MEMOIR OF BISHA
Indian Commercial Establishments in front of our apartment.
I stayed in Manila for two days before my departure to the Middle East, where at the Zenit Tourist Inn in Ermita Manila on the 17th of September 2011, I rented a single bed room. I have to stay there for two nights before my flight to Saudi Arabia. And because Sunday has no office, and we're set to leave for Saudi on the 19th, then I must be in Manila on Saturday, the 17th. On the day of our flight on September 19, our agency secretary, Rhem accompanied us to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 1. The four of us were booked through the same flights by the same Arabian employer. Unfortunately one our companions named Joel didn't make the trip. His ticket was said to be cancelled the previous day and there had been some problems when it was later recalled. The three of us, Dante, myself and Randy went on a smooth trip to Hong Kong. We left Manila at 11:00 A.M. and arrived Hong Kong at 1:05 P.M. and there we waited until 4:00 P.M. to depart for another trip to Riyadh, which will be a nine hours flight.
We landed at Riyadh airport at 8:30 in the evening (the time in the Philippines is 1:30 A.M., September 20, 2011). Thereafter, we spent a very long hour of standing in a very crowded line of mixed races of immigrants; each one waiting for turn to be screened at the immigration screening booth in the King Khaled International Airport. We've gone through the screening process at pass 3:00 A.M. and we rushed to collect our baggage to catch another connecting flight to Bisha. We left Randy at the airport and bid him a nice stay since Riyadh is to be his last stop. At the airport in Riyadh, Dante and I winded up long and had gone walking a long corridor from one end to another, asking question about our next flight to Bisha, of which was later verified at the Saudi Arabian Airline ticket counter. We were set to leave at 9:55 A.M., which is about an hour flight from Riyadh.
When we reached Bisha, Dante's grandfather, Mr. Roger Malinaw fetched us at the airport and he drove us to his place which is only 300 meters from there. After seeing the optical store where he is working, we ate the noon meal at his room and slept through the day and woke up passed 10:00 P.M. to take the supper. We retired to bed again after the meal. Mr. Malinaw stayed in a condominium where his optical shop is just by the exit way downstairs. Dante will work with him as an optical technician in his shop. We stayed with Dante's grandfather for two nights.
We landed at Riyadh airport at 8:30 in the evening (the time in the Philippines is 1:30 A.M., September 20, 2011). Thereafter, we spent a very long hour of standing in a very crowded line of mixed races of immigrants; each one waiting for turn to be screened at the immigration screening booth in the King Khaled International Airport. We've gone through the screening process at pass 3:00 A.M. and we rushed to collect our baggage to catch another connecting flight to Bisha. We left Randy at the airport and bid him a nice stay since Riyadh is to be his last stop. At the airport in Riyadh, Dante and I winded up long and had gone walking a long corridor from one end to another, asking question about our next flight to Bisha, of which was later verified at the Saudi Arabian Airline ticket counter. We were set to leave at 9:55 A.M., which is about an hour flight from Riyadh.
When we reached Bisha, Dante's grandfather, Mr. Roger Malinaw fetched us at the airport and he drove us to his place which is only 300 meters from there. After seeing the optical store where he is working, we ate the noon meal at his room and slept through the day and woke up passed 10:00 P.M. to take the supper. We retired to bed again after the meal. Mr. Malinaw stayed in a condominium where his optical shop is just by the exit way downstairs. Dante will work with him as an optical technician in his shop. We stayed with Dante's grandfather for two nights.
The optical store in the corner is where Willie works. The room on the second floor in the corner is
where we stay, and the three Photography Studios on the right are where we work.
Bisha is in the Province of ‘Asir in Saudi Arabia. ‘Asir extends along the southeastern shore of the Red Sea, between the province of Al Hijaz on the north and Yemen on the south. On its west side, the province is a coastal plain. This plain continues the Tihamah of Al Hijaz. On the other side, it is a mountainous area, and the place is surrounded by a vast expanse of desert. The lowland plain is hot, with some fertile areas.
I had my first acquaintance with Modi on the next day. He's handling Mr. Amir Alnezari's photography studio-- Al Faisal, and I work as a photographer and photo editor in this studio with him. He's been working here for quite long. His five years of stay in Bisha as an OFW has made him accustomed with the ways of the Muslims; especially the speaking of Arabic language.
