Syria, July 2008
A Syrian grandmother at the Krak des Chevaliers – a medieval crusader castle in Syria. It was a hot, dry day and she was sitting quietly in the shade inside the castle grounds. I asked her – by smiling and pointing to my camera – if she would mind if I took a photo. She was pleased to pose and then with my Arabic friend acting as an interpreter, she told me she was a grandmother and asked if she looked like my grandmother. (She doesn’t but I’m sure she makes a lovely granny).
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Young girls walking by the lake in Hama, Syria. We asked their parents first and they were happy to let us take the picture. I was particularly struck by the smallest one as she has such beautiful eyes and is just young enough that she doesn’t yet have to wear a headscarf.
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This last one is actually me! I went to Sayyida Zainab Mosque in Damascus with my Iraqi companion Hind – whose wedding I was in Syria to attend. I’m not Muslim but obviously I need to dress appropriately to visit a mosque so my friend lent me a long black robe and hijab (headscarf). I’m interested by the fact that I still look different to everyone else – strands of blonde hair kept escaping from under the scarf, my sunglasses (prescription, which is why I’m wearing them inside) are quite foreign, and although I was respectful, I was one of the few people not either praying or pressing forward to touch the tomb.
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- More posts from my trip to Syria.
- More of my travel photos.
This is a submission to Photo Friday, a weekly blogging event hosted by Debbie at Delicious Baby. Please click here to see all the other submissions.
The first picture is absolutely gorgeous and seems to capture the essence of that woman. Thanks for sharing!
I do hope I get to Lebanon next year, everyone looks so smiling and friendly
I have never been to Lebanon but I hear it’s a lovely place and not dissimilar to Syria. – Caitlin.
Veils are so interesting and I can not help but analyze my reactions to them as a minority in Western culture and as a majority in Islamic ones. Hmm, one of those strong “different” messages that affect us all today.
Lovely photos.
Your photos are very interesting, along with the stories you tell about them.
I got very close to Syria when I was in Eastern Turkey and now that I have done a show on Syria I wish I would have had time to go there.
I love the photo of you! So often when we travel we get all kinds of photos of other people and places, but to have a photo of yourself in that place makes that memory even more vivid.
Ciao!
These photos have just left me speechless. Like soultravelers3 I realize I have a bunch of mixed messages/assumptions/values which surface as I look at these.
Great photos.
Love these photos. Such expressive faces you found…I’m always too shy to ask about taking photos, so I don’t have a lot of people shots.
If they are close enough and I have my camera in hand, then I just catch their eye and smile and point to the camera. If they say no (or ask for money), I just smile and shrug, but mostly they say yes.
If they are a long way away then I don’t always ask – I don’t think it’s necessary if it looks like I could just as easily be taking photos of the surroundings and any people are incidental. Then I can just use the zoom if I want to focus on the person.
Legally, I’m not obliged to ask if we’re in a public place but I think it’s good manners if I want a close-up – people generally don’t like a camera shoved right in their face without being asked first. – Caitlin.
These are such lovely photos. I love the colorful head scarfs… in the few Middle Eastern countries we have visited the tradition has been more towards black… which makes sense if you are trying not to draw unwanted attention, but has the side-effect of feeling harsher to someone from outside the culture.
Great photos, Caitlin. The gramma looks so sweet, and the little girls are delicious! I have the same problem with my hair peeking out of the scarves, so I’ve discovered not to use slippery scarves – just cotton. The hair still creeps out, but not as quickly!