COUNTRY
Jordan
LOCATION
Port of Al-ʿAqabah
TECHNIQUE
Colour Grading
SUBJECT
Landscapes
Al-ʿAqabah, a port town, extreme southwestern Jordan. It lies on the Gulf of Aqaba, an inlet of the Red Sea, just east of the Jordan-Israel frontier on the gulf. It is Jordan’s only seaport. Because of freshwater springs in the vicinity, it has been settled for millennia. During a student study trip in 2011, we managed a marvelous boat ride with a glass bottom. It was a beautiful sunny day and the water was clean and clear with so much more to see. I had a fast shutter speed with underexposed images to play with later. I have added to this gallery some of my favorite water centered stories and poems, have a good read.
A Water-Carrier Of Samarkand Fulfils His Promise To His Parents
In the City of Samarkand there once lived a water-carrier. This person had made a vow: what he earned on a Friday he would give to the poor, for the sake of the souls of his mother and father. Furthermore, he would pray for their forgiveness after each of the five times for daily worship. For a long while he honoured this commitment, but one Friday he earned no money, so of course he could give nothing to the poor. He went and asked a wise man what he ought to do. Said the wise man: “My son, gather up the skins of melons and watermelons. Give them to the animals, then offer the spiritual re ward for your action to your mother and father. That promise of yours will thus be fulfilled.” The water-carrier did as the wise man had told him. That very night he saw his mother and father in a dream.
“Allāh be pleased with you!” they cried. “You used to send us a present every Friday, and now this Friday night we received as a divine gift the melons and watermelons of Paradise.”
Pass away—
then you’ll find
the eternal shore.To reach the Friend,
you have to go beyond yourself.One day a bubble
was wondering
about its existence—When it popped,
it finally
rejoined
the sea.~ Hazrat Fikri Khurasani r.a
You fill up my senses like a night in a forest,
Like the mountains in springtime,
Like a walk in the rain, like a storm in the desert,
Like a sleepy blue ocean.
You fill up my senses, come fill me again.Come let me love you, let me give my life to you,
Let me drown in your laughter, let me die in your arms.
Let me lay down beside you, let me always be with you
Come let me love you, come love me again.
Let me give my life to you,
Come let me love you, come love me…
John Denver – You Fill Up My Senses (Annie’s Song)
