In the narrow streets' labyrinth, a photo from Sfax, North

Photographer's Note

In the narrow streets' labyrinth, Sfax

Sfax

Sfax (Arabic: صفاقس‎, Safaqis, or /sfa:qs/ in Tunisian Arabic, whence the French name) is a city in Tunisia, located 270 km (168 miles) southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD 849 on the ruins of Taparura and Thaenae, is the capital of the Sfax governorate, and a Mediterranean port on the Gulf of Gabes. Sfax has population of 340,000 (2005), and is an industrial center for processing phosphates. The city is often described as Tunisia's Second city, because only Tunis has more inhabitants.

Unusually, the streets of the Medina are mainly laid out on a rectangular plan, presumably inherited from the Roman town.
Rue Mongi Slim runs through the Medina from south to north. In Rue de la Driba, which goes off on the right, are a number of houses with handsome and imposing doorways; and in a side street opening off it on the left is the interesting Folk Museum.

The medina even got special quarters for old trades like locally-made jewellery and iron products.
Even better, the place is really friendly. Sfaxians are said to feel above the needs of alluring foreign visitors, but that doesn't mean that they are unfriendly. On the contrary, Sfax medina is a place where people show genuine hospitality to its guests.

The medina is of such a nice quality that it has been used as a location for international movies, like The English Patient.

History

By the end of the 10th century Sfax had become an independent city state. The city was conquered by Roger of Sicily in 1148 and occupied until it was liberated in 1156 by local forces, and was briefly occupied by European forces again, this time by the Spanish, in the 16th century. Sfax became an integral base of the Barbary piracy, prompting an unsuccessful invasion by Venice in 1785. In the late 19th century Sfax and the rest of Tunisia were conquered by France and incorporated into the French empire. During World War II, the Axis powers used the city as a major base until they were defeated by British forces. After World War II, Tunisia was returned to France only to gain independence in 1956. (Source: patrimoinedetunisie.com & wikipedia)

Buin, Dashab, vasilpro, chiaretta, leonorkuhn, jlbrthnn, asajernigan, TopGeo, portmanndominic, ChrisJ, Gerrit, dbraga56, ktanska, bona, johannita has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Buin (42088) 2009-09-30 1:54

Good morning George!
Here the gorgeous light nearly is the main character. A difficult but beautiful light - and you handled it skillfully. A photo with a stunning depth and a lot of small details.
Greetings from autumnal Germany!
Frank

Dashab (2562) 2009-09-30 1:58

Hello György,
Beautiful light and colours, great POV. Just makes one want to be in that alley! Cheers, Dasha

lousat (58446) 2009-09-30 2:00

Hi George,what a beautiful corner of the Sfax medina,very nice perspective,high sharpness and warm colors,thanks for share,Luciano

jjcordier (63074) 2009-09-30 2:05

George
J'admire la façon dont tu t'es joué de ces conditions de lumière très délicates pour nous offrir cette belle photo de la médina de Sfax. Tes images me font faire un sacré voyage dans le temps et je retrouve avec beaucoup de plaisir tous ces lieux que j'ai beaucoup fréquentés.
Amicalement
JJ

dta (52250) 2009-09-30 2:11

Hello Georg ,
beautiful colors and great light management . This street scenery is superb with an excellent framing .
Regards

vasilpro (40233) 2009-09-30 2:17

Hello George,
Wonderful composition, interesting architecture, great street scenery with very good light management.
Have a nice day, Vasilis.

snunney (67918) 2009-09-30 2:25

Hello George,
Good use of the arch to frame this narrow street. The green doors offer an interesting colour contrast with the ochre walls and pavement. Very good rendering of textures.

chiaretta (2412) 2009-09-30 2:31

Hi George,
I like this Mediterranean street, so well captured!
Really a good photografic eye ...
I'd like so much to be there!!!!
TFS
Chiara

teutza (10590) 2009-09-30 2:35

Hy george,
beautiful image.with warm colours giving a soft mood.
good crop and frame..still..i think that white light in the left is a little bit disturbing
teo

mariani_josep (561) 2009-09-30 2:44

Hi George

Very nice picture, great composition with frame ...
It would be better if you wait a walking person, i think the best place is on the left, between the two green doors.

FTS
MJ

leonorkuhn (16233) 2009-09-30 3:03

Ciao George,

Great composition, this scene reminded me of Malta. Very good capture of daily life and architecture. Excellent management of light, beautiful colors and good details. Well done!

