About 300 km north of Damascus the train stops and several families get off at a tiny town.
See the full series here, from my train traveling in Syria.
300 km north
Qunaitra set online
My photoessay from Qunaitra is finally online.
It was printed back in Nov 2008 in Dagbladet Arbejderen.
View the essay here
Shoes left behind
I am working on putting a series from Qunaitra online. A city on the border to the Golan Heights. The series and essay was printed in The Daily Worker (Danish daily paper) back in November 2008. Here is a pair of shoes that have been left behind in the city of Qunaitra.
More from the depth
Still browsing my hard drives, and still finding old photos that sets a good mood around me.
Right after I was done with my work at the refugee camps around Aleppo, Ein El Tal and Neirap, I bumped into two German guys, Jan and Kris, that was traveling Syira and Lebanon. We fell into a conversation and ended up traveling to Latakia together for some days of relaxing. After that we split up, I went to Damascus and they went to Lebanon for a bit of an adventure with the Hisbollah. Taking photos in the wrong part of Beirut can get you into trouble if you don’t know what your doing.
We joined in Damascus after they got released in the Omayyad Mose, for a drink of water in the shade of the sun. Then back to my house for some food, a swim and yet again to be split up.
This photo here is at a buss stop in Latakia. We just arrived from a day of drive in the mountains. The view from up there was amazing.
Finding lost treasure
While working on a very special project I have come across some pictures that just stood out and got me in the right mood. Once more they do a fine job and I just wanted to share one of them with you. This also means that the COP15 pictures will be held back, but priorities have taken over.
This one is from the fantastic city of Damascus. A place I’d like to call my second home.
A collection that makes me smile
Finally I got around to posting the collection from my recent trip to Syria between 2008 and 2009. This is a fuller then normal series that shows Syria as I see it. There is a sense of both chaos and calm over each image, like Syria in general is. All have been captures from the passenger side of our Volvo, as we rode Syria thin from downtown Damascus to the suburban areas and out in the countryside.
Please go to the dedicated page for this collection –> Riding shotgun in Syria
Tea and talk with Haitham Maleh
Today I stopped by Haitham Maleh for a drink of green tea. Amongst all the people I have around me he is the one that keeps impressing me the most with his constant fight for his fellow mans rights, that we in the west take for granted. He is always harsh in his word selection when it comes to his views on governmental suppression. With the several books he has written, essays, TV interviews, etc. not to mention the Seven years he spend in a prison for speaking his mind, I think its safe to say that he is a veteran.
The seven years of prison and constant harassment from the government has fueled his fight, and with a massive support from all over the world there is no stopping him. He has been denied the rights to leave Syria so unfortunately he can’t visit us anymore.
Almost the big day
Tomorrow will be the big day. I just need to print the photo text and hang the pictures on the walls. I have no idea if its butterflies or coffee that is upsetting my stomach right now, but something is going on. I would like to also say something to the folks that decide to come. I have no idea what that will be yet. Either I will come up with something tomorrow or just improvise, I don’t feel like thinking too much about it.
Above is a picture from the best falafel experience ever. I spend about 20 minuts here. enyoing the thick trafic and kaos in general that was unfolding in this road crossing. It was cheap and really good. He put in something special that i have no idea what was but i must say i didi the job. Sometimes its hard to figure out if it would be alright to take the picture or not. The risk ruining the moment is great if you ask for permission. In Syria I most of the times just raised the camera and started to take pictures carefully. If no one pretested i would continue. Else just saying sorry would most of the times fix things.