Took my macro lens out to play with some of my wife’s stash of foreign correspondence (from her time working with BBC World Service). All photos shot with my Nikon Df, 105mm macro lens, and natural light. Next up: Africa.
“I came to Egypt just after my mother’s passing and left just as the Arab Spring was dawning. I still had my trusty Fuji camera and a fiancee, who would soon become my wife. As such, it is a country that left me with mixed feelings—grief, joy, anticipation, loss. It was the first trip I would not be able to share with my mother upon my return, and a country whose politics saw it changing even as I was leaving.”
Complete Egypt Travel Tales now online:
https://jgtravels.wordpress.com/travel_tales/africa/egypt/
Habu Temple is the name commonly given to the Mortuary Temple of Ramses III, a New Kingdom period structure on the West Bank of Luxor. Aside from its inherent size and architectural and artistic importance, the temple is probably best known as the source of inscribed reliefs depicting the advent and defeat of the Sea Peoples during the reign of Ramses III. It is a remarkable site. The carvings here are the deepest of any temple we visited in Egypt and there remain some areas wonderfully colored.
Beware, though, like most sites in Egypt, there are men wondering around that look official and offer to show you some areas usually not open to the public. After they take you around a bit, they’ll demand a tip and aren’t afraid to show their displeasure if it’s not of an amount to their liking.
Photos taken January 2, 2011
A main draw to Jordan is Petra, which one can spends days to fully explore. However, fewer know about Siq al-Barid, better known as “Little Petra.” It is believed that Little Petra was an important suburb of Petra, the entry and exit point for the trade routes to the north and north-west. Here the caravans from the Negev, Gaza, Jerusalem, Egypt and the Mediterranean coast arrived, had a rest and engaged in trade. The trail through Little Petra culminates in rock-cut stairs which lead through a narrow gap out onto a wide flat ledge. One the day we visits, there we rested here and had some tea with a Bedouin woman who had set up shop there.
Little Petra is located 9km north of Wadi Musa, so it’s a quick taxi ride if you’re staying in town. Although it sees its share of tour buses, Little Petra retains an atmosphere and calmness that are much harder to find in Petra proper.
Photos taken March 20, 2013.
