A look at Rosie Gabriella’s Facebook page description presents a simple-enough bio: “I'm a solo Canadian female motorcycle adventure traveller, photographer and video creator. Hoping to inspire people and help them explore the world through my eyes.” However, when you scroll through her rich multimedia content, you quickly realize that Gabriella is more than just another travelling photographer. She is a woman who has dedicated the last couple of years of her life to travel through Muslim-majority countries, namely Oman and Pakistan, in order to present a fuller picture of the countries she rides through.
Although she has been biking across the world for almost two decades, her journey through Muslim-majority countries began in Oman, where she lived for a few years working as a singer and photographer. From there, she began travelling around, sharing photos and telling stories of people and places the way they actually exist, in an attempt to break stereotypes and present a more realistic picture of these countries than what is often portrayed in media, particularly western media. On her Facebook page last year, she explained how her travels through Oman and Pakistan started and what it has been like so far:
“Last year I did two solo motorcycle tours across Oman. It was a life changing experience for me. People often ask me... aren't you scared traveling alone.... ? especially traveling in a Muslim country ?!?! .... With all this negative hype on the media, people's fear driven mindsets towards them, and this new "Muslim Ban" in America. I am here to say- I have never been treated so well in my LIFE! To the point that it brought me to tears by the sheer kindness of these people. Being a single female on a bike, people just wanted to take care of me. Everywhere I went, I was invited into homes, cooked copious amounts of food, and taken care of as if I was their own family. […] It was humans helping a human. This is HUMANITY. This is LOVE. The WHOLE world can learn something from these people, and I am deeply hurt and affected by the misleading negative judgments that they have fallen under. People in the west are quick to judge, driven by fear and less open minded than the majority of people that I encounter on my travels. I really hope to inspire people and possibly change the outlook on some things. I hope for you to see the world and people through my eyes, for what it really is.”
Gabriella has posted more location-specific stories and photos on her social media pages, so check out her Instagram and Facebook profiles for more heartwarming stories and stunning images.
