Had a banana and a package of dates, and it was about a half hour before the theatre, so I decided to head to the Ivo Andric statue and read some Elia Kazan. Just found out that it was the anniversary of Andric's birth today -- there's a divinity that shapes our snacking spots. As it happened, the cheap Turkish dates were so sticky that I had to abandon the notion of pre-theatre reading completely, and head down to the fountain in front of the mosque to wash off the sugary residue.
And then there was the theatre; or at any rate, the attempt to witness the theatre. I could a tale unfold -- and I will, but in stereotype, as Henry Miller said. Matters to be talked about in a considered manner.
Measure, time and place.
Frustrating day. Two grocery runs, both surprisingly difficult. One does have to really be on one's game to buy 16 ounces of cheese at a discount supermarket in Bosnia. But the morning run was extraordinary. The view from the mountain fortress encompasses the pre-Enlightenment old city, the concrete towers of Tito's Republic, and the post-Enlightenment world beyond. Not to mention the mountain ranges stretching off into the distance. This is the first visit here when I've been able to make the fortress without dropping down to a walk to catch my breath between the rises, something I'll credit to the mountain runs in Macedonian Pirin a couple of months ago. Shifting to running from weightlifting in July and August, I worked the mountain runs up from two to four days per week, and in the last week in Bulgaria, made the scenic overlook that had been the goal. And then a few days later, without really planning anything, ran to the mountain hut much higher up the mountain. So the much smaller mountains here, even though the roads are fairly steep, don't loom quite as large in my mind. At least until I take in the view.
Theatre - θεατρον, literally the looking place, cogante with theory. Gadamer has an interesting notion of it, each person arriving at the Athenian festival from a certain place, which determines where in the theatre one stands, and by inference, what one sees. We see according to the nature of the place from which we come.