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

I screamed at the sky that it is not fair.
But who was listening?
It was not God...

The only only ones who were there were some crazy birds.
What the fuck do those birds even know about soulmates?

God has abandoned me...
It felt like she has given up as well.

If God was really there he would have known in how much pain I am.

The tears...
The anger...

Oh god... If you only knew.

I fell down near a tree.
And my roots began to dig deep into the ground so I could become one with the earth.

One with the earth...
My melting body was soaking up in the soil
Falling deeper and deeper

Until I reached our past lives...

Lives of kings and queens
And sand and wind
And places and beings

Even back than I tried to make you remember

Remember about that one time that we were one
And left you notes right on your heart
But your heart stopped beating
And I made it keep going by
Just by saying: sleep tight
You slept tight
And woke up in another dimension
In a beautiful dress with flowers and butterflies
But one of those butterflies was me
Only I had no wings
So I fell off
Right into the ground
And transformed into a flower
Only it didn't rain
So there wasn't any water
And because of that I died...

And when I died
It started raining
And pieces of my saddened body touched the window
You were staring out of when you had a bad day

The raindrops made you feel back home
And even though I wasn't even there

Well... Maybe I was...
But would you have seen those notes I left you?

Oh god if you only knew
And if you are listening
Maybe those crazy birds could translate

Will she ever remember me?

Istanbul - Me, my camera, and sometimes a pen...

In a parallel universe... - A mini photo essay of a journey in Morocco while I should have been in Iraq.

But who was listening? It was not God...