ME/NA pictures

[UmmSqueakster 54]

From http://www.flickr.com/groups/egypt/

Cairo Evening - downtown by the Egyptian museum

Nile Ferry at Luxor

Food vendor - I loved to get food from the little carts. Probably not the healthiest thing in the world to do, but meh.

[Bosco 1]

im not saying her pictures arents truthful, im just saying they are political. you can always choose what to post.

i choose to show israels beauty, not its faults, which is def has. why cant WOM also choose to show ramallahs beauty? i know its there.

i agree with the last post. would you respond this way if i had shown israeli victems first? shes showing one side, does that mean i should show the other so we can fight about it?

i was simply asking her to be respectful. show your beauty, not the hatred for the other side

I think if any hatred is exposed by the pictures WOM posted, it is not her hatred for Israel, but the other way around.

Suicide bombings and kidnappings are deplorable. I absolutely condemn both. However, to compare these infrequent, heinous acts to the the injustices Palestinians face on a daily basis is shocking and I think it is exactly this attitude that results in the conflict never being solved.

[peezey 0]

i thought this was to show the beauty and such of MENA. would you like me to start posting pictures of suicide bomb remains? of my boyfriends uncle beaten to a pulp after being kidnapped by palestinians?

im sure there are things that better represent ramallah than these. ive been, i know it has its beauty.

seriously, play nice

While I agree with you to some extent about showing the beauty of MENA, there is an obvious reality to WOM's pictures. If you do a google search for photo's of Ramallah, all you will find is photos similar to these and worse. Maybe it would be better fitting to post photos of Ramallah before all the conflict began in the Middle East but where to find them, and do they represent what is left today? This is all that is left to show for the most part. Although these places are beautiful and always will be, they no longer hold the beauty they once did.

I don't see these photo's as being political and I don't even know why you are getting defensive about them. She didn't post anything that is not true or any remarks that are directed to anyone. Israel has also suffered indeed, but Israel still holds it beauty and always will because it has the resources to pick up and move on as do many other MENA countries that have been attacked by terrorists.

JP, this is exactly what I'd say if my blood wasn't boiling right now. Thank you.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

The Non-Touristy side of Cairo - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixinalasidra.../in/pool-egypt/ - can't put the pic up here, but do click. This is a pervasive side to Cairo, a city I love dearly. Trash trash everywhere.

Family outside a mosque in Tanta - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixinalasidra.../in/pool-egypt/ - can't put this pic up either. My sweetie went to university in Tanta.

Peddler - ahh, I love and hate these guys. It's nice to have fresh fruit right outside your apartment, but on the other hand, do they really need to start yelling that they have fresh figs at 5 am?

Mosque of Ibn Tulun. It was being rennovated the last time I was there. I wonder if they've finished

Nubian girl

[Heartland 0]

WOW ok I for one thought the pyramids were in the middle of the desert! How very strange to have that as your view from your house...who would have ever thunked it? LOL

Wendy

The pyramids at Giza. I think most people have the impression that they're off in the middle of the desert, and you have to ride camels to get to them, but Giza (suburb/twin city of Cairo) butts up right next to them. Giza is the place we stayed the first time I was in Cairo, 2 miles from the pyramids. I love it and miss it.

Minaret at Al Azhar, beautiful masjid.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

I will have to scan some pictures my husband took during his stint as an accountant in Sharm el Sheikh, October 2004 to May 2005. In July 2005, Sharm was bombed. Several of the places my husband took pictures no longer exist.

Old Market. I have a picture of my husband standing about 20 feet to the right of this location

[melly 0]

Rahma I'm really enjoying the pics you posted and look forward to checking out the links later tonight when I'm home.

Everyone else posting, I'm enjoying yours as well.

Thanks to everyone for both the "good" and "bad"

[UmmSqueakster 54]

From the Muslim Cultures flickr group

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelchung/.../in/pool-islam/ - colorful house - Morocco

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelchung/...57594384293248/ - more of Michael Chun's Morocco pictures - beautiful beautiful rich colors. Seriously, I want to live in an all blue neighborhood

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Muscat - Sultanate of Oman, 02 December 2006, Cloudy day

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Muscat - Sultanate of Oman, 02 December 2006, Cloudy day

Al Mirani Fort in Muscat and front of it Alkhor Mosque- Sultanate of Oman, 03 December 2006, on a rainy day

Sana'a Old City, UNESCO World Heritage site in YEMEN.

