salvador, the capital of the state of bahia, is a unique and special city. the state of bahia itself holds a special place in the brasilian identity - it is the heart of the afro-brasilian culture, a place of extreme contrasts, stunning natural and architectural beauty, obscene poverty, the most progressive racial relations, the most regressive and conservative 'boss' society and politics. it houses brasil's spiritual soul, with its magical ability to blend clashing religious cultures ranging from strong and conservative catholicism to ethereal animalism - candomble, macumba, espiritismo.

i feel that Bahia gives brasil a particular spice, adding immensily to its essence in a way that is fundamental to the brasilian soul. it contribues many of the crucial seeds to the awesome repertoire of all important brasilian arts, from music, cinema, literature to the physical arts. brasil itself is a country, a society, of blendings. at its best, it accomodates the vibrancy and imagination of various cultures. at its worst it pits the have and have nots in vicious and often extremely violent clashes. it is beautiful and obscene, happy and desperately unjust, violent and inherently warm and peaceful. in a way it is like america, filled with strong contradictions. i think thats the inevitable result for any society which opens itself to diverse influences and which feeds its soul and growth on this kind of dynamic meshing. and bahia offers the visitor extreme samples of all of these contradictions.

salvador, as the capital, is the core of these realities. it is a visually stunning hilly city on the shores of the ocean. it is always on, always pulsating with the beats of the tambores, the poetic legacy of olodum and slave culture. it is brasils version of mississipi, rich and poor in equal measures, and home to brasils own version of the blues. pelourinho, its renovated artistic centre, is a colourful collection of gorgeous buildings and churches dating from the earliest colonial years. its nightlife is legendary, from free jazz in museums to little barzinhos with authentic and organic samba. carnaval here is also reputed to be fantastic, and very different from the carnaval of rio, sao paulo and other southern towns - up here it is more participatory and communal, the trio electrico resembling an open platform pulling the masses behind.

salvador is also a great staging post for the discovery of the awesome nature which covers its landscapes, from arid deserts in the inlands, to fantastic rock formations in the centre, and some of brasils best coastal areas including praia do forte, morro de sao paulo, boipeba, and on and on.

i hope these first few black and white fotos distill its essences. to see other views of bahia, take a look at my photos of boipeba, morro de sao paulo, praia do forte, chapada de lencois, and rio sao francisco.