Contrast

Shot up buildings next to brand new builds is a common sight here and is representative of the place as a whole - full of stark contrasts.

Remnants of war torn buildings are common place

If you like gritty urban grunge, contradictory messages, or just plain old interesting-face portraits, you can have a photographic field day and I am still loving it here!

The oldest Church in town with the youngest and largest mosque right behind it

In the week that I have been here I have tried to dig as much as I can to get a grasp of different elements of the culture. I feel like I am beginning to understand some of the nuances (by which I mean contradictions) that still make absolutely no sense at all.

Delicious local food being prepared (no its not pizza)

Image culture: This place takes the notion of 'first impressions matter' to a whole new level. Fitted clothing, overly groomed hair, flashy watches and smart shoes, all with designer labels, seem to be essential for young people. Not to mention the surprisingly high number of pristine Porches, Ferraris and Mercedes cruising the pothole-ridden roads. Here, image is everything. The level of respect that you command is pretty much entirely down to the way you look. It is not uncommon when meeting someone for them to look you in the eye, then down at your shoes, then across to your wrist, before talking to you in whatever way they see fit. To me this is usually in broken English trying to sell me something.

An old house which has actually been converted into a boutique cosmetic surgery complete with valet parking

At the same time this is also very much a relationship culture: 'It's not what you know it’s who you know.'  It takes time to build relationships with people that are anything more than surface level. But once trust is built you’re in possession of one of the most valuable commodities; everything becomes cheaper, faster and easier when you have 'wasta' with the people you are dealing with.

Very strong, very nice coffee

Mix all this in with an honour-shame culture and you have something that is comparable to driving here; a culture that is fantastically exciting, confusing and dangerous all at the same time. Don't ask me what the cultural equivalent of crashing would be, suffice to say that I don't think I've done it yet... That or I did it on arrival and have since died and gone to cultural heaven?

In case you were wandering this is an 'interesting-face portrait' ... taken in landscape

Well, seeing as this post is very quickly headed to a realm of incomprehensibility I think it's time to wrap things up and oh yes, maybe actually mention some of the things I have done ...

• Conducted my first interview and written my first story from it (yay!)
•  Been published
• Blown a chunk of my spending money on an amazing photo book
• Served some field workers by painting their apartment
• Made some new friends (unfortunately not locals but friends all the same)
• Been on an enjoyable and informative 4 hour walking tour of the city with my new found friends
• Visited a convent
• Watched the sun set every night
• Learned to play a new board game
• Taken a bunch more photos
• Gotten a hair cut (kind of a big deal here with the whole image culture thing)
• Tried local food (its delicious)
• Learned how to say 'How are you?' and to respond appropriately in Arabic
•  Met more field workers and heard snippets and tasters of great stories that I am hoping to hear in all their glory over the coming weeks

Title font used: 'Scorched Earth'