Rainbow Street

These photos were taken at Rainbow Street, a quarter in Amman. It used to be one of the most fashionable areas in the city, but now it represents the Old City. It is a culturally rich neighborhood. Local restaurants and stores line the streets. I visited Rainbow St. with members of the photography club I am running. I did not manage to capture many shots of people because the area was relatively empty when I was there; people usually emerge in the late afternoon. One of my friends led our group to the Royal Film Commission (the shots of the trees against the sky and the red frame). Also, the terrace courtyard overlooked the city. In the final picture, a cook at an award-winning falafel shop (Falafel are spiced chickpeas molded into balls and then deep-fried, eaten alone or in a sandwich), is making a fresh batch. The shots of thorns and windows were taken in the courtyard of a showroom sponsored by the Jordan River Foundation.

Above the Clouds: "This creed of the desert seemed inexpressible in words, and indeed in thought."

I took this series of pictures at Wadi Rum, a tourist site in southern Jordan. I stayed overnight at Bait Ali Camp with my family and my friend and her family. The next morning, we got up at 5:30 am and drove out into the desert, where the ground was both like sand and rock, and firm underfoot, and watched the sunrise as we waited for the hot air balloon personnel to set it up. Once we’d taken off, the view was magnificent. We flew up to 4000 feet and the entire journey took about an hour. We were disappointed at not catching sight of any foxes or wildlife on the mountains, but it was a wonderful experience nevertheless.