Halifax Harbour © Shutterstock
© Shutterstock

Harbor Stories

Their seas may be the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean or the Atlantic, yet they are united by a shared love of their home harbors. Individuals from nine countries share stories that reveal what binds them to the harbors they call home. Read about storms, lugworms, colourful cargo containers and banana boats – stories of homecoming and departure from Egypt, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Yemen, Canada, Kenya, Colombia and Libya. Happy reading!

Rio de Janeiro “One Guy Swears, Another Guy Swears, But All of It in Harmony”

Leonardo Lichote

Jakob Gürtler 1922 © Kailuppke

Halifax Never look back

Michael Krell

It was akin to a mosaic of its own nature, a frameless painting against the backdrop of the limitless skies meeting an endless sea.

Kareem Hassan Mongy

Bahía Blanca
 Bringing Together Voices and Verses about Port Departures and Arrivals

Argentinian poet Lucía Bianco is the director of the Port Museum in Ingeniero White, a town near the city of Bahía Blanca. Both in her verses and in her role at the museum, Lucía covers stories of the estuary and the sea.

Gabriela Mayer

Santa Marta
 ”The Port Made My Life Project Possible“

Óscar Leonardo Henríquez Linero worked for many years at the port in Santa Marta, in the Colombian Caribbean. Today, he remembers his life among goods, ships and the sea with nostalgia, humor, and immense gratitude.

Juan Martín Fierro

Kareem Hassan Mongy points at the former Port of Al-Maala in Aden, Yemen. You can see old small fishing boots on the shore of the sea in the background. © Reia Mozahami

Aden
 A personal story: The ebbs and flows of Aden’s Al-Maala Harbour

For Kareem Hassan Mongy, stepping into the Port of Al-Maala was love at first sight, a vibrant world that shaped his life. Decades later, as the port faded with time, its memories remained vivid.

Reia Almozahami

Kareem Hassan Mongy

Bishoy Kamel Talaat looks into the camera. He weres his workers uniform in bright yellow and a blue security hat. Behind him you can see the ocean and the silhouette of the Canal. ©Privat

Port Said
 Port Said: A Life Shaped by the Sea

For Bishoy Kamel Talaat, the Suez Canal is more than a hub of global trade; it’s the place where he found a sense of belonging and purpose. From childhood awe to his daily life as a worker, the Port of Port Said has forever captured his heart.

Ahmed Dahaby

Bishoy Kamel Talaat

Wissam Hassan Al-Kawafi looks into the camera. Behind him you can see the ocean and the silhouette of the Port of Benghazi. ©Hendia Alashepy

Benghazi
 How I and Benghazi’s port grew up and changed together

For over two decades, Wissam Hassan Al-Kawafi has developed a deep connection with the Port of Benghazi, where he is greeted each morning by familiar faces and the vibrant sounds of maritime life. Through intimate stories of triumph and trauma, he reveals the heart of this often-overlooked place, rich with memories and meaning.

Hendia Alashepy

Wissam Hassan Al-Kawafi

Shaame Kombo Hassan Image: Paul Munene

Mombasa
 Will we ever truly belong here?

Shaame Kombo Hassan carries the legacy of his ancestors who migrated from Pemba in Zanzibar in search of a better life on the Kenyan coast of the Indian Ocean. Shaame tells us the story of his family.

Shaame Kombo Hassan

Eliphas Nyamogo

Paul Munene

Porträt von Edward Mazurkiewicz vor einem Hafen-Areal Photo: Manja Herrmann

Bremerhaven
 Shore Leave and a Running Stitch

How a run in a young woman’s stockings changed the life of a U.S. Navy officer. – Edward Mazurkiewicz recounts the stages of his life, cultural encounters, and how Bremerhaven became his “Home Port”.

Edward Mazurkiewicz

Melanie Steur at the harbor of List on the North Sea island of Sylt Photo: Susan Guetari

List on the island of Sylt
 The smallest gateway to the world

The harbor town of List is located not far from Germany’s northernmost point on the North Sea island of Sylt. From her desk at the harbor museum, Melanie Steur looks out to the sea. She shares with us her thoughts about the harbor, the rhythm of the tides and life on a small island.

Melanie Steur

Verena Hütter