Thursday, July 17, 2008

Desert Dreams





Did you know that the splendid version of Lawrence of Arabia, starring Peter O'Toole, was actually filmed in southern Morocco, around this old outpost of Ait bin Haddou?
No, I didn't either.

As I sit here in humid north Borneo, I keep thinking of the dry heat of southern Morocco and of the sandstorm at the edge of the Sahara, where my camera lens got covered in junk (sadly visible in my photos). And where, despite my tucking it under my shirt, my lens got a grain of sand trapped in the extendsion tube and is now in Kuala Lumpur for intensive care.



How anyone but a camel could stand this type of wind, which can blow non-stop for 7 days (so I was told), is beyond me. And to think they used to ride from Zagora to Timbuktu, a mere 52 days' journey.

3 comments:

Borneo Belle said...

Such amazing photos are a small price to pay for KL's intensive camera care, no? Someday, I hope to experience a sandstorm and see that landscape for real.

Wendy said...

Absolutely right, my dear. Cameras are only hardware; it's the software in our souls that matters! Glad you like the photos. I'll load them onto flickr one day when/if I find the time.

Unknown said...

great pictures, especially "Sand_blowing_from_dune"