In Australia and New Zealand the weather was far too lovely to stay inside, but just occasionally we decided to go indoors to have a look at some historical buildings. In Melbourne we visited the Block Arcade and the Royal Arcade. Here are some of my pictures;
Gog and Magog in the Royal Arcade Melbourne
Despite their generally negative depiction in the Bible and Qur’an, the giants Gog and Magog are guardians of the City of London. The Lord Mayor’s account of Gog and Magog says that the Roman Emperor Diocletian had thirty-three wicked daughters.
Gog and Magog in The Royal Arcade
He found thirty-three husbands for them to curb their wicked ways; they chafed at this, and under the leadership of the eldest sister, Alba, they murdered their husbands. For this crime they were set adrift at sea; they washed ashore on a windswept island, which they named “Albion”—after Alba. Here they coupled with demons and gave birth to a race of giants, whose descendants included Gog and Magog. Albion is the oldest known name of Great Britain, but this doesn’t explain why Gog and Magog are in the Royal Arcade in Melbourne!
Old Father time in The Royal Arcade
The beautifully tiled floor in the Block Arcade
Click on any of the thumbnails to see a full size picture
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- The Royal Arcade
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- The Royal Arcade
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- The Royal Arcade
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- The Royal Arcade
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- Entrance to the Block Arcade
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- The Block Arcade
Day One 
Beautiful! I just love the tile work!
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Isn’t it stunning!
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Love the block floor. We have an arcade somewhat like that in Belfast, but it is way smaller.
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They were both really lovely, reminiscent of some of the older London arcades (Maybe why Gog and Magog travelled there too)
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So much history Barbara, fabulous.
blessings ~ maxi
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Thank you 🙂
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Nicely captured
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Thank you… I find taking photos indoors a lot harder than outdoors!
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Thanks 🙂
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The arcade is lovely, but that tile work is outstanding! I love it! Thanks for sharing.
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Isn’t it amazing! I wish I had taken more photos of it!
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Great blog, Barbara. Very informative and love the pictures.
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I found Gog & Magog intriguing! I think there are enough different ancient stories about them from so many different countries and religions, there must be some truth in them somewhere!
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nice spot
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It was lovely 🙂
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