Baghdad Photographs
My blog has decided that it doesn't want to play friendly with me today so I've decided to stop trying to upload photos for another post and to try something else. Don't worry, that story will come some other day. This is Iraq, nothing is easy, I'm kind of used to it by now (that doesn't mean it's any less frustrating).Anyway, I've mentioned how difficult it is to get photos of Baghdad to show you. We move from point A to B in a caravan of vehicles that, unless we're stuck in traffic, is driving like a bat out of hell. We do that to, well, avoid going there (as my buddy Leon says, "Don't forget, there are people out there who want to kill you." I don't forget.) So, even though we're not supposed to shoot, or should I say photograph, from the vehicles, I occasionally do (with permission of course). However, it's usually either shots of traffic, or blurred beyond recognition because traveling fast over Baghdad's pot-holed streets doesn't lend for a stable shooting (there I go again), photographing, platform. That and everything has this ugly green tint because the camera does not have a "bullet proof glass" white balance setting on it. At least my cameras don't.
Well, National Geographic has done a story on Baghdad. You can get to the photo gallery here. And in case you just want to paste the url into your web browser, here it is:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/07/baghdad/addario-photography
These scenes are typical. No, I have not watched a movie in an Iraqi movie theater, yes I have attended police training sessions. No Iraqi weddings, night clubs or swimming in the Tigris, but I have had dinner at Iraqi restaurants in the IZ. And my barber is an Iraqi, albeit at the embassy. I am familiar with all the neighborhoods mentioned in the captions and they all appear familiar, not at all exotic. These are the streets I see when we drive through Baghdad. Looking through these photographs I realize how thankful I am that I wound up at the PRT, where I got to get out as much as I did, instead of being holed-away at the embassy the entire time.
I haven't read the article that goes with the photos. I guess it's about time to.
Addendum: I just read the article. I suggest you do too. It captures the complexity of life here. Baghdad is a vibrant, dynamic city that is full of life, interrupted all too frequently with horrendous acts of violence. The streets are full of people as well as signs that things are not quite normal here. It's hard to forget for very long that danger remains, yet still time is filled with conversation, jokes, coffee and tea. Thad told me a story that he once asked Ida (an American-Iraqi ex-pat) whether he would be ok walking down a street with her. She replied, "Oh yes, there are any number of streets we could walk down. You would get looks and probably some good conversation, but we'd have to keep moving. And we couldn't do it twice. It would be insane to try it a second time." One last comment - the story about the bridge guard sharing his breakfast. Despite the situation here, Iraqi hospitality survives, and I've benefited from it.