Destination: Middle East
Astara: ‘The Tijuana of the Caspian’
by Eva Holland | 11.19.09 | 10:55 AM ET
The Atlantic’s Peter Savodnik has a fascinating, brief dispatch from the Azerbaijan-Iran border, where a small Azerbaijani town has become a sort of Sin City for Iranians looking to escape the strictures of the Islamic Republic for awhile. He writes:
Books, DVDs, fashions, and—most important—ideas that are inaccessible in Iran are ubiquitous in Azerbaijan. Iranians line up daily to cross the Astara River to buy and sell jeans, chickens, bras, laptops—and often sex and schnapps and heroin. This commerce, combined with cultural curiosity and shared Azeri bloodlines, has transformed Astara into the Tijuana of the Caspian.
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Yahoo! BuzzSometimes a Language Barrier Isn’t One
by Spud Hilton | 11.11.09 | 11:51 AM ET
On the benefits of language barriers in a Tunisian rug shop
World Travel Watch: Monster Shark Off Australia, Deadly Driving Games in Bulgaria and More
by Larry Habegger | 10.29.09 | 10:44 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Im Telech’ by The Idan Raichel Project
by Jim Benning | 10.07.09 | 2:07 PM ET
What if the Burj Dubai was in Manhattan?
by Eva Holland | 09.24.09 | 4:26 PM ET
Kottke posts an altered version of the Midtown skyline. Puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?
Slate Takes a Ramadan World Tour
by Eva Holland | 09.16.09 | 12:02 PM ET
Writer Jason Rezaian has spent time in five different Muslim-majority countries—Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Iran and Turkey—during the annual month of fasting, and in a short essay he reflects on the subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences in the ways each one celebrates their shared holy month.
Post-9/11 Airport Security: Do You Know Where Your Dignity Is?
by Eric Weiner | 09.11.09 | 10:20 AM ET
On the intersection of place, politics and culture
Meet the Gaza Surf Club
by Eva Holland | 09.09.09 | 3:30 PM ET
The National has the unlikely story of Gaza City’s surf scene, from its early origins to the ongoing efforts to smuggle new boards in as the old ones break. The Gazan surfers’ main benefactor? A Tel Aviv-based organization called Surfing for Peace. “Surfing is not just the solitary act of standing on a hollowed-out plank on the face of a breaking wave,” Brian Calvert writes. “[T]he culture of the sport breeds an intense solidarity.” (Via The Daily Dish)
Beef Noodles in Taiwan, With a Persian Twist
by Eva Holland | 09.03.09 | 9:57 AM ET
I love a good tale of food cultures colliding—and this mouthwatering blog post from The Atlantic, about a Persian immigrant serving up his own brand of beef noodles in Taipei, certainly qualifies.
Here’s Davod Bagherzedh, the owner-chef of Laowai Yi Pin Niu Rou Mian (Translation: The Foreigner’s Bowl of Beef Noodles), on the key to his recipe:
“If I cooked them the traditional way, I could never compete with Taipei’s other stands, but if I make it with all Persian spices, I’d also have no business. So I import a spice from Iran called bahorat, a 12-spice mixture, and I add that to a blend of Chinese ingredients. It’s different, and people seem to love it.”
Beirut: It’s Hot Again!
by Eva Holland | 08.25.09 | 4:16 PM ET
What do Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton and the members of Keane have in common? According to Global Post, they’re among the celebrities who’ve popped up in Beirut this summer, part of the city’s resurgence as “the party and cultural headquarters of the Middle East” after three years of violence and turmoil. And, happily for the Lebanese economy, the tourists are following in Snoop Dogg’s footsteps—in record numbers.
The Great Israeli Road Sign Debate
by Michael Yessis | 08.14.09 | 3:21 PM ET
Israel’s transportation minister has proposed switching the country from a trilingual system—road signs are currently in Hebrew, Arabic and English—to one where the signs are presented exclusively “with transliterations of the Hebrew names.”
The World reports that street signs in Israel have long long been ideological battlegrounds. Reporter Daniel Estrin follows around one couple who travels the country trying to restore defaced street signs. Here are a few photos.
Dubai in the Downturn
by Michael Yessis | 08.10.09 | 10:10 AM ET
“It’s all a bit scary,” one expat tells the Washington Post’s Andrew Higgins. He’s not the only one cowering and fleeing. Many expats believe there’s a hunt on for “foreign culprits to blame for the sheikdom’s sliding economic fortunes.”
In Dubai’s defense, its Media Affairs Office told Higgins that it “prides itself on a well-established system of law and order and judicial fairness,” but it didn’t “respond to repeated and detailed questions.”
Three U.S. Travelers Detained in Iran
by Eva Holland | 08.03.09 | 10:59 AM ET
Apparently, they were hiking in Iraqi Kurdistan and wandered over the poorly marked border. One of the three, Sarah Shourd, is a contributor over at Brave New Traveler.
Even Mecca Getting Hit by Recession
by Eva Holland | 07.09.09 | 10:59 AM ET
Bookings from pilgrims are “way down” in the Muslim holy city, according to Reuters. Local hoteliers also blame the swine flu panic alongside the global economic crisis.
Baez, Bon Jovi, Mike Scott: Which Iran Protest Song Is Right for You?
by Jim Benning | 07.01.09 | 11:51 AM ET
If you were a child of the ’60s, then perhaps it’s Joan Baez’s “We Shall Overcome.” If you came of age in the ’80s, then maybe it’s Jon Bon Jovi’s “Stand By Me,” which he recorded with Iranian exile Andy Madadian.
I’m a longtime fan of the Waterboys and their sometimes solo-recording frontman, Mike Scott, so I’m loving his tribute, which draws on the words of W.B. Yeats.
Which is your favorite? Any others we shouldn’t miss? Here they are:
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