It was a privilege to be invited by professor Giorgos Papatheodorou to join and document their marine geophysical surveying of the Anfeh region in Lebanon. The OCEANUS team of the University of Patras was invited by the Department of Archaeology and Museology of the University of Balamand and I joined their expedition between June 25 and 30, 2017. Being my first time in Lebanon as well as in such an expedition, brought a fluid combination of adjusting and exploring this new subject matter with my on-going integral approach to photography.
The first day was spend in the sea, documenting the geophysical surveying of the OCEANUS team covering a large part of the sea north and south of the Anfeh peninsula. The second and third day were spend on land photographing the bay, village, promontory, the excavations of the archeologies, as well as near by historic landmarks like the Deir el-Natour monastery and saltworks. The forth day was spend in Byblos covering the castle, marina, and old town. The fifth day included a visit to the campus of the University of Balamand, the Balamand Abbey and the Phoenician wall in Batroun.
The topographic-objective perspective was used to familiarise with the location and produce images that can be viewed with interest both by local people who know the area well, and by a broader audience who is outside the geo-archaeological field. The expressionist-subjective perspective was also included to add a feeling of timelessness, as these traces of civilisation extend through millennia. Their photographic treatment is intended to elevate them to pure existence, an on-site iconographic museum display.
Credits:
Laboratory of Marine Geology & Physical Oceanography, University of Patras Greece in collaboration with the Department of Archaeology & Museology, University of Balamand, Lebanon.
Team leader: Professor Giorgos Papatheodorou
Team members: Professor Maria Geraga, Dimitris Christopoulos PhD, Nikos Georgiou PhD cand, Xenofontas Dimas PhD cand, Lucy Semaan PhD.
Photography: Pygmalion Karatzas
Laboratory of Marine Geology & Physical Oceanography, University of Patras Greece in collaboration with the Department of Archaeology & Museology, University of Balamand, Lebanon.
Team leader: Professor Giorgos Papatheodorou
Team members: Professor Maria Geraga, Dimitris Christopoulos PhD, Nikos Georgiou PhD cand, Xenofontas Dimas PhD cand, Lucy Semaan PhD.
Photography: Pygmalion Karatzas
“You are not a drop in the ocean,
you are the entire ocean in a drop.” - Rumi
you are the entire ocean in a drop.” - Rumi
