Shoot Your City!

I needed a change of scenery, I needed a change from work and Toastmasters and obligations. And I think when you want something badly enough, the universe will conspire in helping you achieve it. And my getaway came from a little event organized by the “We Love Tripoli” foundation…

I had recently found out about their latest Facebook event “Shoot Your City”, in which both members and guests would gather at Nawfal Palace at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, and with cameras in hand, would walk around old parts of Tripoli trying to capture its essence. And of course, having recently bought my first dSLR camera, this was the perfect opportunity for me to test it out!

So I woke up at 8:07 a.m. today, hurriedly had breakfast and got dressed, raced to Mina to pick up my friend Ymn and her two sisters, and drove to Nawfal Palace where the group was still gathering. As we waited, Ymn (who seems to know anything and everything about Tripoi) told me the story of Nawfal Palace. She said that once upon a time, the governor of Tripoli (Mr. Nawfal) had lived in that palace that overlooked his own private garden. He wasn’t married though, and he had no heirs, so in his will upon his death, he left the palace to the people and likewise, the garden became a public garden. I shot this picture of the Menshieh Garden from the palace’s balcony:

We walked around many places in old Tripoli, most of which I already know and have been to. But what’s different about walking around with a group of photographers is that there’s more time to take in the details and decide on what you want to capture. I’m gong to leave you with my top five shots of people and places from the day:

Oh, and how can I forget this one last shot, which was actually one of the most amusing sights I’ve seen, of these two signs hung on the outside wall of a mosque:

SERIOUSLY!