This story, a chapter from an unpublished manuscript I wrote long ago, recounts the difficult process of deciding whether to travel across Afghanistan during my trans-Asia journey in 2003 and 2004.
10 Photos: 2021 In Review
It’s that time of year again, when I start a post by inadequately summarizing the year that was with a line of statistics based on international travel. Here it goes: In 2021, I traveled for 126 days and set foot in nine countries: Mexico, Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Luxembourg. I actually set foot in […]
The Gaza Strip And A Photo I Didn’t Take
MELBOURNE, FLORIDA (MARCH 2008) Blame it on the Melbourne Beach Public Library. Had they not stocked a visually powerful documentary called Death in Gaza, I probably would have slept that night two months ago. Instead, shortly after midnight I pushed back the recliner in my sister’s living room and began to watch the film. My […]
10 Photos: 2020 In Review
What a year, eh? Here’s a look back on the year through my eyes. In late January I flew to Eugene, Oregon, where I was hosted for several days by friend and fellow global photographer Paul Jeffrey and his wife Lyda. I drank coffee, read an article about the first person-to-person spread in the U.S. […]
Remembering the Beheading of Sgt. Leonard G. Siffleet in Aitape, Papua New Guinea
Aitape, Papua New Guinea (July 19, 2017) One day during the First World War, in light of the heavy losses German fighter aircraft were inflicting on Allied reconnaissance aircraft, the Royal Flying Corps made a decision: from now on, reconnaissance aircraft would require an escort of at least three fighter aircraft. The date of that […]
The Vanity of Leaders
Statue of Turkmenbashi in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (2004) When I visited Turkmenistan in 2004, I struggled to put into words my emotional reaction to how its leader, Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov (aka Turkmenbashi), demonstrated his sense of grandiosity. There was the golden statue of himself that revolved during the day so that it always faced the sun. […]
Phnom Penh, Where I Wished I Could Have Left A Leg
Ferry in Siem Reap, Cambodia, soon to depart for Phnom Penh (June 27, 2000). Three months earlier, in March, the ferry had been boarded and robbed by ex-Khmer Rouge. In April it had capsized, drowning Taiwanese tourists. The following is from my journal entry for June 27, 2000 — the day I traveled from Siem […]
The Kindness of a Syrian Stranger, on a Road to Damascus
The turn-off to Maloula on the road from An-Nabk to Damascus, Syria (June 9, 2010) Early on the afternoon of June 9, 2010, I stood on the side of a Syrian highway and took this picture. For the previous two nights I had been staying at Deir Mar Musa, a monastery perched on a mountainside […]
Looking Back: A Day in Damascus, Syria
June 6, 2010, was a Sunday, and I started the morning with breakfast at the Al Rabie Hotel in Damascus, Syria. One of the most beautiful interiors of any hotel/hostel I’ve stayed at. The following is excerpted from my journal, though “Sarah” is not her real name. This is but a glimpse through one tiny […]
Build Love, Not Greatness: Thoughts While Sitting In Ruins
Luxor, Egypt – April 11, 2010 The picture above is a view from inside the Ramesseum, a mortuary temple of Pharaoh Ramesses (Ramses) II, located in the Theban necropolis near Luxor, Egypt. It was built in the 13th century B.C. The Ramesseum is one of my favorite places in Upper Egypt, in part because it […]
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