In a parallel universe…
I wouldn’t be talking to the sea in Casablanca
I love talking to the sea
Maybe it is because the sea is connected to the heart of the moon
And everytime we speak
she lets me hear her thunder and her storms
the embrace of her waves
sometimes with delicacy
and sometimes with all her passion
and all of her rumbles
But when she is sad
I always tell her
That someone gifted me once a box full of darkness
but in the end that darkness will make you shine bright
brighter than a dance
under a thousand stars
I love talking to the sea so much…
And I would trade every
single
day
to say to her…
that my favourite season is autumn as well
despite
I sometimes
feel like a fading burning sun
In a parallel universe…
I wouldn’t be walking in tiny streets
With walls that stretch far into the sky
like concrete trees
and magic doors
Magic doors
so special
that if you walk through them
you will end up
End up in a place
Where your heart gets hugged
and where a song starts playing
for only those who listen with their soul
can hear
In a parallel universe…
You would not have set me down on that stool…
asking me to tell me about my day
and just to make sure
I was perfectly fine
I would have left if it wasn't for you
you know…
one of your poems was about rain
Maybe that's why I stayed
I would have left if it wasn't for you
you know…
I am sure
it was because
I recognized your rain as well…
because it looked so much like my own
And told you
self-love should be the very first romance…
In a parallel universe…
I wouldn’t have had a dream about a proud old man and a horse
Out of nothing
I heard a voice which sounded like thunder
it was a dark horse
and his name that sat on him
was life
I rode with him
until his legs were tired
but was ready to rest with a giant smile
you will be fine, my friend
he said
despite sometimes
it just takes a while…
Story behind the mini photo essay…
The initial plan for end of spring was to visit my friend in Iran. But because they had their own plans to travel, I opted to go and visit my friends in Iraq. And while I was there also create a photo essay as well. Specifically the autonomous region of Kurdistan.
When I was ready to board the plane and waiting in front of the gate with a bag full of film, and presents. There was just simply no airplane to take me to Iraq.
The solution of the airline was to stuff me into a hotel in Istanbul to wait for the next available flight. But the airport personnel here figured out that all of the upcoming flights where grossly overbooked as well, so that would be being stuck in Istanbul for way too long. And while Istanbul is an amazing city, it still would have meant I would lose valuable time in Iraq itself. And you don’t go to Iraq for a lightning quick visit if you have the chance. You want to enjoy the country to it’s fullest.
So I opted to get my money back. And as soon as I got my money back I checked for the other airline that would fly to Erbil. But that website was down…
Eventually I picked Morocco instead and gave myself a a forced holiday which I haven’t had in years! I mean I travel regularly and it is always fun. But it is always with a purpose. I am just very bad at sitting on my ass…
People who know me personally can vouch for that.
The only flight that was available which fitted in my schedule was one to Casablanca. The idea was when I got to Casablanca to take a bus to Essaouira and just chill…
But fate decided to rock my world again and gave me food poisoning right before a six hour bus ride… And if you have ever had food poisoning in your life, you would know that the only place where you feel safe is the shower… A bus is the last place where you want to be… Especially for six hours…
Of all the chances a nurse came sitting next to me, and the wonderful conversations I had with her made me feel good enough to arrive in a proper manner. Thank you Imane. :)
Eventually…
Eventually in Essaouira I couldn’t resist to do nothing at all despite I needed more than a couple of days to recover fully. But in the end I just love photography so much… It is my way to make sense of things… So I did what I could with the severe limited amount of time I had.
The other bonus was that I met some amazing people over there. People that really touched my heart in ways that I couldn’t imagine.
But that is the downside of travel…
The biggest upside of traveling is like reading a thousand books… But saying goodbye always feels like breaking your heart.
For the tech geeks…
I shot a combination of film and digital. I just grabbed the camera I was in the mood for and didn’t want to think about things too much. Also it is no secret that I use everything that a Carl Zeiss can be attached to. In the end it doesn’t matter though. A good photo is a good photo… And they still need to be printed. So from some I will create negatives and create silver gelatin prints anyway.
Photography is all about the printing…
There were of course more images taken. But those will be shared on a later moment.
Ending words…
In the future I will go back to Morocco again. And when fate allows me I will still have to plan to go to Iraq. Can’t wait to see my friends.
All will be fine in the end… And if it isn’t fine… It isn’t the end…
Thank you Halima Haloumi Goldfish, Marcus, Imane, Jakob, Marwane, Pierre, David. And all the others amazing human beings I ran into in that short of a time. Without all of you beautiful souls I definitely wouldn’t have had such a wonderful time.. You will forever be in my heart.
That is a promise…
~ Cristian
