Military History Photo Friday: The Technical, a Marriage of Economy and Firepower

Ah, the good old days, when you were allowed to have a machine gun on the back of your automobile without a permit! Actually, you weren't, but it wasn't long after the invention of the car before people decided to turn it into a weapon because, well, that's what people do.
This obviously posed shot is from the Easter Uprising of 1916, when Irish nationalists launched a failed bid to overthrow English rule while the British Empire was distracted by events in Europe.
It's significant because it is perhaps the earliest photo of what we now call a "technical", a normal civilian vehicle on which is mounted a large weapon such as a machine gun, recoilless rifle, or even a missile launcher. Technicals provide a good combination of speed and maneuverability for rebel groups and cash-strapped governments of the developing world.
They've also been used by commando missions such as in World War Two, and can now be found all over the developing world. Once when I was traveling in Somaliland, our car got stopped by a technical mounted with a huge recoilless rifle (basically a cannon). The troops inside informed us that the road were were going on was now off limits, even though it hadn't been the day before. We didn't argue, and no, I didn't take a photo. There's a difference between being an adventure traveler and being an idiot!

This technical used by the Libyan rebels carries a Grad missile launcher. Photo courtesy Al Jazeera English. Fortunately for the driver, there isn't much kick from this weapon. The Sahara is perfectly made for technical use, and some of the pioneers in tactics involving them include the Saharawi in their fight against the Moroccans, and the Chadians in their fight against the Libyans. The people of Chad used so many technicals to repulse Colonel Gaddafi's invasion in the 1980s that it has been dubbed "The Toyota War".

A technical in Mogadishu, Somalia, taken by a braver (or stupider) photographer than I am. I think the guy sitting in the back with the white shirt just noticed his picture is being taken. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Photo Exhibition: The Prehistoric Painted Caves of Laas Geel

Regular readers of this blog will remember that I visited the unrecognized state of Somaliland last year. One of the highlights of my trip was seeing the painted caves of Laas Geel. The paintings are up to 10,000 years old and rank among the best preserved in Africa.

This beautiful but little-known site is the subject of my first solo photography exhibition. I'm having the grand opening on Saturday, January 8, at Café Béigol Bagel, Calle Meléndez Valdés, 29. Metro: Arguelles or Moncloa. Yes, it's a bagel shop. A rather humble beginning for my photography career but hey, I'm a writer first. If you happen to be in town pleased drop by. I'll be talking about the site and Somaliland in general.

For more on the caves, check out my post on Laas Geel and my series on travel in Somaliland.

Photo Friday: Ancient cave paintings at Laas Geel, Somaliland

Welcome to Photo Friday, a series I started last week here on Midlist Writer. This week's pick is one of the 300 (!) shots I took of the painted caves of Laas Geel in Somaliland. On a rocky hill in the middle of the Somali desert are a dozen rock shelters covered with paintings of cows, hunters, giraffes, and other images. Somali archaeologists estimate the paintings to be from 5,000 to 11,000 years old. Many painted caves have come to light in recent years and an ongoing survey will almost certainly find more.

Somaliland is a breakaway region of northern Somalia. They enjoy peace, government, and the rule of law. While Somaliland has its share of problems, it's WAY better off than the rest of Somalia. I went there earlier this year and wrote a series on Somaliland travel.

In January I'm going to have a photo exhibition about Somaliland at a local cafe in Madrid. More on that later!

Writing on the road

After a two-month hiatus, this blog is back up and running. I've been in Ethiopia and Somaliland for work and what with slow Internet connections and the distractions of seeing two fascinating countries I haven't had time to post here. I'll be posting regularly from now on.

I was in Ethiopia to research a book on the Battle of Adowa for Osprey Publishing. This decisive victory over the Italians was one of the greatest defeats of a European force at the hands of an African army and made Ethiopia the only African country never to be colonized. I met a lot of historical experts, including Dr. Hiluf Berhe of Axum University, who wrote his thesis on the battlefield. He and I spent a long, enjoyable, and exhausting day walking the battlefield and climbing up mountains. I also found some books on the period that are unavailable outside of Ethiopia and did some research at the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, housed in Haile Selassie's old palace. I've never worked in a palace before! This book is going to be a good one, and would have been impossible to do properly if I hadn't gone to the country.

I'm also doing a series for Gadling. My travel articles on Ethiopia are already going online, and when that series is done in about a month I'll be doing another series on Somaliland, a breakaway republic in northern Somalia that has created a haven of peace and commerce while the rest of former Somalia continues to suffer chaos and bloodshed.

Writing on the road is something I've always loved, since it combines my two great passions. I left my laptop behind and wrote longhand. This kept me stress-free about losing my computer and allowed me to get reacquainted with good old-fashioned paper.

As tired as I was, I still wrote every day. This is an important thing for writers to do, not only to keep in practice and accrue a large body of work, but to stay in tune with your muse. Of course, staying in tune with your muse isn't exactly difficult when you're meeting nomads, exploring ancient cave art (like I'm doing in the photo), and visiting medieval walled cities. Sharing my travel stories is what got me into writing in the first place back in my zine publishing days.

Sometimes I think that writers never get vacations. Even so, it's a hell of a fun job!

This photo shows me at the cave art site of Lass Geel, Somaliland, and was taken by Swedish photojournalist Leo Stolpe. Thanks Leo!

Leaving the laptop behind

I'm headed to Ethiopia next week for a two-month trip. Hopefully I'll also be visiting the unrecognized state of Somaliland. That's their flag to the right. Somaliland is the northern third of Somalia. It's been independent since 1991 and is safe enough to visit with appropriate planning and caution.

I was planning to bring along an old laptop my boss at Gadling gave me. It needed a battery, though, so I took it to a local computer store that specializes in retooling old computers. They told me it would take three to four weeks to get one! I'm certainly not going to bring my new laptop along with me so now I guess I'll just have to do without a computer for two months.

The practical side of me is moaning. The writer side of me is celebrating. Freedom from the tyranny of the keyboard! A return to the intimacy and focus of paper! Salvation for the retinas!

Of course I'll be going to Internet cafes fairly often to upload articles and photos for Gadling, but the vast majority of my writing (and there will be lots of writing to do as I explore these old and fascinating lands) will be done with the time-honored method of pen on paper.

Another thing to look forward to.