Jaffna, capital of the Northern province of Sri Lanka, has been a contested city since 1619. The more recent civil war was not considered as ending until 2009.
Visiting in July 2015, it’s obvious the rebuilding of the ravaged region is still continuing and will for a long time. Not a top of most people’s list as a tourist destination to visit, but as always somewhere off the beaten track lures me into its web. Continue reading
One of my favourite weekly challenges is Thursday doors. Since joining in this quirky challenge and one or two others, I find I have become so much more aware of my surroundings from a feature viewpoint. Continue reading
Al Hisn fort in Sharjah , the home of the Al Qassimi ruling family of Sharjah since 1820, but nearly totally demolished in 1969, when the present ruler, who was abroad, managed to rush home to try to stop the demolition.The Fort was restored 20 years later with the original doors and windows saved from the demolished fort. Continue reading
Traditional Cyprus town house doors on an empty building in Paphos old town. Colonial style villas once lined these streets, now there are few left. The centre glass pane opens to allow air to pass through into the house. Continue reading
Along the coast of eastern Oman, a region known as Ash Sharqiyah, the coast road passes through many small fishing villages, buildings are weather-beaten, dilapidated and life appears to be very different to that of the main cities. Continue reading
This old fishing hut had some lovely doors! There are no walls, only bamboo laced around the perimeter…
Taking part in Thursday doors over at Norm’s site…
Pseudo doors decorating a wall at Heritage village, Dubai Creek.
These shots are typical of locations where you see modern doors being displayed and made in small workshops somewhere close by, in the smaller towns around the Middle East region. Continue reading
Real doors, opening into a room, not often visible here, normally I only ever see doors opening into a courtyard, privacy of the home and family is very important…
Finally, I found some doors in the UAE that I call doors, not solid, thick, meaty doors, I’m not sure I’m ever going to find those types here, but these ones are carved, slightly misshapen and quaint. I’m really happy to have found these doors. Continue reading
In Kalpitya main street, Puttalam district, Sri Lanka, little doors into a shrine tucked into a small room on the roadside.
Thursday Doors is run by Norm Frampton. Thursday Doors 03 March
When I spotted this corridor of doors and not having seen any of the “No photography” signs, I spent some time snapping, then, on turning around, a security guard is standing right behind me …politely, “Ma’am, no photos please here”… Oops, profuse apologies, but I wasn’t snapping the super yachts moored behind me, just this lovely view down a corridor of doors ….
A typical Omani door in rural areas. This door leads directly into the house, sometimes the houses have a walled courtyard and larger doors or gates are the entry point, with no visibility of the house behind, for privacy purposes.The colour in this desert environment is a welcome sight and stands out from the muted surrounding sand tones.
Beautiful wooden doors at Siyja fort, Abu Dhabi region, UAE.
There are many old forts restored in the UAE. This one is in Al Ain region, Abu Dhabi, UAE. This is a small little fort, off a road where not many people travel, but it’s beautifully maintained and a pleasure to visit.
Google maps: 24.020525, 55.632556
Travels in the Middle East and beyond 