built in 20 years, so precise, so accurate and directly lined to the stars.

Nowadays, a task like that would never get off the ground. The suffering, the hardship, the risk to human lives, the OH&S implications… !

In those days, safety policies really didn’t mean a lot – the job just had to get done!

But it wasn’t just the pyramids. There are many extraordinary places like this all over the world – the temples in South America and Stone Henge, just to name a couple.

On a recent holiday, I was standing in front of the temple of Angkor Watt in Cambodia – a huge religious building constructed over 1000 years ago. How on earth was this possible?



The temple is made of boulders the size of small houses, maneuvered into place without any hydraulics, engines or cranes. These huge stones were mined and carried over a distance of 60 km. Thousands of these stones were then carefully hand-carved showing the stories of the peoples’ lives and battles – a legacy that has lasted forever.

Could humans alone have built this temple? Or was there some assistance from extraterrestrial beings? Maybe ET was for real… ?

OK, that’s probably a bit far-fetched. Perhaps these people were just much more advanced than we give them credit for.

And then there’s me. I had to get someone to help me up the steps just to see this shrine to the ingenuity and strength of man.

The construction of this temple even under normal conditions is mind-blowing, let alone the humidity, the malaria and the other diseases that would have made it near impossible to work.

But this beautiful temple, Angkor Wat, was lost until last century – lost in the jungle, covered by trees in the wilderness for hundreds of years. So, modern man isn’t completely hopeless. We did rediscover this hidden gem in the jungle.

All of these incredible structures were built under the rule of tyrannical, brutal kings for their own glory and everlasting peace at a huge cost and suffering to humanity only to satisfy their enormous egos. They had no concept of a precious human life.

Ironically, they might have been wise. They may have foreseen the mess we were headed for in the coming thousands of years. They may have known the gift they were providing future generations. Now, tourism has become the lifeline for many of these countries and it’s the temples and pyramids and other miracles that are keeping their economies going.

I mean, where would Greece be if wasn’t for the Parthenon??

As we drove from the airport in Siem Reap, Cambodia to our hotel, our friends, who had been there before, were commenting on all the new hotels that had been built and how much the town had changed in the last few years. It has become much more affluent with all of the visitors coming to see the temple complexes of Angkor Wat.

These monuments are now the chief economic assets in many countries. Cambodia tourism relies on tourists coming to see these remarkable sites.

Some of the perilous toil that the kings put their people through has ended up serving more than just their mountainous egos after all. Cambodia, for one, is buzzing!

I wonder what archaeologists will find in 2000 years from now. What will we leave behind?

Not a lot I’d say. I can’t imagine our new buildings lasting that long. Most of them will be lucky to make it through the next 100 years. The Opera House is on the verge of a collapse, in major need of repairs and the apartment building down the road looks like it was built of plywood.

We call ourselves the communication era. In reality we might be described by generations to come as the Dark Ages.

How will they ever know what we were thinking?

Computer discs will have long since disintegrated. They will find no trace of us.
Our ancestors left their stories in cartoon style in case we were to become illiterate.

Although, one monument that will be found will be The Colossus of Richard.

My men are working hard all day and through the night carting thousands of stones and toiling hard to ensure that their illustrious leader will be comfortable in his afterlife.

Richard! The council’s on the phone. They said “stop whatever it is you’re building in your backyard!” Tell them it is only a BBQ!


The Toast of the Month

Ladies and gentleman, I would like you to fill your glasses as I propose a toast to our poor ancestors who sacrificed their life and worked so hard.

They never received enough compensation for their outstanding efforts. In fact, these so-called primitive, uncivilized, illiterate people are the reason that many nations have been spared bankruptcy.

Please be up standing as we raise a toast to our ancestors.

“To our ancestors from the distance past”

You can all be seated but I’ve got to get moving!


Richard Kuipers
1300 880 412