I've worked in Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, Middle East, Central and South America. I've lived for extended periods in the United States, the Middle East, Spain and Sweden. I was based in Bahrain in the late 70's and made frequent visits to Egypt, Kuwait, UAE (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras al Khaimah), Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and North Yemen.
I've been fortunate to see wonders such as the Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo; dhow building in Bahrain; the old town in Jeddah; the gold market in Dubai and the Souq al-Milh in Sana'a, to name but a few.
I always carried a camera, a Nikon F2 and over the years took thousands of photographs. This collection is of North Yemen.
North Yemen was one of the most interesting places I've visited. It was recovering from conflict and rebuilding its economy. Sadly, over the past number of years war has returned and devastated the country. Michael Jansen in the Irish Times wrote about the deliberate destruction of archaeological sites. It's reasonable to assume that many of the astonishing buildings depicted in some of these photographs no longer exist.
Heading to a meeting in the Souq al-Milh in Sana'a, capital of North Yemen.
Relaxing with a cold drink after a day's work.
In 2000 I donated 500 photographs to the National Library of Ireland. They also have the much used and abused Nikon F2. It still works!
I'm now retired. I enjoy cooking - exploring the versatility of a kamado; listening to jazz - the classics from Miles, Coltrane, Konitz, Jarrett et al.; reading - mainly history; and playing golf - badly.
I live in Dublin.
March 2021
Email: Dr Peter Bennett