Washing the Glass
The tradition of a refreshing drink carries on in the Damascus souk of Hamadiyeh. I first saw these men carrying that large, ornate urn on their back when I visited the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul in the early 90’s. Then the urn was filled with water. The men were young and strong; you have to be strong to support that much weight all day long.
I had just begun taking photo classes. I didn’t “capture” any outstanding images of the Turkish water sellers (or as we regular folks might say, I didn’t get any good photos). Sometimes I’d forget whether I had black/white or color film in the camera. Oh, I hated when that happened. And other times, I’d forget which ISO I was using. Then, too, I’d leave the red or orange filter on the camera when I was shooting color.
Tamarind Seller
Flash forward to 2010. With my digital camera, I was able to get some pretty good shots of the men in Damascus souk. They didn’t pose for me, but most of them didn’t try to cover their faces either. They were making a living, though, and I had to contend with the customers blocking my viewpoint and the stark contrasty light of the souk. The second photo is enhanced by Alien Skin’s Snap Art 3. I used the ‘stylize’ filter.
What no queue at Bakdash?! Normally it’s a beehive like enantrce because everyone wants one of Bakdash’s ice cream concoctions which are really really excellent. I used to live in Damascus and I’d often make it so that I would pass that place on my way back home I seldomly passed without getting my fix of Bakdash.
Hi, Shankar.
Yes. I have a post on Bakdsh. Check it out.
http://www.rosemarysheel.com/archives/hamadiya-souk-in-damascus-syria
And, yes, there was a queue, a swarm, a river of people going in and out. I hope all is well at Bakdsh and in the Hamadiyeh Souk in these troubled times in Syria.
Rosemary