History repeats itself. The camels are back!

CARAVAN TERMINUS

There is a new parcel on ACC Alpha. There were several areas I was considering for a new commercial district on the sim, but Thaddeus Nadeau surprised me with his recommendation to place it in the gardens and along the north cliffs of the Plateau of Man parcel. It seemed like an assault on nature at first, but had an intriguing potential. So I began building. Not only did it not disturb the gardens, but it added sight lines that help to highlight the verdant landscape.

The Plateau of Man used to be a thriving area of the city, the place where hunts brought in a public to the upper floors of the Library of Darkrodin. Camel tours afforded visitors means to view the sim with the ease of a guide. When the top layers of the library came down about a year ago, the camel tours eventually died out as well. The gardens brought a quietness to the plateau.

I decided to make the merchant stalls into separate pavilions, a loose concept borrowed from the Topkapi palace in Istanbul. Each of the 7 structures has plenty of space around it, and a unique view. Most of the pavilions line the old 'caravan route' for the camel tours, thus giving the name Caravan Terminus.

The simple square floor plans of the buildings serve as a base for the unique treatment of the decor. No pavilion is identical to another. The center one received special treatment. It is quadruple in size, and is the only structure on ACC Alpha whose architecture is derived from a real world building. The plan was influenced by the Baghdad Kiosk of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. I moved the Japan Memorial fountain I'd made from the reflecting pond area to the interior of the light flooded kiosk. In addition, the space is now furnished with Arabian styled pillows arranged around a communal hookah. One of the camels on the other side of the room is ready for you to hop on its back for a tour. Yes, the camels have returned! Unlike the inexhaustible critters from the library days, these camels will take you on a short tour, around the gardens and the shops. Less is more, as one camel confided.

Click here to visit the Caravan Terminus.

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