Deacon Brodie

Edinburgh, Scotland, 2005: Deacon Brodie, was a Scottish cabinet-maker, deacon of a trades guild, and Edinburgh city councillor, who maintained a secret life as a burglar- partly for the thrill, and partly to fund his gambling. This iconic pub on Edinburgh’s royal mile has been there for years and honors the scoundrel. I finally got around to developing […]

Sinai

Sinai Peninsular, Egypt, December 2005: A short video documenting an excursion from Dahab on the Gulf of Aquaba- to Mount Sinai in the southern interior part of the peninsular. My travel companion and I were determined to do this independently using local transport, whether it be on the back of a 4WD or on the back of a […]

Ephesus

Ephesus, Turkey, 2005: On my second visit to Turkey in late 2005, I visited the ancient ruins & tourist mecca of Ephesus. I was in the area staying in nearby Selçuk so it was rude not to check out this historically important 3000 year old city- despite the tourist hoards. Ephesus was an ancient Greek city near the coast of […]

Beirut

Beirut, Lebanon, Nov 2005: A video capturing some scenes from Beirut back in 2005. Beginning from entering the city from the north [Tripoli], to where I was staying near the former “Green Line“- the start point for the 2005 Beirut Marathon. The Green Line was a demarcation through central Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War [1975-1990]. It separated the […]

Damascene

Damascus, Syria, Nov 2005: Damascene refers to someone from Damascus- (alternatively it could be read as ‘Damascus Scenes’)- hence the title of this video. I was fortunate enough to visit Damascus in a relative time of peace- but in a matter of years the country would be torn apart, into a war that does not seem […]

Stations

Jerusalem, Israel, Nov 2005: An exploration/pilgrimage of sorts. It was a Sunday morning, mass was on in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I wasn’t at mass though- but rather exploring the ground floor of the church as the organ rang out above…

Road to Ruins

Israel/Jordan, Nov 2005: From Jerusalem to Petra via the rift valley, Amman and the desert highway- in five and a half minutes…

Border Country

Turkey/Syria, Nov 2005: Hatay– Turkey’s southernmost province- has changed dramatically since my visit to the area in late 2005. Near the border town of Reyhanli there is a huge refugee camp for the thousands of Syrian’s who have managed to escape over the nearby border to safety- and other camps scattered throughout the province. Locals […]

Qadisha

Lebanon, November 2005: Prior to traveling to the Middle East I had read William Dalrymple’s 1997 book “From the Holy Mountain: A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium. It was in these pages that I’d first heard about the Qadisha valley. The mystery of the place intrigued me, so I was determined to visit it […]