Cityscapes

A National Parks Journey - Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde, the third in the trio of National Parks I visited on a trip to Colorado in 2019, is not a traditional National Park that protects places of outstanding natural beauty. Instead it has the best preserved ancestral peublo villages that were carved into sheer cliff faces in the American Southwest. Strategically located away from the bright sunlight where the Puebloans could find water natural seeping between the clefts, these villages are not often visible from above, and accessing it required climbing down narrow footsteps on slippery sandstone walls and shaky ladders. Thankfully, the conveniences of modern technology means that sturdy iron ladders and walkways now provide access for the guided National Park tours that now visit these villages.

Arriving late in the evening after exploring the Rocky mountains along the San Juan Skyway, I was not expecting to find any tickets to the timed tours. But once again, luck was on my side as I managed to snag the last of the tour tickets for the next day. Planning for getting tickets for the tours, which have now re-opened, is highly recommended, as you get to understand the culture of the Pueblo dwellers, and grasp the harsh realities of their everyday life.

Mesa Verde National Park
CO USA

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A National Parks Journey - Dry Tortugas National Park

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Tranlsated literally, dry tortugas means dry turtles, though I could never fathom how that name stuck to the series of Caribbean reef islands situated on the far end of the Florida Keys. They weren't the easiest to get to. Starting with a 3hour drive along the heavily trafficked US Route 1 to the end of the Florida keys, it continued on a 3hr ferry ride on choppy waters that took us to a series of atolls, including one topped by a 19th century fort. But it was worth every minute of it.

Far from any population centers, the only folks that provided company on this island paradise were the tourmates from the ferry and the Park personnel. I took the time to explore the nooks and crannies of the historic Fort Jefferson, and tried to juxtapose the red-brick architecture with the azure blue skies above and turquoise waters below. My only regret was not being able to camp at Dry Tortugas, and enjoy a Caribbean sunset. Perhaps that calls for a return visit.

Dry Tortugas National Park
FL USA

Wedding at the Theater

TurkeyThe last thing I had expected to see in the ruins of an ancient Greek theater in the heart of the Ephesus, was a wedding couple getting a photoshoot done. I tried to envision what the life of the largest theater of the ancient world would have been like during its heydey in 200BC: 25,000 spectators watching riveting Greek dramas and later, when the city came under the control of the Roman Republic, gladiatorial combat, with the sounds of throngs of spectators going around this massive openair arena egging the gladiators.

Times certainly have changed, and it was somber to witness this lovely couple spending a moment, being the center of attraction of an empty arena. Nevertheless, this scene was a delight to shoot as the couple tried various poses, and it added a sense of perspective to the scale of the theater.

Ephesus
Izmir Turkey

A Village in Sandstone

This entire week is going to be a series of photos from Turkey. One of my dreams had been to explore the unique geological formations that dominate the Cappadocia region of Turkey, both from the ground and from the air. And as I explored this region, I was fascinated not just by the colorful rock formations of various shapes and sizes, but the fact that this is a living museum which has been inhabited since 6th century BC.

Amidst the sandstone formations lay hidden multiple churches carved into the fairy chimneys ubiquitous in the region, as well as tiny towns that blend both in color and shape with these sandstone formations. Walking through narrow trails that wind through the area provided a unique perspective into this amalgam of earth and life.

Cappadocia
Nevsehir Turkey

A Lattice on the Docks

When I first stepped inside, the complex vase shape formed by diagonal lines of steps cris-crossing and weaving through seemed confusing and chaotic. But as I climbed higher, order emerged from the chaos, and I had to stop to comprehend it. And admire the skyline of Manhattan peering through the hexagonal openings in the superstructure.

Hudson Yards, NYC
NY USA

Of Goals and Accomplishments

As a year rings to a close, I often takes the time to look at my accomplishments and goals that were achieved. This year though, has been a strange one. The goals I took this year have been put on standby, where they will remain waiting to be accomplished in the next.
As I pondered over what the significance of this delay is, I realized that, in the grand scheme of things, it is but a trifling compared to the changes and adaptations one has had to make to get through. It is more important to manage the present than to worry about the future.

Just as goals were put on hold, so were travel plans. The places, like the real-life Disney Castle pictured here that one seeks to visit. will remain, just as the goals that are waiting to be accomplished.

Schloss Neuschwanstein
Schwangau Germany

Season's Greetings

Season's Greetings
Happy Holidays
Merry Christmas
Feliz Navidad
Buon Natale
Joyeux Noël
Fröhliche Weihnachten
God Jul
கிறிஸ்துமஸ் வாழ்த்துக்கள்

This has been a tough year for many, so I hope that wherever you are, you are all staying safe and sane. And may the new year bring new tidings and a sense of normalcy.

Portals

The darvaza, or a doorway, signifies many things in many cultures, ranging from the metaphysical separation of the death from life, to the more mundane indoors from the outdoors. As a photographer, perhaps the appeal lies in its ability to frame the organic shapes and colors of the outdoor with a well-defined man-made structure.

I collated three such doorways from different parts of the world: the doorway of an outer portico for the Taj Mahal-inspired Bibi ka Maqbara in India, an arched window in the kasbah in Chefchaouen in Morocco, and the stone-hewed entrance of an old caravanserai on the Silk Road in Kyrgyzstan. Each are different, and yet, they share the intrinsic property that is common for a darvaza.