Holiday In Beirut

Beirut, Lebanon, November 2005: While holidaying in Beirut in 2005- my first venture downtown inevitably ended under the towering, war ravaged hulk of the Holiday Inn… The Holiday Inn was just one of the many hotels that became infamous during the conflict known as the Battle of the Hotels or (Front des Hotels)– a brutal […]

Krak des Chevaliers

Krak des Chevaliers, Syria, 2005: A farmer walks his cows past the imposing walls of the 1000 year old Krak des Chevaliers. The castle, originally built in 1031 for the emir of Aleppo, became one of the most strategic fortresses of the Crusades by controlling the road to the Mediterranean. In 2006 Krak des Chevaliers […]

Tartus

Tartus, Syria, 2005: A rusted mural of the al-Assad’s adorns a wall of an old mill in the seaside town of Tartus. The al-Assad dynasty of father dictator, Hafez (president 1971-2000); eldest son Basil, (groomed as successor- but killed in a car accident in 1994): and youngest son (and current dictator) Bashar, are also known […]

Damas2

Damascus, Syria, 2005: This dapper young man and his sidekick were quite okay to pose for a photo… Canon EOS D30/Sigma 17-35

Border Country

South Lebanon, 2005: A local man on the Lebanese-Israeli border… I don’t know if he was Hezbollah, Amal or just a tourist like me… He was friendly, but reserved- cool enough to let me take his photo though…. It was nice and peaceful here at the time, but within a few months all hell was […]

Flag

Lebanese/Israeli border, South L,ebanon, 2005: A shredded but defiant Hezbollah flag flutters in the face of an Israeli border post. It was around this border region a few months later where the 2006 Israeli-Lebanese war kicked off… Canon EOS D30/Canon 28-135is

Blur St

Jerusalem, Israel, 2005: This was the fastest shutter speed I could get- I was hoping it would turn out someting like this… Canon EOS D30 / Canon 28-135is