Greetings from Brasil
Leonor

jlbrthnn (79787) 2009-09-30 3:28

Hello George,
We will not be unaware of any more any the details of Sfax, and its typical streets. Good image in a a little violent light. Cheer.
Have a nice day.
Cordially.
Joël

Ola_Kwiatek (0) 2009-09-30 3:45

Perfect shot and ideal title, good POV and exposure. Fantastic picture.
Cheers

francio64 (38188) 2009-09-30 3:47

Ciao George,
bella composizione, ricca di elementi e di un bel gioco di luci ed ombre.

TFS!
Francesco

rigoletto (31014) 2009-09-30 3:51

beautiful natural framing and warm colors. i like a lot the perspective here.

asajernigan (19669) 2009-09-30 3:54

George,
Nicely composed shot using the arch in shadow to frame the sunlit scene. The lighting is great and you have used it to your advantage here bringing out a lot of fine details. The narrow alley leads the eye into the scene nicely.
TFS,
Asa

delpeoples (45717) 2009-09-30 4:17

Hi George, I really like the mystery these labyrinths evoke. You've done well with the available light, nice vertical frame, great DOF and inclusion of the lady in traditional dress is a bonus. Great job, Lisa.

TopGeo (38000) 2009-09-30 5:29

Hi George,
Excellent shot! what a beautiful corner of the Sfax! Wonderful capture amazing framing very nice perspective, high sharpness and very nice light and colors! details, I like the clarity and sharpness of the scene
Greetings
georgios

portmanndominic (2400) 2009-09-30 5:53

Bonjour Georges

belle ruelle, tres mediteranéene dans son ambiance .bonne gestion de la lumiére et des iombres
TFS
bonne aprés midi
Dominic

pauloog (11735) 2009-09-30 8:09

Hello George,
A fine window on the tiny street, light well mananged between deep shadows and strong sunlight.
Regards,
Paul

ChrisJ (87654) 2009-09-30 10:16

Hi George

Good use of the fg arch as a framing device, with wonderful warm colours, & outstanding linear perspective & vanishing point. Excellent sharpness. Tfs!

npecanhuk (54221) 2009-09-30 13:15

Hello George!
Another wonderful picture and the reason why I think so is because it's got such a magnificent composition, a superb management of light and wonderful colors!
TFS - congratulations!
Best regards,
Neyvan

porto62 (2313) 2009-09-30 13:42

Hi George, you really got the exotic atmosphere on that one,great POV and good lighteningn in that tight alley, great done.Alain

Gerrit (43745) 2009-10-01 0:01

Hi George,
fine see through and daily life scene in well controlled difficult light.
regards, gerrit

pablominto (53744) 2009-10-01 10:36

Hello George,

Effective framing of the view to the street!
The exposure is well managed under varied and difficult conditions, sharp fine details and interesting colours...
The situation that attracts my attention is in the back, and my eyes are effectively drawn there..!

Greetings,
Pablo -

dbraga56 (726) 2009-10-01 10:51

Hi George,
Very good POV and light and shadows balance. A very good note too. Thanks for shearing.
Regards,
Diógenes

ktanska (21637) 2009-10-01 23:54

Hi George,
Excellent viewpoint with natural framing. Entrance to a narrow alley, on the back there seems to be something for sale. I like the warm tones.
Summer sunshine coming almost directly from above makes it easy to understand how local architecture is aimed to provide as much shade as possible.
Kari

Graal (89434) 2009-10-01 23:58

Jó napot George,
nice composition, good idea and fine captured place. I like the game of light with shadows. Nice colours also. Well done photo.
Gr., Aleksander

AiresSantos (56155) 2009-10-02 0:44

Hi George
Beautiful picture from Sfax.
Narrow streets, market, people, fine daily life composition
Very well handled the light
Have a nice day
Aires

Greg1949 (9011) 2009-10-02 4:17

Nice one George, this is the type of memory peopl usually have but the shot that never shows up in the travel brochure. Lovely colors and great deep shadows, overall a superb post and note.

Greg

bona (10224) 2009-10-02 18:17

So lovely photo. The place have good mood! It has a nice architeture too.
I like the woman on the background too.
Thanks
andre

jonathan_hart (21268) 2009-10-03 3:17

well managed light, i like the lighting on the ceiling
jc

johannita (385) 2009-10-06 4:12

hello George,

wonderful inspiration with beautiful warm colours. Excellent POV . I like the light and the shadows on the street. The sharpness is accurate. Bravo.

Regards,
johannita

livermore (1462) 2011-01-02 11:51