I am now an officially licensed photographer in the Sandbox...not professional or anything. Every person who wants to take pictures here has to apply for a photo permit. It's free, which is unusual around here, but it sure is a hassle to do it.
First, we went to the ministry of tourism (that was the place with the floor mix-up) and the lady there told us to go downtown. Her directions went something like this 'look for the german center, then keep going, then go west, there's a hotel, well it used to be a hotel but now it's in ruins but you will see the sign, then turn and you will see the big sign that says the ministry of tourism. It is very easy to find if you know where the german center is.' Well, we knew where the german center was and we drove around for over an hour trying to find it. Later, my friend went back and just walked around and he did finally find it. But here's what her directions should have said. 'Go to the German center, turn left on the road that looks like it's paved but is really only paved for about 15 ft, then turns to dirt. Go a few blocks and then you might see the hotel in ruins, good luck finding the sign. Turn right which is also the wrong way on a one way road that looks more like an alley than an actual road and you will see an obscure, small black sign that is written only in Arabic. Go through the gate and into the first doorway and you will see a room that has 4 desks, 4 chairs, a stamp and nothing else. This is where you want to be.'
Seriously, the room had a few posters, 4 desks, 4 chairs and the stamp that we needed to make our photo permits official. You have to attach a passport photo, a copy of your passport and a copy of your visa. What's funny is that we had to make copies of the original ones and then they keep the copies and we keep the original, but you can't copy a picture so they have pictures of us that they can't even see.
My philosophy on this process is this: some high up guy in the govt has a 2nd cousin's brother-in-law who was in need of work. So they set up a 2nd tourism office and pay this guy to sit there and be the 'keeper of the stamp'. IF anyone can find it, then his job is to make sure that he makes it as difficult as possible for them to get their permit, causing them to make at least 2 trips to the office, if not more. The people in the office were very friendly and helpful, they told us exactly what we would need to obtain our permits the first time my friend went to ask. Usually, they will tell you only half of what you need, then when you go back they look at you like you're crazy and tell you something else you need so that you have to go home and come back again. You can go through that process several times before you have everything that you might need.
But, I can now legally take pictures of some things...there are still some pretty strict rules on what I can and can not photograph. The rule pretty much says that I can't take pictures of anything that might make the govt look bad or the country look poor. That really kind of limits how many pictures you can take, but still, now I don't have to worry about getting arrested!
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