After an uneventful flight, we arrived in Milan and boarded mini-vans for a two-hour drive to Vidracco, home of the first city and historical center of Damanhur.

Vidracco will also be our home for the week. Our group of fourteen is staying in apartments in three different buildings in the town. I am sharing an apartment with two other women. Although we each have our own bedroom, we share one bathroom. The back of our apartment overlooks a lovely view of cows and a little stream.

The Damanhur Crea Center

The largest building in Vidracco used to be an Olivetti typewriter factory. Today it houses the Damanhur Crea (a market and cafe), research center, and art shops.

Selet, the showroom for Selfica products crafted at Damanhur is a beautiful shop in the Damanhur Crea Center. Selfica,discovered and developed at Damanhur, is an advanced energy technology for healing and awakening. Some of the selfica items include jewelry, pens, and necklaces.

Exploring Damjl

After a healthy fresh-salad buffet, we traveled to Damjl, the capital of Damanhur. Crotalo and Tigrilla, our guides for the week, led a walking tour of the Open Temple. They also explained the significance of what we saw and gave us an overview of some of the major Damanhurian guiding principles.

Basically, Damanhur is a laboratory for applying spiritual principles to develop a new way to live in peace and harmony. Crotalo explained that Damanhur is not a religion but rather a spiritual philosophy.

The first stop on our walk was the Earth Altar, one of five altars in Damanhur dedicated to the five elements.

Spirals are an important image in Damanhur because they amplify feelings, sensations, and communication with other dimensions. We saw numerous spirals on our walk.

Damanhurians create art everywhere. Murals adorn many of the buildings.

Columns, statues and tile work, all with special meaning, filled the grounds.

After an exciting first day, I realized a week here will introduce me to only small part of what makes Damanhur a special place. People spend years, sometimes a lifetime, learning all the mysteries of Damanhur.