So Shoot Me - Boundaries and Borderlands 7 by brewgirlca
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No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
"Hello! Goodbye!"
Paul and I didn't need to speak Turkish to know that we were a couple of shutterbugs who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The outline of the pistol as the lead guy with the fedora stepped onto the rooftop and reached into his suit jacket pocket made no translation necessary. His intent was very clear! Get out or get shot.
"Uh, yea, hi." I gulped.
"We were just leaving, weren't we Roxy?" Paul squeeked as he scrambled for the rooftop stairs.
"Yep, yep, we're going right now" as I jumped up from shooting the water pipes, and quickly followed Paul to the stairs.
Twenty minutes before we had just been a couple of camera nuts looking for a rooftop to shoot the sun as is set over the mountain horizon on the border of Syria. We had no idea when the cafe manager said we could come in for a Coke for a few lira that we would wind up in a drug dealer's den complete with hash pipes and guns. And get ambushed by dark guys wearing dark blue suits, white shirts, skinny black ties, sunglasses and fedoras - looking every bit the part of the Blues Brothers. Except this was no comedy; it was a bad version of real life.
Sunset in Mardin, Turkey on the Syrian border
Paul and I crossed a steep cultural boundary on the border of Syria and could have easily crossed the border of life and death. This was the second of three potentially lethal encounters our little band of travelers ran across in the period of less than six hours in Mardin. Certainly the most dangerous part of the world I have ever been in.

Comments (18)
What a great and adventurous tale, and image Roxy. That is indeed a dangerous part of the world - now, moreso than ever.
Cool adventures and shot!
I guess after all you've been through it might be asking too much if you could bring me one of those pipes as a souvenir eh... ;) Stay safe Roxy!
I am so very glad that you and your friend are safe and, hopefully, out of danger. this is a very beautiful photo. I see the pipes as a boundary between lucidity and stupor
Wow Roxy, knowing the real story behind this photo made me sit upright in my chair. So glad you both came through those episodes safely and it appears you learned what café NOT to get a coke in.
I have to take my hat off to you, Roxy..... You are one dedicated photographer, indeed! First of all for even traveling to a place where you might wake up one morning with your head on a pole instead of on your shoulders, and secondly for managing to get such a lovely shot without getting......uh.........shot. Despite the conflict and destruction, you've brought out the beauty of this ancient, historic, and frequently troubled land. Yeah, I think your next trip should be Montana.... :-P
Actually it was Wyoming :-) I found it a bit too tame for my tastes, but I don't need the stress of eastern Turkey either.
I'm so happy because you're safe! It is a really dangerous place!
WOW !!!
Hello! I'm glad to see you here especially after reading what happened to you. Sorry if I was not able to fully understand what really happened, but my language is not English. The descriptions are rich feelings and nuances are often difficult to translate. The image is still impressive, able to make an atmosphere full of tension. I see you have not lost your photographic sensitivity that I remembered!
A unique & beautiful shot, but a harrowing tale - this is the kind of excitement I prefer to experience vicariously via books or films...
Very beautiful image. Also, a good example of the celestial and terrestrial boundary.
Gorgeous shot!!!!!!!
Wow! Beautiful capture,Roxy-san!
Whats the old saying, " What you don't know can't hurt you!" Cool picture.
Wow! Very intense. Sort of takes the fun out of the water pipes. Great shot, actually. The pipes, landscape and sunset, beautifully compliment each other. Glad you have survived and survived to share this adventure. Can't imagine what encounter three might be.
sorry about your ordeal, Roxy. so glad i'm not there, love your shot of the area and cool pipes. now i want one, since it's from so far away.. take care and Happy Holidays my friend..
Beautiful capture.
Beautiful. Great story, too. You have not only a storyteller's skill, but the experience to power it. And a great eye for imagery.