Destination: Middle East
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.
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Yahoo! BuzzDubai 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:
‘You’re American? I Should Kill You!’
by Cory Eldridge | 07.01.09 | 10:01 AM ET
Photo by Cory Eldridge To most of his roommates at his United Arab Emirates apartment, Cory Eldridge was an exotic American. To one of them, the Iraqi who'd been held at Abu Ghraib prison, he was "President Bush."
Travels in Tehrangeles
by Jim Benning | 06.24.09 | 9:59 AM ET
Photo by Jim Benning Los Angeles is home to an estimated half a million Iranian expatriates. On Monday, Jim Benning grabbed a camera and hit their streets.
See the full photo slideshow »
R.I.P. Neda Agha-Soltan
by Eva Holland | 06.23.09 | 1:04 PM ET
The woman who has become a symbol of Iran’s ongoing protests after her death was caught on video has been identified as Neda Agha-Soltan, 26, a student in Tehran. A tidbit from the compelling Los Angeles Times profile:
She took private classes to become a tour guide, including Turkish-language courses, friends said, hoping to someday lead groups of Iranians on trips abroad. Travel was her passion, and with her friends she saved up enough money for package tours to Dubai, Turkey and Thailand.
(Via Andrew Sullivan)
Non-Places and the End of Travel
by Frank Bures | 06.23.09 | 10:14 AM ET
iStockPhoto Frank Bures on airports, Dubai and Marc Augé's "Non-Places: An Introduction to Supermodernity"
Travels in the ‘Real Iran’
by Eric Weiner | 06.19.09 | 10:22 AM ET
REUTERS/Damir Sagolj On the intersection of place, politics and culture
Ten Inspirational Women Travelers
by Julia Ross | 06.18.09 | 10:13 AM ET
Julia Ross celebrates women who have blazed their own trails
21st-Century Tehran in Seven Photos
by World Hum | 06.17.09 | 10:21 AM ET
Seven photos that provide an intimate look at the capital of Iran from a traveler's point of view
See the full photo slideshow »
Political Iran on Film
by Eva Holland | 06.16.09 | 10:32 AM ET
Foreign Policy has a timely list of movies “that have stirred the country’s politics over the years.” The selections span four decades, from the Shah’s day to the present, and could be great fodder for some armchair traveling—for this week, probably the only sort of travel that’s advisable to Iran.
Iran: Through the Eyes of Travelers
by Eva Holland | 06.15.09 | 6:07 PM ET
I’ve spent the last couple days transfixed by events in Iran, where widespread protests and bursts of violence have followed a contested election result. The country’s hardly an American tourism hot spot (and this latest unrest won’t help on that front) but over the years, we’ve covered some travel-related Iranian ground. Here’s a look back:
Photo We Love: Iran’s Controversial Election
by Jim Benning | 06.15.09 | 1:16 PM ET
REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah Twitter is abuzz with news of a rally in Tehran today in support of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. (You go, persiankiwi.) I loved this photo taken a few days ago in Tehran, before the election, of one of Mousavi’s supporters.