Tea in the middle of nowhere Photo

Photographer’s Note

Tea time in the middle of the day.
It's more than 40degrees and we are in the middle of nowhere, out in the desert, half way bettween Aswan and Abu Simbel. The total distance is about 300km and every transports stop here for refreshment. The mood is sleepy and still, the heat is overwhelming. Much more than being hot and unconfortable, you feel that the heat will literally kill you if you venture out from the shelter. Any westerner will want very cold drinks but for any Egyptian/Nubian the right choice is hot tea, of course. It helps the body to sweat and remain cool. Well, cooler...
Even in such a remote place, Mubarak is always present on the wall. Hosni Mubarak has been the president of Egypt since 14 October 1981.

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crop in WS as suggested by Marc (Manamo)

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Mubarak promised during the presidential elections in 1993, that that would be his last term as president, but eventually he changed his mind. With the elections in 1999, a growing force of intellectual voted against him, as a protest against the outcome of his politics, with significant unemployment and corruption and closer ties with Israel. Mubarak is usually considered as an ally to the United States (wikipedia).

PixelTerror, paura, feather, jmdias, xuaxo, ribeiroantonio, stego, lucasgalodoido, trekks, noborders, zeynepe, Emile, nivaldo, AiresSantos, kevinos has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

PixelTerror (86839) 2008-11-15 2:53

Salaam Ricardo,
From the guys attitudes we can feel how hot it is, nice and very luminous indoors scene, the guys do not seem upset at all having you shooting around wildly. btw with such hot weather a cold beer will be fine for me, better than hot tea... I find funny to have Pdt Mubarak overlook the scene, I couldn't imagine having a drink in a bar under Sarko's eyes ;-)
Have a nice week end JY

Didi (36442) 2008-11-15 2:59

Hi Ricardo
Very nice local scene, Iliked to have a glass of tea when I was in Egypt.
There is a two difference between the Eg president and the US one:
You add MOU for the first one, the second difference he is a dictator :)
Best regards

paura (39258) 2008-11-15 3:09

Ricardo,
Interessante como a imagem pose ser semelhante como alguma de um lugar remoto aqui do Brasil. Parece que o mundo está cada vez menor.

Abraço

Paulo

GFSSD-1 (1347) 2008-11-15 3:09 [Comment]

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Buin (38258) 2008-11-15 3:13

Hallo Ricardo!
A wondeful shot of this "manhood society". There's everything one needs - from coke to cellphone ;-)
An interesting study of leisure time in this part of the globe...
Greetings from autumnal grey and wet Germany - and have a nice weekend!
Frank

feather (50144) 2008-11-15 4:27

And what did you drink Ricardo? Interesting there are no women. Did Ana feel out of place? Very interesting documentary post. The guy in the red T shirt catches the eye immediately, although presumably Mubarak would prefer to steal the show. :D
Kath

jmdias (19861) 2008-11-15 7:34

ricardo

a história do chá contra o calor tem a mesma idéia dos trajes grossos que criam uma ambiente menos tórrido abaixo delas. O local não é nem um pouco clean, eu só pararia aqui se não tivesse outra opção.hahaha. de qualquer forma é um lugar parente dos bares de beira de estrada do mundo todo.
belo flagrante de viagem. Todo mundo lá, querendo mostrar o nariz da esfinge, e vc escarafunchando o que ninguém presta atenção..haha

abraços

jorge

Graal (58720) 2008-11-15 7:43

Hi Ricardo,
good reportage, fine composition and caught moment. An interesting interior, well informations.
Gr., Aleksander

xuaxo (5835) 2008-11-15 10:15

Olá Ricardo
Acho muito interessante esta foto, com todos os pormenores, desde o retrato do Mubarak até ao homem do telemóvel. Gostava era de saber o que é que está escrito na parede.
Quanto ao retrato, esperava que estivesse lá Nasser em vez de Mubarak (mas eu tenho pouco conhecimento da política egípcia).
Esta foto fez-me lembrar uma imagem que eu fiz há 20 anos numa garagem nos Açores, em que aparecem os anacrónicos retratos de Marcello Caetano e Sá Carneiro. Apesar das enormes distâncias física e cultural, achei que havia algo em comum com a tua foto, então digitalizei a minha e coloquei-a em workshop.
Um abraço.
..-. .-. .- -. -.-. .. ... -.-. ---

