Article by Eleonora Giuliani

Among my recent pictures, I decided to share this one with you, because it is accompanied by a story.

This past October, after a good dose of “un-normal” traveling experiences, I decided to take a trip to a more “normal” destination – in this case represented by Oman. I rented a car and, after a few days in Muscat, took off to explore the Omani desert.

After a long day of driving, I stopped in the friendly town of Nizwa and went for a walk in search of a cafe in order to carry out an essential coffee ritual of mine that takes place every single afternoon – no matter where I happen to be that day.

It was not long before I discovered that I was the only foreign girl in town…

I enjoy taking pictures of locals, and, before doing so, I tend to ask for their permission.  This time though, there was an apparent “misunderstanding”. I passed a big guy and noticed that he was staring at me.  He attracted my curiosity and so I decided to ask if he wanted me to take his picture. He said “yes”, but as I took his picture, I noticed that he had a weird look in his eyes.  No matter.  I needed my afternoon coffee and after thanking him my attention immediately returned to that mission.

I kept walking and finally found a cafe.  As I opened the door and was entering, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to discover that the same big guy had been following me.  He turned me toward him and then grabbed my hand, tickling my palm with his finger.  In other words, he was propositioning me for sex.

I was surprised, but also amused at the same time.

I pulled free of his sticky hands and as a response I looked him directly in his eyes, raised my eyebrows and declared,  ” You must be pretty fucking desperate to get turned on by a girl covered in sweat and dirt and with a lack of caffeine in her bloodstream.”

I sat down and ordered my well-deserved coffee.

By the way, the bold big guy is the one in the middle: