A new breed of luxury has landed on the Red Sea, mirrored pods floating above coral reefs, reflecting sky and sea like something not entirely of this Earth. Energy powered by solar powers, drinking water pulled from the sea using desalination.

Welcome to Shebara, Saudi Arabia’s newest ultra-luxury resort, part of the Kingdom’s massive Red Sea tourism push. Opened in late 2024 on Sheybarah Island, the 73-villa resort is already being positioned as one of the most exclusive and visually striking hotels in the world. Celebrities, as we noted in the past, have been spotted there.

But is Shebara really sustainable? And is it worth the price, ethically, environmentally, or even financially?

A futuristic resort in a fragile ecosystem

Shebara sits in a pristine archipelago of 90+ islands along Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast,  an area rich in coral reefs, seagrass, and mangroves. Its design is undeniably dramatic: stainless-steel, orb-like villas that mirror their surroundings, sometimes appearing to disappear into the horizon. Saudi Arabia says tourism here will be capped at one million visitors per year to protect the ecosystem.

That’s the promise, but the reality is harder to measure.

Is Shebara hotel actually sustainable?

Saudi Arabia markets the Red Sea Project as regenerative tourism, powered by renewable energy and built with minimal ecological impact. But there is no information about third parties who certify these kinds of projects. Common in the Middle East.

And scale matters. Building luxury resorts on previously untouched islands, whether it’s in the Seychelles, or in the Red Sea. This raises familiar questions:

What happens to coral reefs under increased tourism pressure? How “low impact” is construction when villas weighing over 100 tons are shipped and installed offshore? Can high-end travel ever truly be sustainable?

Even online, skepticism is growing. “Seems so consumptive and indulgent… makes me sick,” one Reddit user wrote about the Red Sea resorts.

Another described the destination as “completely deserted,” raising questions about demand versus hype about the place.

At the same time, guest reviews paint a different picture — “amazing staff,” “exceptional experience,” and “beautiful design” as found on Booking.com.

So which is true? Likely both. Celebrity buzz — and quiet luxury can co-exist. So if you have money to indulge in about $2000 a night listed on its booking site, go to Shebara and share your experience with us. Luxury hotels in Thailand cost about $1000 a night, like this one we stayed in – Keemala. While it’s not a sustainable option for weeks on end, a few nights can buy you a good reset with high-quality pillows. If you can find family rooms in high-end resorts, it might be cheaper than renting 2 or 3 rooms to fit the kids.

While Shebara isn’t yet flooded with celebrity sightings like Dubai or the Maldives (which has some racist policies in place), it’s clearly being built for that market — an ultra-private selection of villas, overwater pools, and controlled access to a rare island.

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy is betting heavily on attracting global elites, influencers, and high-net-worth travelers to reshape its image through tourism. The celebrity pipeline will follow if they get paid well enough.

Are prices to Saudi Arabia and Dubai dropping because of Middle East conflict?

There’s a persistent rumor that regional instability is pushing luxury travel prices down. But the reality is more nuanced. There’s no strong evidence that Shebara itself is discounting heavily. Some reports suggest nightly rates in the luxury tier (well over $2,000+ per night).

However, broader travel demand in the Middle East can fluctuate with geopolitical tensions. When travelers hesitate, resorts sometimes adjust pricing quietly. So yes — in some cases prices soften.

But Shebara is positioned at the very top of the market, where exclusivity often matters more than occupancy. For Green Prophet readers, the question isn’t whether Shebara is beautiful. It’s whether it represents the future we actually want.

The post Shebara hotel Saudi Arabia – is it eco-luxury dream or desert illusion? appeared first on Green Prophet.

When the region settles after the American war with Iran, and it will, American and European travelers will come back. Not just for spectacle or headline projects, but for places that feel real. Places that haven’t been engineered to impress and which get into your soul.

We predict that visitors to Saudi Arabia will want to see places like Rijal Alma.

About 28 miles west of Abha, in the mountains of Saudi Arabia’s Asir region, Rijal Alma sits along steep slopes that fall toward the Red Sea. The village is known for its tall, narrow houses, some rising six stories—built from stone, mud, and wood. They’ve been standing for generations, holding their shape in heat, wind, and time.

This is vernacular architecture in its pure form. Long before eco, regenerative and sustainability became buzzwords, builders here figured out how to work with the climate. Thick earthen walls absorb heat during the day and release it at night. Small windows limited direct sun and gave privacy which is what Muslim families expect. The stacked design helps air move through the structure. Nothing is decorative for the sake of it. Everything has a purpose.

Saudi Arabia today is pushing forward with massive projects which have either failed or been postponed, like NEOM, Trojena, Shebara—designed to redefine how people live in extreme environments. They’re bold, expensive, and built to draw attention. But they also raise a question. Is oil money only buying the new and fantastic? As the world weans itself on oil, Saudi Arabia and its family owned oil company Saudi Aramco, will return to humble roots like the House of Saud, a ruling family that once lived in a mud palace.

Rijal Alma shows a different approach to building. The materials are local and the scale is human.

Under the House of Saud, there’s been more interest in restoring historic sites like this one. That’s a start. But preservation alone isn’t enough. The real shift would be using these ideas again, not as decoration, but as a base for new construction.

In a hotter world, that kind of thinking matters. Buildings that cool themselves. Materials that don’t rely on long supply chains. Designs that last.

When travel feels safe again, visitors from the US and Europe will likely make their way here. Not just to see something old, but to understand how people built before energy was cheap and space was unlimited. Walk through Rijal Alma and you notice it right away. The temperature drops in the shade. The walls feel solid. The streets are narrow for a reason. Nothing is random.

