We are a journalist and a photographer, taking walks to understand the world better. Coming from our backgrounds in conflict analysis and ngo storytelling respectively, we're very interested in the frames that we and others have previously used to report about Southwest Asia - also known as the Middle East.
With our hikes in the region we try to gain a more nuanced, elaborate insight on the situation on the ground. Most importantly, we are taking untrodden paths to visit places that are in-between, overlooked or get painted with too broad a brush. Once there, we believe we will meet people who will show us the way, welcome us in there home and maybe even share a little of their lives with us.
In regular news reporting and colloquial reference, 'the Middle East' is treated as a monolith. Instead, in this autonomous project, we want the view from the ground. We'll travel in Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, the Sinai, Lebanon and Israel and the Palestinian territories -- the lands that can be mapped as the Southwest Asia, because really, where is the 'middle' on a globe?
We go about it one reporting trip at a time, and visit these places with different companions: guides, translators, fixers, hosts... to learn more about how aspects from culture, politics, ecology, arts and history touch the lives of the many people we'll meet along the way.
Iraqi - Kurdistan
April 29 - May 31, 2021
From gruelling mountains to rolling foothills in the blazing sun: hiking the Iraqi region of Kurdistan was a physical challenge. In this region that has known a lot of strife over its autonomy, a cultural understanding of the terrains seemed to permeate the minds of our guides. At the same time, ‘hiking’ from place to place simply for joy or adventure, proved unfamiliar to most of our local team members.
Nevertheless we have managed to travel almost 170 kms on foot, roughly going south to north past several of Kurdistan’s largest cities.
We walked from Halabja to Arbat. Using Sulimaniyah, hometown of our local guide Srood, as our base we covered the Hazar Merd area and devised a thru-hike towards Dukan.
For this stage we received support from the Abraham Path Initiative. As Fellows we acted like advance scouts, carefully logging our treks and connecting with trail seekers like Bryar and Rukan. This information will be useful for the further development of trails. Finally, we returned to Erbil, where we had previously been received by traveller-adventurer Haval, to conduct some more interviews and reflect on our expedition.
South West Turkey
September 29 - October 30, 2020
We received a working grant for special journalistic projects (Fonds BJP) for this second trip just as the world shut down and crawled into its shell to quarantine from the coronavirus pandemic - a movement opposite to what our hike is meant to capture. Thankfully, Southern Turkey was open to us to explore, which we did while masked.
From the start at Sanliurfa,this stage took us alongside several of the main border points with Syria and trading hubs, including Gaziantep, Kilis and Reyhanli. We met with refugees and members of their host communities, learned about diaspora culture and the dignity of livelihood.
We stalked the emerald green forested mountain ranges in Hatay province - when and where allowed. We had some brushes with the law and dodged several vicious guard dogs. On our walks, and during the (sometimes involuntary) car rides, fields of pistachio trees, cotton and passionfruit orchards unfolded in front of us. Our fixer Shadi helped us connect people from all walks of life.
Jordan
October 21- November 20, 2019
A four-week trek through Jordan, covering the country in two stretches: first, going north from the seaside town of Aqaba, visiting the well-known and popular sites of Wadi Rum and Petra (including the ‘bedouin village’ of Um Sayhoun). A four-day hike from Little Petra to Dana national park, then further upwards to Ma’atan and the university town of Tafilah.
After stops in Karak and Madaba, the second half of our trip took us on a southbound trajectory, as we drove cross-country to walk the Um Qais - Ajloun hike.
It is the starting section of what is known as the Jordan Trail. Our final post was the country’s capital, Amman.On this first stretch and the first edition of the project, we covered over 300 kilometres on foot. But we also hitched rides, jumped on public buses and took new friends up on their generous offers to drive us along.
Our way was made possible by more than one trail angel; families that welcomed us in their homes, a helpful hotel owner, skilled guides, a colleague journalist and curious passers-by.
The path
2019 and later
Storied havens and unknown locations: we are looking forward to getting to know stretches of Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, the Sinai, Lebanon and Israel and the Palestinian territories. In some places hiking trails are well-developed (eco-)tourism destinations, or oft-trodden goat tracks. In others, there is no pedestrian path to be found at all.
We try to trace opportunities for these hikes in our preparations and planning stages - the aim is to travel some 400 kilometers per visit. As summers are too hot to walk, we have a limited time each year to do so.
This website will be permanently under construction, as we add the materials from the consecutive trips. For every stretch we will give special attention to the people we worked with and relied upon. And for every stage we need to prepare, consider safety and plan carefully. Please check the site regularly for updates, or follow the project on Instagram and Facebook.