Blog Archives

The Ghosts of Chapultepec

Mexico City skyline with Chapultepec Castle, center.

Each time we’ve visited Mexico City we’ve moved between different neighborhoods. This trip we settled down in a decidedly affluent section, called Polanco, which borders on Chapultepec Park. The park is a huge, mostly forested space, which occupies an important position in the city.

Read more ›

Posted in Mexico, Parks
Tags:

The Iztapalapa Passion Play: Walking Into 200 Years of History

Iztapalapa

Iztapalapa is one of the poorest and most densely populated areas of the Mexico City, with high levels of marginalization and crime but also intense community organization. I felt that the borough was off limits to me except for one exception: during Holy Week. I guessed that then I would probably be safe visiting because I would be a guest.

Read more ›

Posted in Mexico
Tags:

Skylines and Saints: Mexico City

If you have a choice, please view on a screen large enough that you can read the captions.

Read more ›

Posted in Architecture, Mexico
Tags:

Returning to an old friend: al-Andalus

We first ate at al-Andalus in 2013, on our first visit to Mexico City. A Mexican friend who had moved to Montreal told us it was her favorite restaurant in the city. We took that as a high recommendation and went. We have gone back almost every time since. But with the pandemic there was a big gap,

Read more ›

Posted in Mexico, Middle East, Travel
Tags:

Being Somewhere Different

When I was in my twenties I used to ride the metro there with a good friend who was French, and she always was annoyed (“Why do you care?”) with my habit of choosing which car of the train to board so I’d be lined up with where I was going.

Read more ›

Posted in Mexico, Travel
Tags:



Return to Damascus is my new book of photographs, available for order, that preserves fleeting impressions and the spirit of a place through the lens. Accompanied by brief reflections and memories, the photographs offer a tribute to the place and its people, focusing on enduring character and the subtle interplay of light, architecture, and tradition. Return to Damascus is a quiet celebration of observation and memory, inviting viewers to participate.

custom styled page
How Many Roads? is a book of photographs by Jonathan Sa'adah, available for order, offering an unglossy but deeply human view of the period from 1968 to 1975 in richly detailed, observant images that have poignant resonance with the present. Ninety-one sepia photographs reproduced with an introduction by Teju Cole, essays by Beth Adams, Hoyt Alverson, and Steven Tozer, and a preface by the photographer.
If you'd like more information, please have a look at this page.
Jonathan's photo blog

Sign up to receive an email
each time I post new content

Please check your email for a confirming link to click on.

No spam! Read my privacy policy for more info.

To see more work
To visit my blog

Contact information

All material © Jonathan Sa'adah no use without written permission