Tag: Syria
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FROM ALEPPO TO JOONDALUP
Good friends are hard to come by; endearing friends even harder. But for those of us who lived and worked in Aleppo, Syria in the early 1990s friendships can be eternal. Our friends from our Syrian days, Scott and Andrea Christiansen and their daughter Caya, are visiting Padma and me. And our friends Joop and Gina van Leur flew in from Tamworth in New South Wales. So we organised a gathering to welcome them and share memories of our times in Aleppo and catch up … some hadn’t seen each other…
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FROM SYRIA TO HALLS HEAD
Great friendships know no geographic boundaries. So, when Padma and I moved to one of the most remote locations on Earth, we fully expected to be able to get together on occasion with our friends. Padma and I formed many great friendships more than 30 years ago while we lived in Syria. We kept in touch initially with posted letters at Christmas but when the Internet came around, we were able to keep in touch on a more regular basis, albeit at a distance. We have visited our friends Heiko and…
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THE LION OF DAMASCUS AND HIS PRIDE
Like any father, Hafez al-Assad would be rolling over in his grave if he knew his son, Bashar, was being portrayed by the Trump Administration via Press Secretary Sean Spicer as worse than Hitler. Hafez (picture above in this 1993 photo I took near Qamishli) never envisioned that his youngest son, Bashar, would succeed him. He was grooming his eldest son, Bassel, for that task. In 1992, Syrians were warming up to that prospect as seen in this shopfront (below) in Qamishli selling framed photos of Bassel. But Bassel was a…
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JASMINE MEMORIES
Human beings have a remarkable ability to remember aromas. All of our senses can be connected with memories but perhaps none evoke nostalgia as much as smell. The olfactory bulb has easy access to a part of the brain known as the amygdala, which plays a role in evoking emotional memories. Yesterday I got a very, very heavy dose of nostalgia when I walked past the jasmine in our garden, which is in full bloom now that summer has arrived. It never fails … every time I get a whiff of…
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ISIS THUGS IN PALMYRA
The ancient desert oasis settlement of Palmyra in the central steppe of Syria has had a special place in my heart. But today, IS thugs are knocking on its doorsteps and if they are true to form, they will destroy the UNESCO World Heritage site. I first travelled to Syria in 1990 for an interview with the International Center of Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). After a three-day interview I was offered the job. But I left without signing a contract. I just wasn’t sure about living in Syria.…
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TURNING THE CAMERA AROUND
As I approach the end of my Syrian retrospective, it’s time to turn the camera around. With all of the previous photos I’ve stuck my camera in the faces of Syrians and urged them to look this way or that. Now the tables have turned and I become the photographed while they become the photographers. I always travelled with at least three cameras – initially two Nikon F3s and a Polaroid. I used one of the F3s as a backup or I would put in print film for personal photos. On…
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EXPLORING RUINS OF SYRIA
Every schoolchild has heard of the Sphinx, the Parthenon and the Coliseum but who has heard of Palmyra, Ebla, Ain Dara or even Crak de Chevalier? Syria has never gained the international recognition it deserves for its archaeological wonders and as a result has never benefited from the mighty tourist dollar which has allowed Egypt, Greece and Italy to restore their ancient cities and bring in even more tourists and recognition. Unfortunately Syria has limited funds to restore some of the world’s greatest archaeological sites and when they have attempted restoration…
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A NIGHT WITH THE BEDOUIN
In May of 1992, I joined my ICARDA colleagues, including my mate Ben Wedman on a journey to visit a Bedouin group in the eastern Steppe of Syria. The Bedouin are known for their hospitality to strangers and our visit was no exception. In this photo Ben joins our Bedouin hosts for breakfast and has his mouth stuffed with bread and yoghurt or cheese made from goat milk. Ben speaks fluent Arabic and had a very special rapport with the Syrians who admired and instantly liked the foreigner who could speak…
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AL FURAT
The mighty Euphrates River – better known as Al Furat to the locals – starts as a trickle in the highlands of eastern Turkey and flows for 700 kilometres through northeastern Syria before joining the Tigris River in southern Iraq. The basins of both rivers form the cradle of civilisation – Mesopotamia. The banks of the Euphrates are rich in archaeological sites – but you’d probably need a mask and snorkel to see them as they have been inundated by the rising waters caused by dams. The Roman fortress of Halabiye…
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