A curious thing happened to me at the dentist

I was having my annual nhs dental check-up last month. As I left my dentist said: I've got a question for you'. My only thought was that he was announcing that he was going private, and would I stay with the practice. But No! He asked me if I'd heard of a book called something like 'travelling in disguise through Mesopotamia'. I admitted that I hadn't. He mentioned that he was currently reading that great classic of travel writing The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron. I went home and immediately began a Google search for 'disguise' and 'Mesopotamia' and was rewarded by a free download from www.archive .org of the entire book whose full title is To Mesopotamia and Kurdistan in Disguise by E.R Soane. I have travelled over some of the territory and loved the fact that the manners and habits of the Armenian, Arabs and Kurds have not changed that much in the century or so since it was written. I'm afraid he doesn't have a good word to say about the quality of Ottoman government.

Shopping in Urfa

Deep Time in Edinburgh

Living as we do in Edinburgh the incentives to go travelling in August all but disappear as the city hosts what is usually described as the largest arts festival in the world. Last night we had the opening free event of Deep Time. Thousands of us gathered in the streets below the castle to watch a 20 minute history of the geology of Scotland being projected onto the rock face and the cut stone ramparts of the castle. This was a sound and light show to rival many that I have seen, quite outstanding sound quality and wonderful graphics as the laser lights lit up, dissolved, crumbled the volcanic plug that is the castle rock. Do look at the BBC website which shows you the images coming to life on this hugely defensible crag. The man we all celebrate is James Hutton, father of geology whose face emerged from the rock rather like the faces of the founding fathers in the USA at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

Turkish Troubles

It is like seeing good friends getting divorced, or even murdering each other, I thought , as the news came in of events in Turkey this weekend. I was reminded of my many friends across Turkey who suddenly will have terrible uncertainty in their lives, almost as though the events in Syria have spilled over the border. Tourist numbers were already down 35% on the previous year, and these events will be another blow. The situation seems to reflect a country sharply divided between those who support the president, and those who look westwards. The dismissal of the country's 2,700 judges hardly signifies a search for justice. These photographs recall a happier time.

What Makes Good Travel Photography?

Capturing the spirit of the place

Good composition often done very hurriedly

Conveying something of the colour or absence of colour of the place

Honouring the people whose image you are taking

Recording something beyond time

Noticing the idiosyncratic

Describing the absurd

Writing a visual history

Intruding and not intruding

Mastering the light

Consider whether the subject should be in the centre of the frame or placed at one third of the way into the image

The use of the background to enhance the photograph

If you want to see some good photography I have enjoyed discovering the photographer Slavek Ruta: See some of his work at @SlavekRuta

The photographs on show here are all by Rufus Reade.

As Robert Capa famously said, "If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough."

Sorrow for Syria

There are many theories as to why Syria has disintegrated so rapidly: was the Assad regime successfully holding disparate elements together, or using terror for self-enrichment? 

One thing all returning travellers have said  is that the Syrians were a wonderful people to meet. The murderous years, the expulsion of millions of people, the scenes of refugees in overcrowded boats, the desperation to reach a safe haven...these are about as bad as it gets in modern times.

And then the destruction of the Temple of Baal at Palmyra meant the local people lost an international treasure. The newspapers talk of the modern city and the ancient city of Palmyra. To call such a humble modern settlement a city is interesting. Most houses in the town are no more than two floors high. The town occupies level ground bounded on one side by extensive date palm gardens, which gives the modern city its real name of Tadmur, which may be derived from the Semitic word for 'dates'. This name predates 'Palmyra' which appears about 1st century AD.

These photographs are a quiet tribute to the Syrians, their rich history, and our bafflement over what has unfolded.