Sana'a Old City, UNESCO World Heritage site in YEMEN

[wildroze22 0]

How is she not being respectful!!!!! Just because you don't agree with her photos, there are many that do. These photos show the only reality that is left for Palestine. You have a choice of which photos to show for Israel. You can show photos of damaged buildings from bombings as can I in Jordan, but the difference is we have alot more beauty to show. This is all that is left for them, do you not get that?

look, i understand that. you can even leave the pictures up. but look at her titles! "kristalnacht!???" youre going to tell me that titling a picture of palestinian territory with a name from a ww2 jewish masacre is not political?

please. i was hoping to find people with similar thoughts and respectful discussion here. i know why there is so much drama.

and they do have a choice. israelis are not barbarians. we can argue this until we are blue in the face. ramallah and the west bank have a lot of beauty to show. there are plenty of arabs living in israel proper who have plenty of beauty to show. ive never been to gaza, and ive only ever seen pictures from before the disengagement so i cant talk about that now.

please, what does the conflict have to do with this forum? i thought it was a place where people from MENA can come together to discuss the visa process, not tear down other world views

[brnidokiegurl 0]

Really like all the pictures, nice expressions of life as each of you have seen it

[peezey 0]

How is she not being respectful!!!!! Just because you don't agree with her photos, there are many that do. These photos show the only reality that is left for Palestine. You have a choice of which photos to show for Israel. You can show photos of damaged buildings from bombings as can I in Jordan, but the difference is we have alot more beauty to show. This is all that is left for them, do you not get that?

look, i understand that. you can even leave the pictures up. but look at her titles! "kristalnacht!???" youre going to tell me that titling a picture of palestinian territory with a name from a ww2 jewish masacre is not political?

please. i was hoping to find people with similar thoughts and respectful discussion here. i know why there is so much drama.

and they do have a choice. israelis are not barbarians. we can argue this until we are blue in the face. ramallah and the west bank have a lot of beauty to show. there are plenty of arabs living in israel proper who have plenty of beauty to show. ive never been to gaza, and ive only ever seen pictures from before the disengagement so i cant talk about that now.

please, what does the conflict have to do with this forum? i thought it was a place where people from MENA can come together to discuss the visa process, not tear down other world views

Nope, it's not only to talk about the visa process. As you can see by the hundreds of threads, the visa process isn't discussed in this forum more than a bit of the time.

Here is the description of the regional discussion forums:

"This Forum is dedicated to discussion on the major regions around the world. Topics of discussion may include travel, moving, what to eat and any other experience you may wish to share or inquire about. "

I'd like to hear more about this choice Palestinians have to live in different conditions than they currently do in Palestine.

Edited January 15, 2007 by peezey

[wildroze22 0]

Nope, it's not only to talk about the visa process. As you can see by the hundreds of threads, the visa process isn't discussed in this forum more than a bit of the time.

I'd like to hear more about this choice Palestinians have to live in different conditions than they currently do in Palestine.

i never said all of them have different conditions. im just saying i know plenty of arabs, and palestinians, who went to school with me IN ISRAEL, who did not live in these conditions, and did not hate israel. there is more than one side to every story, i just get frustrated with the palestinian side is the only side.

its the old conundrum. which came first, the chicken or the egg? who started this, the israelis or the arabs? who is more hurt, the israelis or the arabs? for each fact or opinion you give, i can counter it. and for everything i say, you can counter it.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

i never said all of them have different conditions. im just saying i know plenty of arabs, and palestinians, who went to school with me IN ISRAEL, who did not live in these conditions, and did not hate israel. there is more than one side to every story, i just get frustrated with the palestinian side is the only side.

Where has anyone expressed a hatred of Israel in this thread?

I would request, as the OP, that any Israel/Palestine debate be moved to it's own thread. Shokran! (thanks!)

[jordanianprincess 0]

How is she not being respectful!!!!! Just because you don't agree with her photos, there are many that do. These photos show the only reality that is left for Palestine. You have a choice of which photos to show for Israel. You can show photos of damaged buildings from bombings as can I in Jordan, but the difference is we have alot more beauty to show. This is all that is left for them, do you not get that?

look, i understand that. you can even leave the pictures up. but look at her titles! "kristalnacht!???" youre going to tell me that titling a picture of palestinian territory with a name from a ww2 jewish masacre is not political?

please. i was hoping to find people with similar thoughts and respectful discussion here. i know why there is so much drama.

and they do have a choice. israelis are not barbarians. we can argue this until we are blue in the face. ramallah and the west bank have a lot of beauty to show. there are plenty of arabs living in israel proper who have plenty of beauty to show. ive never been to gaza, and ive only ever seen pictures from before the disengagement so i cant talk about that now.

please, what does the conflict have to do with this forum? i thought it was a place where people from MENA can come together to discuss the visa process, not tear down other world views

Did anyone here say that Israeli's are barbarians? WOM posted photos she thought were fitting and that is really her choice as the thread calls for pretty or unpretty photos. I know there are arabs that live well in Israel and I know many that do, but that is so far outweighed by those who don't. These photos depict the absoulute reality. This forum is about MENA and anything to do with it. This conflict is a part of MENA and always has been, it has everything to do with this forum.

[Bosco 1]

Nope, it's not only to talk about the visa process. As you can see by the hundreds of threads, the visa process isn't discussed in this forum more than a bit of the time.

I'd like to hear more about this choice Palestinians have to live in different conditions than they currently do in Palestine.

i never said all of them have different conditions. im just saying i know plenty of arabs, and palestinians, who went to school with me IN ISRAEL, who did not live in these conditions, and did not hate israel. there is more than one side to every story, i just get frustrated with the palestinian side is the only side.

its the old conundrum. which came first, the chicken or the egg? who started this, the israelis or the arabs? who is more hurt, the israelis or the arabs? for each fact or opinion you give, i can counter it. and for everything i say, you can counter it.

The only person who has posted about hatred for Israel is you.