Phespirit goes to Lithuania
Vilnius     August 1999

VILNIUS OVERLOOKED

A lovely view from the top of Gediminas Castle, across the city's cathedral, to the distant television tower.

There, on 13th January 1991, the Soviets used tanks to massacre fourteen unarmed civilians before throwing in the towel and pissing off back to Russia.

PHESPIRIT & FRANK

In December 1995, Vilnius proudly unveiled the world's first memorial to Frank Zappa, amidst scenes of great rejoicing.

How very unusual.

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KARAITE PRAYER HOUSE

The Karaites - it says here - are a Turkic ethnic group who came to Lithuania in the fourteenth century as warriors from the Crimea. These days there are less than 300 of them left, settled in Trakai.

In a country rife with baroque Catholicism, the Karaites practice their Judaism-type religion in this modest little hut.