Modi resides with his brother Oni and their room is next to Mr. Malinaw. Oni works as a photo developer and graphics editor. He's with an Egyptian fellow named Ahmad at the studio next to us. We live in a separate condominium by about 300 meters apart and which distance is being stretched by four blocks of commercial establishments. Modi and Oni live at the condominium where Mr. Malinaw's optical store is in the same building, and Dante and I are staying in the other apartment where Willie's optical store and our studio and that of Oni were in King Faisal Bin Abdulazis Street. Willie is from Ermita, Manila, who, like Mr. Malinaw, is also a veteran OFW. Our room is next to him and he helped us by sharing his kitchen and some utensils.
I had my first acquaintance with Modi on the next day. He's handling Mr. Amir Alnezari's photography studio-- Al Faisal, and I work as a photographer and photo editor in this studio with him. He's been working here for quite long. His five years of stay in Bisha as an OFW has made him accustomed with the ways of the Muslims; especially the speaking of Arabic language.
Modi resides with his brother Oni and their room is next to Mr. Malinaw. Oni works as a photo developer and graphics editor. He's with an Egyptian fellow named Ahmad at the studio next to us. We live in a separate condominium by about 300 meters apart and which distance is being stretched by four blocks of commercial establishments. Modi and Oni live at the condominium where Mr. Malinaw's optical store is in the same building, and Dante and I are staying in the other apartment where Willie's optical store and our studio and that of Oni were in King Faisal Bin Abdulazis Street. Willie is from Ermita, Manila, who, like Mr. Malinaw, is also a veteran OFW. Our room is next to him and he helped us by sharing his kitchen and some utensils.
The dress closet in my bedroom costs only 70 Rial. I bought it from a Pakistani Strore.
I started to work the next day as an apprentice to
Modi. We worked together in the same studio. Modi used to handle the
studio alone by himself. He takes photographs and edits pictures in his
computer. And we
have Nikon as our camera. The new D3000
camera and a couple of lights mounted on the studio ceiling, and one computer
are all that we've got for service in the studio. The two flash guns are diffused by
white cloth that covers the front and
completely sealed the flashes inside the black umbrellas. The lights are
flashing on both sides. No fancy lighting or some kind of backlighting
effects. It's all pretty straight flash from both sides; and all
the pictures are taken in portrait.
We have a broken time of working hours everyday from 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 noon, then rested until 4:00 P.M. when the second period of the Muslim's prayers(Salah) is over. From 4:00 P.M. we work again until 6:30 P.M., and then stop and comeback again at 7:00 P.M., pause at 7:30 P.M., and then finish the last two hours from 8:00 to 10:00 P.M. Salah or Muslim prayer is prescribed at five periods of the day, which are measured according to the movement of the sun. These are: near dawn (fajr), just after noon (dhuhr), in the afternoon (asr), just after sunset (maghrib) and around nightfall (isha'a). During these periods of time when the prayer is offered no business establishments are allowed to open. All stores are completely close and you can even see people running down the streets in a rush. Some Muslims are clamoring in a haste to quickly break whatever business they do in the streets.
We have a broken time of working hours everyday from 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 noon, then rested until 4:00 P.M. when the second period of the Muslim's prayers(Salah) is over. From 4:00 P.M. we work again until 6:30 P.M., and then stop and comeback again at 7:00 P.M., pause at 7:30 P.M., and then finish the last two hours from 8:00 to 10:00 P.M. Salah or Muslim prayer is prescribed at five periods of the day, which are measured according to the movement of the sun. These are: near dawn (fajr), just after noon (dhuhr), in the afternoon (asr), just after sunset (maghrib) and around nightfall (isha'a). During these periods of time when the prayer is offered no business establishments are allowed to open. All stores are completely close and you can even see people running down the streets in a rush. Some Muslims are clamoring in a haste to quickly break whatever business they do in the streets.
Dante's hip-hop pose on a Bisha sidewalk.
The temperature here is very hot and also the wind. Your skin dries up and your lips are cracking dry. We're now close to the winter season and yet it still very hot. During summer it's going to be twice as hot as it is now that cold season is approaching. And because the electricity is free here, the air condition is running about 18 hours everyday. The room is also equipped with heater because during cold season the environment is almost freezing.
Dealing with the Arabs is very difficult. Most Arabs, especially the black ones are very impatient. They dislike the foreigners, especially the non-Muslims. There are also Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis running business in the area. They operate most of the dry goods stores. You can identify one race from another by the clothes they wear. Arab male wears white rob (thob) and checkered red kerchief (ghoutra) on their heads. All Arab women wear black rob from the head and with their faces completely covered by black veils. No one wears any other color than black. Although non-Arab women can show their faces openly, they still wear black rob.
