Beirut - Dec 05

I always feel the same arriving in a new city. Unfamiliar smells, faces and facades sewn together unapologetically, forcing me to dive head first in to adventure mood.

A walk around the city gives me a chance to soak in the atmosphere. As I amble past bullet ridden buildings, I imagine scared faces, hiding behind thick concreted walls.
Did the ammunition find its target ? Or were the family spared further grief? What did tomorrow bring? A visit to a crumbling grocers across the street or the realisation of another imminent funeral?

Kalid tells me how life continued. ‘We knew no different! We lived our lives normally … at night we barricaded ourselves in and waited for the inevitable shells to strike. Destruction was revealed the next morning and the day continued as normal.’

I am glad that my ‘normal’ is so less dramatic.

~

words: Ted Edwards, Oman
photo: Eric Wrisley, Ohio (CautionaryTale)