Originally from Karachi, Pakistan, Abbas has an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering & computer science from Johns Hopkins University, and a graduate degree in philosophy from Columbia University. He lives with his wife, Margit Oberrauch, and their feline friend, Frederica Krueger, near the small, very beautiful city of Brixen in the Italian Alps. Email: s.abbas.raza.1 [at] gmail.com
Website: https://3quarksdaily.com/
This looks like it could be an aerial photograph of the river Eisack as it runs through Franzensfeste, South Tyrol (see a real photo of that in the comments), but is actually just a tire-track in the snow in Franzensfeste with melting water in it.
Top of a mountain at the border of Brixen and Vahrn in the South Tyrol.
Franzensfeste, South Tyrol, at night.
The morning sun melting snow and ice on the branches into drops of glittering water, bejeweling this tree outside my window.
Just something I like to eat once in a while: thick slices of lime with salt, cayenne pepper, and a slice of green chili. It is intense.
Hilton Hotel at the Munich Airport.
Went to the 9/11 Memorial in lower Manhattan on New Year’s Day for the first time and found my friend Ehtesham Raja’s name among the many who died that day. The phone placed above his name shows a photo of him and me in my Manhattan apartment earlier in 2001.
Jupiter rising above a mountain in Brixen, South Tyrol.
Shadow self-portrait at the train station in Bruneck, South Tyrol.
The river Eisack flowing through Franzensfeste, South Tyrol, a couple of days ago.
This reflection of trees, yesterday, on the surface of a pond in Brixen, South Tyrol, reminded me of M. C. Escher’s “Three Worlds”. (See that in comments.)
Window in Franzensfeste, South Tyrol.
Plose is the highest mountain in Brixen, South Tyrol. It is also a brand of popular mineral water here.
My friend Ruchira Paul showed me a little trick to cook blue rice using tea made from the dried flowers of Blue Butterfly Pea plants. Shown here: a small appetizer plate with some greens, the blue rice (which smells and tastes like normal basmati rice), masoor daal (lentils), and some cheese and tomatoes.
Clay tennis courts in Neustift in South Tyrol.
Rowan berries on a tree in late-afternoon sunlight in Franzensfeste, South Tyrol.
Autumn colors in Franzensfeste, South Tyrol.
A reflective street sign iridescing in the sunlight as I walked by it. What looks like a plain white background from a distance (see photo in first comment) is revealed to have much complexity when seen close up.
Curious cow at the Fane Alm in the South Tyrol last week.