Ibrahim Sarhan: Remote Mountains
Ibrahim Sarhan is a photographer, mechanical engineer and world traveller from Saudi Arabia. While he works as a project engineer for Saudi Aramco to make a living, his real passion is travelling and exploring the natural and cultural beauty of the world.
His photos ooze with passion for venturing off into some of the most remote parts of his country-- they transport you from Saudi Arabia's most far-flung mountain villages along the border with Yemen to long-extinct volcanoes of the desolate centre of the country.
He is obsessed with mountains, as he has found that people who live in difficult geographical locations are the least affected by a rapidly globalizing world and retain much of their traditions, cultural identity and stories. He has visited Tibet three times just to explore remote mountain cultures and has also spent a considerable amount of time in Saudi Arabia’s mountains, which feature heavily in the following series.
Najran, Saudi Arabia. A local man looks at an ancient rock art in the mountains of Najran in southwest Saudi Arabia. Ibrahim Sarhan.
How have your experiences travelling and meeting other people influenced the purpose behind your work?
The way I see my country has revolutionary changed after I started travelling the world. I spent years exploring many of the most exotic and remote places on earth; this exposure to the wide spectrum of living cultures of the world taught me about the treasures we have at home. My experiences overseas also taught me what is worth paying attention to and what is not worth focusing so much on in documenting my own country.
One of the most important pillars of my work is focused on living cultures— those elements of society where you can see daily life while still being deeply rooted in history.
Many historical traditions that formed cultures around the world may be disappearing and can now only be found in museums, resort lobbies, and in front of tourists’ cameras, but Saudi Arabia has many of these living cultures and traditions around today and that is worth paying attention to.
I have also come to see that Saudi Arabia is an open-air museum for geographical, cultural, natural and historical treasures.
Madina, Saudi Arabia. Extinct volcanoes. Ibrahim Sarhan.
Madina, Saudi Arabia. Extinct volcanoes. Ibrahim Sarhan.
How did you first get into photography and where does your inspiration come from?
I started photography for the sole propose of documenting my experiences while I was travelling around the world. For the first few years, I was just taking normal photos and my camera was always set to auto mode. I never had any interest in becoming a professional photographer, and looking back now I can see that I missed a lot of photo opportunities due to this mentality.
My good friends then started to accompany me on my travels, and they helped me take my photography to the next level. They coached and mentored me for the last two years, and my inspiration mostly comes from them. I am also deeply influenced by the work of international photographers like Steve McCurry and Sebastião Salgado.
Najran, Saudi Arabia. Granaries in the mountains of southwest Saudi Arabia. Ibrahim Sarhan.
Najran, Saudi Arabia. A local man stands by an ancient rock art depiction of a camel. Ibrahim Sarhan.
Asir, Saudi Arabia. Farmers till the land. with a cow. Ibrahim Sarhan.
I see that many of your images were taken in the border regions in Saudi Arabia’s southwest near Yemen. What makes these places special and why do you love documenting them so much?
These areas just have the right mixture of natural beauty, historical depth, ancient ruins and greatly preserved and intact traditional culture. In addition to this, I am in love with mountains in general; this is one of the reasons why I visited Tibet three times.
Mountains have a lot to reveal when you just give them the right interest. Also, I believe people who live in difficult geographical locations are the least affected by a “flattening” identity based on increased globalization. Rather, they are more authentic and they have great stories to tell.
Asir, Saudi Arabia. A “flower boy” from one of the Yemeni tribes in the mountains of Saudi Arabia. Ibrahim Sarhan.
Asir, Saudi Arabia. A village is build along the side of a verdant mountain in southern Saudi Arabia. Ibrahim Sarhan.
Asir, Saudi Arabia. A “flower boy” from one of the Yemeni tribes in the mountains of Saudi Arabia makes flower head bands. Ibrahim Sarhan.
What have been some of the most emotionally moving places and subjects you have photographed in Saudi Arabia?
One of the best projects I’ve done was photographing coffee farmers in rural areas of Saudi Arabia and connecting them with costumers through my photos and posts on Instagram and Twitter. Some of these farmers sold their coffee harvest for double or triple the price they used to get because of this attention.
This work really had an impact on me, and I thank God my photos can contribute to making a positive change in these people’s lives.
I also wanted to thank them and show my appreciation for what they do through my photography in the sense that they have preserved an important aspect of our heritage— traditional Arabian Peninsula coffee growing and harvesting—in the south of Saudi Arabia. This was long before the government’s Saudi Vision 2030 plan recently offered support for this area.
Najran, Saudi Arabia. Coffee farmers from the mountains harvest beans. Ibrahim Sarhan.
Najran, Saudi Arabia. A man stands out overlooking a mountain range in southern Saudi Arabia. Ibrahim Sarhan.
What is your favourite photograph you’ve take in Saudi Arabia? What about capturing this moment do you remember?
I can easily identify this photo. I call it “Three Generations of Coffee.”
The photo shows a coffee farmer with his son holding a branch of a coffee tree in a symbolic representation of the connection between the boy and his grandfather. His grandfather planted this tree and died before his grandchildren were able to know him.
Najran, Saudi Arabia. This image entitled “Three Generations of Coffee” shows a father and young son with their family’s coffee tree in the mountains of southwestern Saudi Arabia. Ibrahim Sarhan.
After visiting Saudi Arabia myself this year, I believe in showing people a different side to the country— a human side— that is not so often seen in Western media. How do you think your photographs can play a role in shifting perspectives of the Kingdom?
In my opinion, my country is great in both political, cultural and natural aspects. I don't like the idea of showing some beauty of Saudi Arabia as an opposing side of its politics.
Showing the beauty of my country is just presenting a complete picture. For those who look for beauty, the can find it and appreciate it. And for those who just want to involve politics in everything and judge everything accordingly, they will never enjoy looking at anything beautiful or subjective, even themselves.
