Read about Nancyīs passion for archeological
history and the ancient Middle East.

In 3100 BCE, the land between the 
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers was known
as Mesopotamia. The name Iraq was
used from the time of the Arab 
conquest in 632 AD.

When I was flying for ONA, I 
always choose the Hajj flights. 
North Africa and the Middle East 
were my favorite destinations. 
My last flight for ONA was 
October 1977, my base was Kano,
Nigeria. The capital is Lagos, 
Nigeria.We were flying Muslim 
pilgrims to Mecca. 



Sheraton Lagos Nigeria, to the right Mecca worshippers.

A supplicating pilgrim at Masjid Al Haram, Mecca,
the mosque which was built around the Kaaba 
(the cubical building at center). 
Thousands of pilgrims walk around the Kaaba in 
a counter-clockwise direction.

Kano is located in the north. What a place!  
We certainly didn't stay in a Hilton or Radisson.  
We stayed in a small green motel with large, 
friendly lizards.  ONA gave us pills to prevent 
disease and bottles and bottles of fresh water 
before we left NY and the place was so amazing.  
Nigerians imported their labor. The Italians 
worked in the oil industry, the Lebanese were 
the merchant class, and security was provided 
by tall slender black men with aquiline features:  
they wore long flowing blue robes (the exact color 
of the sky) and a dagger at their waist.  WOW.  


Nigeriaīs third biggest city Kano
Kano online


I met a man there whose entire chest was scarred.  
He was an Arab and looked like Lucifer.  So many 
images come to mind when I recall this time:  
sitting on a river bank, feeling sad, talking 
with a friend and I turn my head.  There, I see 
a man driving a donkey cart loaded with hay along 
a pathway.  And I think, this could be anytime in 
history.  It wasn't 1979, it was AD79, or the year 
1030 or 512BC.  This is the attraction for me.  
To transport oneself in time.

After that, I bid to be laid off for the winter months and 
began a BA program in Middle East Studies and filmmaking at 
New York University. 

Bruce Willis compares filmmaking to childbirth

CANDID IMAGE PRODUCTIONS

My desire was to return to the Middle East and tell their 
story and show the landscape. At the time nobody knew about 
that part of the world, except for Israel. And I thought it 
so beautiful. Now, everyone is afraid of the people and the 
land. I had wanted to live in Damascus as my home base but 
the more I learned about Islam and politics, the more hesitant 
I became about fulfilling that dream. 

While I was studying at NYU, I was given a fellowship to study 
in Syria and Jordan as a guest of the governments with 8 other 
students and a professor: we studied Roman City Planning and 
the Archeological Method as it Applies to Historical Research. 
We lived in actual archeological sites: a roman coliseum, an 
arab castle, a fort, a private home. While in Aleppo, we stayed 
in the room where Lawrence of Arabia stayed. There is a plaque 
on the wall above a desk where he presumably wrote. 






Nineve, ancient Assyria

HOTEL CONRAD, CAIRO EGYPT







Roman Amman Kingdom of Jordan