Friday, Chuck and I took a walking tour in downtown Medellin. The tour went a little too fast for me to take the pictures that I wanted. So on Saturday, we took a taxi back downtown and covered some places that we wanted to photograph.
Times were really bad here in the mid 90's with the drug war going on. Because of that there are not many historical buildings still standing. The picture below is the former Palace of Justice that has been restored and turned into a commercial shopping area.
The inside is restored as it was. Elevators were added but other than that it is true to it's old glory. What were offices are now store fronts.
I could not take these pictures on Friday, but today when Chuck and I returned to this church, I captured what I wanted. In the picture below, on the right side, you will notice some ladies standing at the bank of red telephone booths.
These ladies are prostitutes. Chuck seemed to think that they were at the phone booths for the shade they provided. I think they are there so there is no mistake about what they are there for. The amazing thing to me is that they conduct their business right outside the church.
With the aid of the zoom feature on my camera I shot the following photos.
I am sure there are stories that each one of the ladies could share that would make us cry.
The next picture is of a typical downtown street. I shot it from a balcony.
This next picture is the Park of Light. It could be called the Park of Hope because this area used to house a big public market that burned down. After that the street people took it over and it was one of the most dangerous areas to go in Medellin.
Today the city has reclaimed it and built the tall LED lights that light up the area and help to keep it safe.
My art photo of the trip. I stood under the lights and shot up. Amazing effect.
This last picture is to demonstrate that although Colombia is modern in so many ways, you can still see scenes like this. The only other time I have seen a human pulling a cart was in Dubai about 12 years ago.
Happy Sunday to you.
Love,
Nancy
We should have come with you !
ReplyDeleteWish you had some also.....you would have had a great time.
DeleteA hard reality looms on the faces of these ladies of the night. The look very alert. You are right, the stories they could tell.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures again, loki g forward to the next post.
Peter, I had to wrestle with myself about posting those pictures. Who knows their stories? I pray that they are not being preyed upon....but most likely they are. God bless them.
ReplyDelete