Learning From The Ruins Of The Middle East + My Entry For @derangedvisions Photography Contest

_{If you don't already, I highly recommend you follow @derangedvisions. I don't have adequate words to describe it, but the way he captures an image is subtly expressive, presenting the subject in a way that feels very natural but is full of emotion at the same time.}

This is my entry for @derangedvisions' photography contest in black & white.

When my husband and I were living and working in the Middle East, our friends took us to visit some amazing places -- places you won't find in too many travel guides.

Finding hope in the ruins

The place that left me with the most mixed feelings was the ruins of one of Saddam Hussein's palaces (located in the Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq.)

Saddam Hussein was a tyrannical ruler in Iraq. Not unlike the ancient rulers of the region, Saddam's cruelty to the people he oppressed was rivaled by the benefits he brought to Baghdad and to the people closest to him. Though most were overjoyed to see his regime come to end, you will still find mixed feelings about the period of his dictatorship among the people of Iraq.

This palace was probably looted in 1991 after the Kurdish uprising. The Kurds were some of the most oppressed people under Saddam's regime. The chemical attacks at Halabja in 1988 are a not-so-distance memory for many Kurds. Parents and grandparents recall stories of how they fled to the mountains to escape Saddam's soldiers.

Walking through the ruins of his palace was a great reminder that evil men will be brought low. Their oppression will come to end. At the same time, the grief of those who suffered was etched in the graffiti on the walls and in the destruction that had made the palace inhabitable.