Dr. Kadir Orhan

Until I began my PhD, I had never given Indonesia a single thought.

Then, rather unexpectedly, it became a significant part of my life.

For a coastal engineer, the Indonesian archipelago is something of a playground. Rugged coastlines, extraordinary underwater topography, thousands of islands, tropical seas, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans on either side. I went there to study how we might produce clean energy from moving water, make marine aquaculture more sustainable, and make coastal infrastructure safer.

But the work was only part of it.

I met brilliant colleagues, worked alongside people who generously shared their knowledge and their country with me, and encountered a warmth that made returning always feel easy. And then there was Indonesia itself: volcanoes, reefs, temples, fishing villages, enormous cities, tiny islands and sights that somehow never stopped being astonishing.

It often felt less like travelling to another country, or even another continent, and more like visiting another planet.

Fortunately, I had a camera with me.

Here are some of the things I managed to bring back.