Revisiting: Petra
This is one of the world’s architectural wonders, the so-called ‘Monastery’ at Petra in Jordan. It’s actually a rock-cut tomb, carved by the Nabatean people about 2000 years ago. As at Baalbek (see earlier posts) the scale is magnificent. One barely notices the fellow sitting in the threshold of the doorway. The tomb, which has an enormous chamber inside, was carved out of the sandstone of the mountain. Notice that the erosion is actually from the bottom as water is absorbed from the ground and percolates up, thus dissolving the sandstone, while the upper levels, even though they are exposed to the wind, are in very good condition. If you want to see more images from Petra, go to the Galleries page where I have a slideshow of several pictures.
Revisiting: Baalbek, Lebanon
Everything at Baalbek is oversize (see previous posting). This is a huge portal famous for its slightly displaced and hanging keystone, which was memorialized in a famous painting by the Scottish orientalist painter David Roberts. While exploring around Baalbek that day, one could hear Hezbollah training with their guns a mile or so away. On the nearby mountains there was snow, the last thing I expected to see in Lebanon.
Revisiting: Baalbek, Lebanon
In 2011 I was able to realize an ambition I’d had for decades: to visit the great Roman-era temple at Baalbek in Lebanon. I’d tried to visit it in 1983, but the bombing of the American barracks in Beirut sealed me up in Syria and I couldn’t cross the border. I thought I’d never get the opportunity to see this wonder. The scale is breathtaking. To get a sense of it, see the people walking on the path on the far left of the picture.
Revisiting: Safaga, Egypt
Safaga is, truth be told, not the most beautiful town in the world, but just above this port in Egypt, on the Red Sea, early one morning we could see the full moon setting over the barren hills. We were on the Clipper Odyssey, rechristened recently the ‘Silver Discoverer’ after its purchase by the Silver Seas line and this picture was taken from the deck. Interestingly, just behind me the sun was rising and was in the same distance from the eastern horizon as the moon was from the western.
Revisiting: Abu Dhabi
The royal family of Abu Dhabi supports a hospital dedicated entirely to the health care of falcons. Falconry is still practiced in the middle east as an age-old traditional way of hunting. I think it would be safe to say that the falcons here receive better health care than many people in the world, perhaps even some Americans. This fellow was getting his beak trimmed. The place was more than a hospital, it was also a spa. Talon manicures were also part of the care.
Revisiting: Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi
The sheiks of the Emirates might be hurting now with low oil prices, but lots of money has been spent. One of the most sumptuous projects was the great mosque in Abu Dhabi, a modern mosque that rivals in scale the Moghul mosques of India and Pakistan. This picture was taken just after evening prayers during a visit there in 2012. There was a soft light in the sky and the mosque’s lights came on, reflecting in the pools.
Revisiting Saqqara, Egypt
Everyone knows the famous Egyptian pyramids of Giza, but there are other smaller ones as well, such as the ‘stepped pyramid’ built by the early Pharaoh Djoser (Zoser) in 2680 BCE. For those, like me, math challenged, that’s about 4700 years ago. I took this picture when I was on a Zegrahm Expeditions trip called ‘Legendary Empires’ in 2012. It was a fantastic itinerary. I’m looking forward to going back to Egypt later this year with Smithsonian Journeys.
Revisiting: Khasab Fort
Near Khasab, Oman, there’s an old mud-brick fort. I took this picture of a clay water bottle hanging in a niche, with the hooks for other bottles beside it. I liked the simplicity of it and the elegant yet practical shape. The clay pots would keep the water cool in the shade, with breezes causing a bit of evaporation to cool the water even more. Probably not many people keep water like this any more. It seemed to me like the last water jug of a time long since passed.
Revisiting: Khasab, Oman
Khasab, on the Musandam peninsula, Oman, is on the Oman side of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important waterways as a huge percentage of the world’s oil passes through it. On the other side of the strait is Iran. In the evenings, just as the sun is setting, speedboats filled with cigarettes and other clandestine goods are smuggled over the strait to Iran in what must be a grueling one-night round trip. In the mornings they come back, empty and with the drivers looking exhausted. This picture is a detail of a boat from another age: beautiful teak carved into a graceful traditional Persian Gulf craft.
Revisiting: Doha
The Islamic art museum in Doha, Qatar not only contains marvelous treasures of Islamic art but is an architectural masterpiece itself. This picture is of a detail of the great dome of the main foyer. The dome was an architectural form much elaborated in Islamic architecture and the diamond-shaped faceting also alludes to the intricate geometrical formations both of architectonic forms and Islamic decoration.
Revisiting: Abu Dabhi
This one’s for my sister, who loves all things feline, but who has to endure one thing canine (inside joke). This cheetah was in the Sir Bani Yas Island wildlife refuge in the United Arab Emirates. I’ve never gone on safari, and this was the closest I was ever going to get. There were lots of marvelous animals and at the time I knew I would never get a chance to return, so I made the most of it.
Revisiting: Dubai
I was in Dubai in November of 2012, beginning a Zegrahm Expeditions trip called ‘The Sands of Time’. Some of my favorite people were on that trip. We took a boat ride out to Palm Island, one of the man-made island resorts. I took this picture back to the shore completely filled with towering high rises that seemed not to have an inch between them, as if you could live on the 50th floor and visit a friend on the same floor of the next building by jumping. For me, this was the story of Dubai.
On the Fly
This is a male Northern Harrier parsing the fields at Wilder Ranch near Santa Cruz, California. Wilder Ranch has one of the most beautiful walks in the world, a two-kilometer path along scenic cliffs of Monterey Bay. Seabirds can be found on the shores, while hawks, harriers and songbirds can be found in the fields. One of my favorite places in the world. This harrier’s eyes were an amazing yellow colour. I caught him glancing at me as he zoomed through the branches of a tree.
