One Photo

These pages will feature a single photo. I will tell where the photo came from, the story behind it, and why I love it. I’ll try to find the most interesting and fun photos I’ve taken!

It was hard to decide where to start with this. So I decided to start super nerdy. This is the Phaistos disk, as photographed at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum in 2018.

The story goes that the disk was discovered at an excavation in the city of Phaistos in Crete. Supposedly it was fortuitously found during the dig at the city in the early 1900’s. The disk is believe to have an unknown Minoan language engraved.

But that may not be the true story. Archaeology at the time was plagued by forgeries created to either fool rich people and museums into spending a lot of money, or just increase the prestige of a site by an incredible “find” that would bring press attention and funding for future digs. A number of very famous finds have recently seen increased scrutiny that they may be forgeries. Most archaeologists think that the Phaistos Disk is genuine, but it points to an interesting issue that comes up in the field.

So, why is this my first photo on this page? A few reasons. First, the Phaistos disk was one of the artifacts I remember learning about when I was a kid that really ignited by curiosity in archaeology and history. Crete became one of my top-ten places I want to go when I was probably in elementary school. And that love of archaeology was encouraged by my mother, who encouraged me to pursue the study. I majored in anthropology with a focus on archaeology when I was in college.

When she said in 2017 that she wanted to go to Greece in 2018, finally, I pushed for us to also go to Crete. I bought her a pin that was a replica of the Phaistos Disk as a souvenir (made from silver at a lovely jewelry store in Heraklion run by a Greek-descended American where I also got a gold Malia pendent replica.)

In many ways the Phaistos Disk is an example of how I approach travel. I love the nerdy history stuff. But I also acknowledge that archaeology is messy and confusing and full of mysteries. But each culture has created something amazing and the joy of travel is to see those places where humans achieved amazing things.

Ah, the Bab Bojlud of Fes. Also known as the Blue Gate. Bab means door, but Bojlud translates to something relating to leather. Fes was internationally known for many things over the years, but their leather goods were one of the most prominent. That and their pottery. My husband is from Fes, and he actually worked at a tile manufacturer when he was young. Each city in Morocco has its own style of pottery, decorations, patterns, and colors that are used in the that city and none of the others. It’s gotten to the point where I can tell Fesi pottery at a glance.

I picked this photo as my second photo because of the importance of Fes in my life. This photo is actually from that first trip, when I met him. At the time, I could never have known how much a part of my life this place would be. As I said, it’s where my husband is from, and I’ve spent more time there than almost anywhere else I’ve traveled to. Amine grew up in the old Medina in Fes, behind the walls and gates. Its winding paths are ones that he and I travel every time we go back. No matter what else we’re doing, the old Medina is a place we always visit. It’s where he bought my ring, after arguing with the seller about replacing some of the white stones with red and green stones (it’s not wedding-ring like with colored stones, but that was what I wanted.) The red and green stones were symbolic in two ways - one is that they are my two favorite colors, and the other that they are the colors of Morocco. Each city has its own colors. Many people know about the blue walls of Chefchaouen, but in the cities the taxis are also different colors (red in Fes) and around the holidays, they put up lights of their city’s colors. It’s one of the things that I love about Morocco.

I go back with him every year to visit his family. It’s such a different way to visit a place. Staying with his family (who are the best, by the way) and going to the local cafes (shout out to L’Unica and Bianco, our two favorites.) I’ve experienced more of Moroccan culture than I ever thought possible.

Another thing I love about visiting is that we try to go somewhere new each time we visit. Last time was Agadir for the goats in trees, before it's been Tangier or Marrakesh. Going with him is so different from going as a tourist. It’s something I find so amazing. But no matter where else we go, we always make time for the Medina in Fes, and we always go through the Bab Bojlud at least once. It really makes the visits special, no matter how many times we’ve been.

Okay, this is a silly one, but I love it. This is from a museum in Amman, Jordan. It’s an archaeological museum, with the remains of the Roman city that preceded modern Amman. Amman is a fantastic city. The food is excellent and the archaeology is amazing.

I will eventually upload my amazing pictures of Petra. Or the ancient ancestor statues that are a remnant of some of the earliest spiritual beliefs of humanity. But I just felt like posting this one because it really speaks to me as a former student of archaeology.

When you are working in the field, you often don’t have the most up-to-date equipment. If you are working for a major institution, you may have access to the latest and greatest in GPR, magnetometry equipment, or high-powered microscopes. But a lot of the time you are using stuff that is decades old or even older.

The best tools for an archaeologist are a shovel, a trowel, and a paintbrush. Tools that have been used for other uses for hundreds (thousands? tens of thousands?) of years. We use wheelbarrows, buckets, and grain sifters purchased at the local hardware store. Often we are using equipment that would be familiar to those whose remains we are uncovering. It’s amazing.

And of course, the other fun thing is being the newest student, working with your professors and colleagues who are much older than use. The ancient sources that you learn from are sometimes your professors. And sometimes, you get to sneak a joke about the conditions of your work into your own museum. And you do so knowing that very few people will appreciate the joke.

So, random person in the Department of Antiquities of Ammon, Jordan - I see you and I thought your joke was hilarious!