Exploring our rich heritage

TOURISTS and Barbadians at home and abroad have a new avenue to explore Barbados’ rich heritage.

The Barbados Heritage In Pictures book contains 220 pages filled with images of 210 heritage sites that can be found in all the parishes across the island.

The book’s author, Professor Emeritus Sir Henry Fraser, who provided the content and pointed out the heritage sites to be featured, said it was a pleasure producing the book that would advertise “our fantastic paradise Barbados”.

“I am a built heritage person, but I feel even more strongly about the beauty of Barbados. And so, to do a book like this was amazing and I had the task of selecting the sites,” Sir Henry said.

Sir Henry was speaking on Tuesday evening, at the Mount Restaurant, based at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, during the book launch.

Minister of Tourism, Richard Sealy, who wrote an introduction which was published in the book, told the audience at the launch that Barbados has been blessed with an outstanding number of heritage sites, noting that he was not aware of “another piece of real estate on this planet” as small as Barbados, where “you will find as much in terms of historic assets, as you would find here”.

“The amazing built heritage we have here in Barbados has been celebrated for some time by numerous individuals. But I think it’s fair to say that the main champion has been Professor Fraser, and I think he too is a national treasure, someone who volunteers his effort like that.

“You must also remember that he has literally had two very distinguished careers running parallel to each other. People forget at times that he is not a professor of archaeology or professor of architectural history; he is actually a professor of medicine, a highly accomplished academic in the field of medicine, and even more published in medicine than he is in the work of preservation,” Sealy said.

The Minister said while many books have been published, highlighting the island’s hidden treasures, he appreciates the fact that there are more pictures than written content in the book, in keeping with the norm of the 21st century reader.

“Therefore I think it would make a good gift, a good conversation piece for anyone and I would recommend it,” the Minister said.

Publisher Errol McCollin said the book was inspired by Barbados’ 50th anniversary, and was expected to be on the market by November 1, 2016, so that Barbadians and tourists could have purchased it as an ideal gift, that can create conversations about the island.

However, McCollin noted that meeting that deadline was not possible, due to a number of setbacks.

“Our vision was for every Barbadian here and abroad to have a copy of this book on their table, sitting proudly all around the world.

“There is the traditional dust jacket cover, and then there is the gold edition, which is more like a gift to be used by our diplomats so they can give it at gift exchanges, so that it goes all over the world, giving Barbados’ heritage a highlight,” he said.

United Kingdom-based photographer, Angus Thompson, starting April 2016, spent almost six weeks travelling around the island to 400 sites, capturing about 4 000 images, from which the best were selected to be featured in the book. (AH)