Beirut Graffiti…

Everyone has to scratch on walls somewhere or they go crazy.

― Michael Ondaatje, In the Skin of a Lion

Around midnight last night–on my walk home–I snapped some photos of graffiti on the busy walls near the hospital. I think I was drawn to the Arabic graffiti above–which says “Beirut”–because of the stylized calligraphy and the punk feel of the colors. For some reason, I prefer photographing graffiti at night, even though there’s barely any light. Graffiti seems to speak louder to me in the dark–gives it an edge.

When the internet is non-existent or unbearably slow in Beirut like it was today, it’s tempting to scream (like the guys below)–but I usually find that taking a dip in the sea is a better way to calm down and cope–since swimming in the sea with turtles seems to solve most of life’s frustrations.