Dealing with the Arabs is very difficult. Most Arabs, especially the black ones are very impatient. They dislike the foreigners, especially the non-Muslims. There are also Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis running business in the area. They operate most of the dry goods stores. You can identify one race from another by the clothes they wear. Arab male wears white rob (thob) and checkered red kerchief (ghoutra) on their heads. All Arab women wear black rob from the head and with their faces completely covered by black veils. No one wears any other color than black. Although non-Arab women can show their faces openly, they still wear black rob.
You can distinguish a Pakistani from the other Muslims because they don't wear head coverings like the Arabs but white or color caps and some wear turbans. They wear pajamas and slack long sleeve with the hems extending down a little above the knee. The Indians wear long sleeve shirts. Some wear long dresses and very few are wearing their traditional costumes which are long and dark color.
An early morning shot of a street in Bisha.
There are four photography studios that our employer Mr. Alnezari owned here in Bisha, however, only three are operating. Oni and I were assigned to tend the studio near the Bisha Airport on September 25, 2011, which opened again after one week of closure. It is a three-minute ride from my place. Kasman, the Indonesian National, and Mr. Alnezari's family driver services us to and from the studio everyday. We only work there until 12:00 P.M. and in the afternoon we're back to our studios in the condominium.
October 14, 2011
Modi, Dante and I went on an early morning stride toward the Bisha airport for a stretch out. We jogged half a kilometer distance from our place to photograph. We took turns at the camera before an officer came to question us of our activity. Taking pictures of the places around is forbidden here in Bisha. I don't know why. But I will never dare to bring my Nikon again, more likely in such a place like Bisha, where a person could get mugged by just staring at someone's car or at least at any of his belongings. Here are some of the photographs we took on October 14, 2011.
Modi, Dante and I went on an early morning stride toward the Bisha airport for a stretch out. We jogged half a kilometer distance from our place to photograph. We took turns at the camera before an officer came to question us of our activity. Taking pictures of the places around is forbidden here in Bisha. I don't know why. But I will never dare to bring my Nikon again, more likely in such a place like Bisha, where a person could get mugged by just staring at someone's car or at least at any of his belongings. Here are some of the photographs we took on October 14, 2011.
November 4, 2011
Single exposure: Nikon D40 @ f/22, 18mm, 8 secs. ISO 200.
A view overlooking the traffic scene of the downtown Bisha at night.
I have the privilege of shooting the view from the second floor of our apartment when during the fifth salah of the Muslims, we have to close the studio and lock ourselves inside the room until the prayer is finished. With no tripod available, I have to brace the camera against the still frame of the terrace to photograph at long exposure.
Single exposure: Nikon D40 @ f/22, 18mm, 8 secs. ISO 200.
A view overlooking the traffic scene of the downtown Bisha at night.
I have the privilege of shooting the view from the second floor of our apartment when during the fifth salah of the Muslims, we have to close the studio and lock ourselves inside the room until the prayer is finished. With no tripod available, I have to brace the camera against the still frame of the terrace to photograph at long exposure.
November 6, 2011
Sunday and it was the Muslims' second day observance of their annual hajj pilgrimage, and a day that also marks the start of the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha. We don't have work for two days, and Willie took us to a nearby compound along the Al-Baladiah Street where we joined with some Filipinos in their staff house for the holiday hang out. Otoy Espera and his younger brother Ryan along with Derek work together in a firm where they manufacture advertising signs and billboards and make trophies, and also print stickers and t-shirts. I brought my Nikon and took some photographs of our gathering and the work place of Ryan and Otoy. With Cris and Obet, Willie, Dante and I spent the entire day at their staff house.
Sunday and it was the Muslims' second day observance of their annual hajj pilgrimage, and a day that also marks the start of the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha. We don't have work for two days, and Willie took us to a nearby compound along the Al-Baladiah Street where we joined with some Filipinos in their staff house for the holiday hang out. Otoy Espera and his younger brother Ryan along with Derek work together in a firm where they manufacture advertising signs and billboards and make trophies, and also print stickers and t-shirts. I brought my Nikon and took some photographs of our gathering and the work place of Ryan and Otoy. With Cris and Obet, Willie, Dante and I spent the entire day at their staff house.
THE WORKPLACE
I had the chance to take pictures of the workplace of Otoy and Ryan. Nikon's color and focus is superbly fantastic. I just used the 18-55mm kit lens but the environmental photos I took were all very well defined. I enjoyed firing the shutter even at slow speed. Most of my shots here were taken hand held and at a shutter speed below 100 of a second and without flash.
I had the chance to take pictures of the workplace of Otoy and Ryan. Nikon's color and focus is superbly fantastic. I just used the 18-55mm kit lens but the environmental photos I took were all very well defined. I enjoyed firing the shutter even at slow speed. Most of my shots here were taken hand held and at a shutter speed below 100 of a second and without flash.