[workshop] [compare] +

ribeiroantonio (21969) 2008-11-15 15:31

Esta foto, é um misto de ... contradições, sejam elas os bonés e os turbantes, as jeans e os vestidos comptidos, a Coca Cola e o chá, sem falar no telemóvel, no cigarro e no Mubarak!!!
Quanto ao viajar como tu fazes, francamente não sei se teria coragem em países dos médio oriente!
António

emka (22319) 2008-11-15 23:43

Hi, When I looked at the photo the first thing I saw was Mubarak on the wall. I remember the time when in Poland there were such portraits everywhwere, in schools, offices. But at those times the same party secretary or prime minister were the same for many years. And noone colud foresee for how long. Luckily this time is over.
Nice scene of veryday life. Typical - there are only men here.

Regards

Malgorzata

giorgimer (21478) 2008-11-16 1:58

Hi Ric,

nice daily life scene, I like a lot the mood you were able to show us.

TFS

Gio

lucasgalodoido (16789) 2008-11-16 2:09

Olá Ricardo,
bem interessante mesmo essa foto no boteco, como sempre a Coca-Cola presente no mundo todo, e um detalhe curioso os retratos, acho que é mais uma imposição mesmo.
Parabéns e Abraço

trekks (14334) 2008-11-16 6:54

hello Ricardo

This photo reminds me about the cold and thin air of 12,000 feet at Laban Rata resthouse of Mount Kinabalu where almost all climbers will need a hot drink. But on the other extreme will be a hot noon hour of equatorial weather where a cold drink or hot soup will be good but everyone and everything will stand still in order to cool off the heat.

In developing or 3rd world countries, this scene is very common. And in almost every construction site of logging camp, a canteen scene like this is commonplace too.

tfs, bill

noborders (14201) 2008-11-16 12:36

I like the title - a great travel photo and I recognize this kind of places where men hang around for hours without doing much ; the waiter, on the other hand, seems so serious, concentrated and he is so handsome ! :o))
Enjoying looking at such photos, telling a moment of your travel - I'd love one of these teas !
Best regards,
Cath.
(Enjoyed reading your note too, 1st part is very well written !)

robiuk (10763) 2008-11-16 15:51

Hi Ric,
I myself wouldn't mind a cup (or glass) of tea but it
would have to be a strong one!
I wonder now what it would be like if we didn't take a
plane to Abu Simbel but travelled in the minivan instead,
like you did...
Lovely lazy atmosphere you pictured. So Egypt!
Cheers,
Robi

Gerrit (36269) 2008-11-16 18:38

Hi Ricardo,
fine composition with all those men on their own under the eyes of their leader.
Great colors and details.
Regards, Gerrit

zeynepe (9362) 2008-11-17 0:33

Whose arm at the right side of the image Ric? It seems someone from Western part:)After reading your note , the conditions look terrible for me:P and I am sure these are the lucky ones that are drinking something. And where are the women ??? I am asking a question but I know the answer unfortunately:(
A superb daily life scene,
Congrats ,
Zeynep

tober (4054) 2008-11-17 6:54

Hello Ricardo, I visited Egypt almost nine years ago and tasted their tea as well. However, it was not the one that we used to drink in Turkey. Egyptians serve it with larger glasses and put so much amount of sugar that you cannot imagine. They also like mint-tea.

Here is the Turkish version:

http://www.trekearth.com/viewphotos.php?l=5&p=448603

Nice capture of daily life in the inner part of Egypt.

