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Why I Came Home Early
Continue ReadingAssume you are a middle-aged man born and raised in North America. You are journeying alone through the Middle East, and for two years solid you have no significant contact with a woman, or any group of women. By that I mean: no smiles and no exchange of words; no eye contact; and no matter […]
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Seen On The Streets of Cairo (1)
Continue ReadingIn Middle-Eastern nations heterosexual men are free to touch others of the same sex on the street within traditional guidelines, as we see in this affectionate gesture recorded near downtown Cairo, Egypt. This might be father and son, or two brothers waiting together for traffic to clear. The visitor to this part of the world […]
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A Prize-Winning Look?
Continue ReadingIf we held a competition among all the world’s photographs capturing ‘dirty looks’ — hateful, contemptuous gazes — the following image might be found among the contenders. It depicts what borders on a murderous stare, recorded by me while riding in a horse-drawn vehicle through an alleyway at Luxor, Upper Egypt. It reminds me of […]
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An Emblematic Young Man
Continue ReadingEastern man — young, robust — lit by sulfur flames. In darkness among orange celebrations, He seems universal. Hittite King, Druid King, Ancient god with aplomb in loyal garments, A statue among loose companions. When he dies he leaves for home — Land of emblematic forms. (Photographed in Anatolia after a football match near […]
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The Turkish Restaurateurs
Continue ReadingI admire Adem’s nose. It makes a straight vigorous statement. I met him in Selçuk, a town on the Turquoise Coast. A few days prior to posing for this portrait, he opened his first business — this restaurant where he now stands. Next to him on a warm grill in cast iron pans he has […]
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Children Are The Universal Subjects
Continue ReadingThe image above comes from my personal collection. It was given to me for editing by a friend, a layman photographer using a simple camera. He captured something special here. I do not know the exact context; whatever the occasion, the girls seem dressed in their very best and most festive outfits. Among the sisters […]
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Photo Sequence — The Turkish Saleslady
Continue ReadingI share four portraits made in a Turkish market — ordered consecutively — beginning with our subject’s salutation. The lady had linens for sale: table-cloths, scarves, bed sheets and other pieces, some expertly embroidered. She was an accomplished actress; at her command she had an array of facial expressions, from greetings to allurements to frowns […]
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Approaching Arabic
Continue ReadingKnowledge of Arabic opens a civilization stretching thirteen thousand kilometers wide — from Morocco eastward to Indonesia. In that vast territory not everyone speaks with the Arab tongue in daily life, yet most build their spiritual life upon the Koran, delivered to the Messenger of God Mohamed by visionary experience in the idiom of the […]
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Imaging Layers of History
Continue ReadingI show one entrance to a ruined basilica named after John the Apostle, resting on Ayasuluk Hill in the modern nation of Turkey. I stylized this image hoping to reach a more transcendent meaning. A more primitive place of worship preceded this brick and stone construction. The former church was also dedicated to the The […]
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In the Old Church of Holy Wisdom
Continue ReadingThe floors are marble, worn smooth from human footsteps, billions of them made across one thousand four hundred years by worshipers and unbelieving visitors alike. Unconscious minutes pass while you orient yourself, then at once you recognize the enormity of the structure you have just entered. Under a massive dome space unrolls and widens around […]
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