Travel Blog
These entries are a rediscovery and relaunching of a journey started at the turn of the 21th century when you lived in Beirut, Damascus, Fez, and Madrid; and traveled around the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa in search of maristans and the transmission of knowledge through architecture, medicine, literature around the Great-White-Green-Middle Sea.
These are travel notes, interspersed with photos and visuals depicting the different locations of the maristans around and in some form connecting the Mediterranean. They are written purposefully in the second person to involve you – dear reader, viewer, visitor – more in this journey. Enjoy the different stops along the way and feel free to send your maristan entries too!
21 February 2025
Damascus, Syria
Over the mountains east of Beirut, the Beqaa Valley extends below with villages and agricultural fields on either side of the highway heading straight to...8 April 2024
Cairo 2, Egypt
Next to another imposing city gate called Bab Zuweila, Ibrahim the caretaker is washing the steps of the Sultan al-Muayyad Shaykh Mosque with a squeegee mop and...7 April 2024
Cairo 1, Egypt
If it were raining, you could be entering a scene from Blade Runner with the darkness of night pierced by bright neon lights of billboards. But there...11 September 2023
Hadrian’s Villa, Italy
When the opportunity arose, you made space in your agenda to visit Hadrian’s Villa. You booked a room for one night at Hotel Milo on...13 July 2023
Granada 2, Spain
Over the course of June and into July, you had embarked on translating El perfume de bergamota in Almeria and had sent exploratory emails around to find...3 June 2023
