A Safe Harbour: South South East- A Life in Pictures- A Steve Mc Curry Exhibition in Oman Opens

Sharbat Gula, a Pashtun, probably the most iconic Afghan woman

"Her eyes have captivated the world since she appeared on the National Geographic cover in 1985. The photographer remembers the moment too. "The light was soft. The refugee camp in Pakistan was a sea of tents. Inside the school tent he noticed her first. Sensing her shyness, he approached her last. She told him he could take her picture. “I didn’t think the photograph of the girl would be different from anything else I shot that day,” he recalls of that morning in 1984 spent documenting the ordeal of Afghanistan’s refugees." (Cathy Newman, National Geographic)

The portrait by Steve Mc Curry turned out to be one of those images that sears the heart, and in June 1985 it ran on the cover of National Geographic."Her eyes are sea green. They are haunted and haunting, and in them you can read the tragedy of a land drained by war. She became known around National Geographic as the “Afghan girl,” and for 17 years no one knew her name."

Last evening, 'South South East- A Life in Pictures' by Steve Mc Curry opened at Bait Al Zubair, Muscat and the legendary photographer was there in person. I really don't recall similar a moment in all my years in Muscat as when Steve made his entry into the hall. Everybody present wanted to have a chance to meet and ( best of all) have a photograph clicked with him. I was lucky, I managed both!

Steve addresses the gathering with 'The Afghan Girl' in the background
The exhibition which opened on December 16, will conclude at the end of February 2015.

The exhibition of more than 40 images is a stunning collection of his work from Afghanistan, Burma, India, China and Yemen. Titled 'South South East: A life in pictures', this is the first time that McCurry has exhibited in Oman with the opportunity for his work to be appreciated and bought by all those interested.

Another photograph from Afghanistan

Steve McCurry has been one of the most iconic voices in contemporary photography for more than thirty years, with hundreds of magazine and book covers, over a dozen books, and countless exhibitions around the world to his credit.

The Burning Oil fields in Kuwait, 2000

Born in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, McCurry studied films at Pennsylvania State University, before going on to work for a local newspaper. After several years of freelance work, McCurry made a trip to India. Travelling with only a few clothes and some film, he made his way across the subcontinent, exploring the country with his camera.

Some months later, he crossed the border into Pakistan. There, he met a group of refugees from Afghanistan, who smuggled him across the border into their country, just as the Russian invasion was closing the country to all western journalists. Emerging in traditional dress, with a full beard and weather-worn features after weeks embedded with the Mujahideen, McCurry brought the world the first images of the conflict in Afghanistan, putting a human face to the issue on every masthead.