One Forbidden Street

There's a whole section of west Beirut near LAU where people get very touchy about photography. For "security" of all things. Every now and then, I can't resist complaining about this attitude. Today is one such day.

Not long ago I was out, camera in hand, looking for a picture. I was walking west along Hamra street and as I approached an intersection I looked south and saw this:

Haj decorations to comemmorate a resident's completed pilgrimage. That, and a picture waiting to happen. I was delighted by the colors and light.

I took a half dozen photos and continued up the street, toward that big building with the large satelite dishes perched up top. I'd passed under about half the hanging flags before I realized where I was and put my camera away. That big building with the satelite dishes (the one in my photo!) is a photography no no. It's surrounded by guards and there are signs all around the immediate vicinity that prohibit photography.

I take these folks and their wishes very seriously. I know they do. And I know that you don't mess around with security in times like these. But I also know that my photo doesn't impact their security - not even a little. Google maps got there first and this is nothing compared to that.