HX Report
Irishman in the Middle East
Goa – In a single shot
Posted on April 24, 2015
A picture paints a thousand words. Sometimes. Take a look at this one – Read More
Weekly Photo Challenge – Afloat
Posted on April 11, 2015
It’s sandy in the desert
Posted on April 2, 2015
Taksim Square
Posted on April 1, 2015
MB wrapped his cold hands ’round a cup of hot coffee. In a cozy coffee shop overlooking Taksim Square.
He munched on a slice Turkish cake sitting by a window on the upper floor. There are so many Turkish cakes. And Turkish goodies of so many sorts they are like the stars in the heavens. MB finished his cake and wandered outside, cup in hand. He stood on the narrow balcony to view the sights below. The square spread out from MB’s coffee-drinking vantage point where visitors and locals alike enjoyed the open spaces of the famous square.
An elderly lady sells bird seed for peanuts to those who might like to fed the pigeons. In Taksim there are so many pigeons. More pigeons than people. The pigeons enjoy the free food. It’s far better that scavenging for a living like pigeons in other parts of Istanbul. If MB was a Turkish pigeon he would like to live in Taksim. He would not like to live in low pigeon-income locations having to scrimp and scrape day in day out.
MB likes to take pics. He didn’t have his camera at Taksim. But he had his iPad-mini gadget and gave it a go.
Next week MB will be taking himself to Panjim on the Mandovi river estuary. He will say hello to Vasco De Gama and also get to meet St Francis Xavier in the flesh. Even though SFX died in December 1552. No kidding.
But in the interim here’s a few of MB’s iPad shots from Taksim:
A Week Of Women – Day Nr 7
Posted on March 21, 2015
Fathers & Daughters
It’s the same the world over. Any daughter can wrap her dad around her little finger. Fact! This dad proudly posed with his ‘boss’ for MB on a beach in Sri Lanka. August 2013.
A Week Of Women – Day Nr 4
Posted on March 18, 2015
Motorbiking
All over the third world you will see thousands and thousands of motorbikes and scooters in daily use, as people seek the cheapest possible means of motorised transport. A woman may be attracted to a man who owns a bike rather than one who does not. In many countries the law on safety helmets is extremely lax. The below photo was taken by MB in Nepal where the law requires only the driver to wear a helmet. The huge level of poverty means that more often than not a second helmet is not acquired. Consequently many many women die in vehicular accidents. Kathmandu, the capital city reports some 130 serious accidents every day and thousands of minor ones.
A Week Of Women – Day Nr 3
Posted on March 16, 2015
Nepal
Traveled to Nepal in 2012. Spent an entire day trekking through the hills in an area called Nagarkot, about a one hour drive from the capital city Kathmandu. During that day and on other occasions on other days, MB witnessed the females doing most of the manual labour in the fields. Where heavy work was concerned, men were practically invisible. Maybe because many of the men go to the capital to find work. Or emigrate to the construction sites of the Arabian Gulf. Qatar, as MB has noticed in recent months, is wash with Nepalese men working on the sites. But not sure really.
A Week Of Women – Day 2
Posted on March 15, 2015
The Henna Lady
MB went to a wedding in Sudan in August 2014. One of the many wedding parties that takes place as part of the overall wedding festival is the Henna party. There are two separate parties in truth – one henna party for the bride & one for the groom. Each party is like a wedding party in itself. Food, music, dancing and loads of family & friends in attendance.
At the end of the night when the music stops and the crowd drifts off, close family members and close friends remain on to receive a decorative henna tattoo on the hand (men) or hand and arm and a lot more elaborate for the ladies. The procedure involves placing some henna oil on the hand. A portion of henna mud is then held in the palm of the closed fist. Oil & strips of henna mud are then dressed over the knuckles as shown in the pic – where MB’s white Irish skin is visible. The lady who did MB’s henna was an aunt of the groom, and a superb job she did. Following day MB had and orange coloured tattoo which turned jet black over the following 48 hours.
A Week Of Women – Day 1
Posted on March 13, 2015
A Qatari lady wears a face mask called a ‘burqa’ – not to be confused with the same word used in Western countries to describe the head to toe black dress that is also worn in these parts – that ‘burqa’ name comes from Afghanistan. The ‘burqa face mask is often work by elderly ladies in the Gulf region. The younger ones are are much less likely to wear one, preferring sun glasses by ‘Prada’ and others.
Weekly Photo Challenge – Wall
Posted on March 13, 2015
The HX region has over 5,500 years of continuous human habitation dating to the neolithic period. On the road between HX crossroads and the nearby lake of Lough Gur lies the ruins of an old church called Teampall Nua (New Church – in English language), which dates from the 17th century.
From The Lough Gur website (loughgur.com):
New Church replaced an older chapel which was used by the Earls of Desmond. The present structure dates from 1679 – a simple rectangular building. It was endowed with a chalice and patten which bear the inscription: “The guift of the Right Honourable Rachel Countess Dowager of Bath to her chapel-of-ease Logh Guir, Ireland 1679” The famed poet harper Thomas O’Connellan who died in 1698 in Bourchiers Castle is buried here in an unmarked grave as is Owen Bresnan (1847-1912) local poet and historian who composed Teampall Nua and Sweet Lough Gur side.
A piece by Thomas O’Connellan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Blt9B16TIQ
Pics by MB!
The Scaffold Series – Volume 2
Posted on March 4, 2015
This post is a joint effort by Irish poet Seamus Heaney (deceased) and MB (not deceased).
Scaffolding
by Seamus Heaney
Masons, when they start upon a building,
Are careful to test out the scaffolding;
Make sure that planks won’t slip at busy points,
Secure all ladders, tighten bolted joints.
And yet all this comes down when the job’s done
Showing off walls of sure and solid stone.
So if, my dear, there sometimes seem to be
Old bridges breaking between you and me
Never fear. We may let the scaffolds fall
Confident that we have built our wall.
—-
Scaffolding
by MB
Weekly Photo Challenge – Depth
Posted on January 30, 2015
This week’s challenge is ‘Depth‘.
The Great Wall Of China:
One bright beautiful blue-sky morning In October 2009 MB walked on the Great Wall Of China. It’s an incredibly awe-inspiring structure and sight, as it winds it’s way into the mountainous distance, deep into the northern Chinese countryside. 8,850km (or 5,500 miles) deep to be exact. MB walked on a section which is about one hour drive outside Beijing. The wall is extremely steep in many locations as it snakes the contours of the mountain slopes, and a level of aerobic fitness is required to walk a reasonable length of it. Some, or most, of the English language signage along the wall is amusing! Read More
Weekly Photo Challenge – Express Yourself
Posted on January 23, 2015
For six years the Middle East has been MB’s second home.
Mention of the ME conjures up many things to many people. In the Western world maybe it conjures up negative images for the most part. Understandable MB guesses, given that most news coverage, like most news coverage the world over, focuses of the profane, the obscene, the terrible and the trouble. And of course that’s the awful truth of certain locations in the region. Read More
Three Free Beers
Posted on January 2, 2015
MB has just arrived back in the Middle East after two week break back home. Even if MB was not a native, he would still be impressed with Ireland and the Irish. Read More
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