Regards, Tolga

Emile (20125) 2008-11-17 15:20

Hola Ricardo.
This daily fife composition remember me our days when we had a dictator ruling my country, every bar, every public place and even in you own home you have a picture of him, well things has change here for the best.
Your picture is very good my friend. Good POV, colors and a perfect sharpness.
Abrazos.

nivaldo (13389) 2008-11-17 16:59

Nesta mesma época, nesse ano, estava eu por aí, passando por essas mesmas experiências.
Uma vez Egito, valeu, mas não tenciono retornar...
Uma foto bem "real", Ricardo! Bem capturada!
Um abraço,
Nivaldo

AiresSantos (42902) 2008-11-18 0:34

Ola Ricardo
Gosto do titulo e tambem desta perspectiva do cafe. Ao contrario da Turquia, aqui ni Egito bebem grandes cepos de cha.
Como sempre o contraste entre os trajes tradiocionais e o jeans
Uma bonita foto do dia com excelentes detalhes
Um abraco Amigo
Aires

kevinos (6927) 2008-11-18 21:30

You froze the action at the right moment ,Ricardo, It gives a wonderful atmospheric vies\w of the scene. A transport cafe Egyptian style, a fascinating glimpse of daily life. regards kevin

Manamo (3474) 2008-11-19 7:12

Hello Ric!
life has passed very quickly in the last weeks/months and I've had no time to leave proper feedbacks to my good friends...I've followed your pics anyway and read your comments and critiques on both sites. thx.

The first thing that catch my eye here is the guy with the red shirt and the image of the man on the wall. Those are, for me, the main points of interest in your picture. I'm thinking about a crop in order to put emphasis on those 2 elements. First, I'd crop most of the ceiling, keeping only what's necessary to keep the image of the man. Then, I'd crop the person's shoulder on the right (the one with the blue t-shirt in the foreground). That would cut the man's head in half (the one that we see only his back) but I think it would still work as he's only accessory here (since he's backing you). I think that it might work well.

Otherwise, it's an excellent daily life shot. We can feel the heat and the relax atmosphere of this place.

You never ever stop traveling! So when and where is the next trip?!

best regards,

Marc

Bluejeans (33049) 2008-11-22 4:15

Oi amigo ,
A tua foto me lembrou o interior do Brasil é um bela foto de vida diária interessante o pessoal a beber chá , gostei muito dos detalhes especialmente do rapaz a dormir na cadeira , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

Benedict (7062) 2008-11-23 12:54

hi ricardo,
colorful capture of this "unusual" refreshment joint. many wonders why hot tea on such a 40' temperature day instead of an ice cold Coke. no coke available as i can clearly see the only stuff inside the red ref are bottled water. my egyptian frends here are also wondering where this place is!
anyway, very clear details on all images even the man smoking the left seems to be very sleepy!
Benedict

stego (22448) 2008-11-24 18:10

Olá Ricardo,

Está visto que não estou a acompanhar o teu ritmo, que provavelmente nem é tão intenso, mas eu é que ando com preguiça para críticas.

Gosto imenso da forma como captaste o ambiente dessa taberna onde em vez de vinho e "menies" se bebe chá, sob o olhar do faraó dos tempos moderno Mubarak. Uma rica mistura de moderno e tradicional (- mobília de plástico, inevitável frigorífico da Coca-cola, que quase de certeza é o maior concorrente do chá em termos de consumo, turbantes e bonés de pala, jeans, T-shirts e jelabas e sei lá que mais. Tb. gosto dos arabescos pintados na parede. E até têm um poster do Benfica e tudo! Ou será que é da equipa do Cairo treinada pelo Manuel José?

O enquadramento mais apertado do WS tb. fica bem, mas passa a ser mais um retrato do empregado compenetrado do que do ambiente do lugar.

Um abraço, José.

Urs (3262) 2009-11-24 6:37

Ola Ricardo

This scene could be also somewhere in India, but there it would be overmilked tea, what you get here must be black tea. Good capture of a daily life scene in a coffee shop. Very idyllic with vibrant color hues and high sharpness well done

Best regards
urs