It’s not nostalgic. It’s practical. And we love that.

The post When peace returns, will we rediscover Saudi Arabia’s mud-brick soul? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Koh Phangan, an island in Thailand, is sold as a healer’s paradise. Any day of the week you will find Tantra, yoga, breathwork, rope yoga or ecstatic dance under palm trees at Zen Beach in between the full moon parties and half moon parties. You can spend every day of the week trying to fix yourself. If you are single or in a couple, that works, but not so much with teens.

We came to the island paradise with teens. We did what you do when you first arrive: Muay Thai kickboxing, zip lines, swimming pools, ATVs, swimming until sunset, cooking classes. It worked for a week or so, then it didn’t.

Because teens don’t just want stimulation, they want real things, so we went looking and found the island you don’t see on Instagram.

The island you don’t see

A few turns off the main road and you find another Koh Phangan, one that is not curated. It’s PACS, a center and hospital to heal and rehabilitate stray dogs and cats. There are broken dogs and cats, run over by cars or motorcycles, some neglected by their owners, raw skin exposed on their necks for being chained to a short leash for months.

Janina, from Germany, saw the street dogs on the island 4 years ago and has been coming back to PACS once a week to help out for a day each time.

“I saw them on the streets all the time,” she tells me. “I was angry.”

Now she comes, not to heal herself, but to clean cages, feed animals, wash dogs with skin infections, give company to the cats. The work is repetitive, smelly, physical, and mostly invisible.

PACS — Phangan Animal Care for Strays has been quietly running a catch, spay/neuter, and release program, working to reduce suffering at the source since 2001. It’s not glamorous but population control, wound care, infection management, and prevention.

The rescue effort here started about 25 years ago, near a local school, when injured dogs kept showing up with nowhere to go. Fifteen years ago it became a proper Thai-run foundation. Today it operates as a hospital, relying on donations, Facebook, Instagram, and a fragile pipeline of adoptions.

At PACS, the idea is simple: the well-being of animals reflects the well-being of the community.

The 7-Eleven dogs

On this island of Koh Phangan, dogs have territories and they are micro-economies of survival. There are the “7-Eleven dogs” and you see them everywhere. One usually, hanging outside convenience stores, living off scraps and tourists who think a sausage is kindness. I saw one in the town of Thong Sala, drunk on food, lying outside the entrance, belly full with a ring of sausages around him that he couldn’t bother to eat.

“Every day sausage is not good,” one volunteer tells us. “The food they are given is not healthy to eat every day. Not even for us.”

Some 7-11 shops tolerate them. In Had Yao, dogs for some reason are allowed to wander inside like locals. In other places, fights break out because outsiders disrupt a fragile territorial balance that only the dogs understand. Those that support the Strays center hope that the pets they take care of will be adopted. In normal situations they treat the animals and when possible release them back to the location where they were first found.

This is the reality PACS works inside, not removing dogs from the ecosystem entirely, but stabilizing it, one animal at a time. While the 7/11 dogs might be lucky to get regular food, the luckiest ones who get their forever home.

We came to walk the dogs

We came to walk the dogs but enough volunteers showed up that day.

So we stayed and pet cats that leaned into our hands looking for love. We met dogs that barked out of fear but then got close to us over time. One had three legs. Another, Pupita, carries a toy in his mouth when she’s nervous. She is looking for her forever home.

Peanut had a spinal chord injury and now works as an emotional support dog for the other dogs. He drags his two back legs around behind him but his situation doesn’t seem to stop his smiles or passion for life. Peanut is looking for his forever home and he’d make a great emotional support pet, says Kim, the assistant on duty.

You don’t explain this to teenagers. You let them see it and touch it.

The people who stay

Salem came from London and works at a retreat on the island. He adopted a dog a few years ago called Mellow, once called Bones. Now he’s adopting another, Syrup. Salem and Syrup were excited about going home together.

“I saw him when he was tiny,” he says. “He came with a bunch of other puppies and one by one they were adopted but he stayed. From the beginning, I liked him.”

That day Syrup, now about 5 months old, was going home. They were going for Syrup’s last walk as a shelter dog. Salem often connects two worlds that don’t usually meet: wellness tourism and animal rescue. He brings his island friends to come to the shelter to walk the dogs.

Then there’s a German man Lungs Hai (name means uncle, and probably a Thai name he adopted) who found a dog chained to a tree (named Tongmung, now Clyde), fed him for three months, and watched his neck become raw and infected from his leash and collar.

At that point the shelter stepped in, according to Thai law, and could take the dog. That was a few months ago and Lungs Hai comes every day for a check in and some cuddles. Clyde’s neck is healing and he is looking for his forever home.

This is not a place for clean endings and not all stories belong in a brochure. A nurse named Kim who shows us around and welcomes us, tells me about the resident pig (my daughter would water down with a hose) that killed nine dogs and broke a volunteer’s leg.

The myth of healing

Koh Phangan will sell you healing in a coconut wearing Lululemon yoga pants. But healing isn’t always soft or pretty. Washing a dog with a skin disease, feeding a cat that might not survive the week.

We didn’t save anything that day but the center showed our teenagers what compassion looks like. The people working and showing up at PACS did that.

If you travel with kids, especially teens, try to build in something uncurated. Last summer we found volunteer opportunities for them in a forest in Canada. If you are traveling look for a place that’s working in the community to better it: because somewhere between the zip line and the beach, between the dance floor and the detox smoothie, there is a quieter education happening to help those who can’t speak at PACS.

How PACS started

PACS (Phangan Animal Care for Strays) was founded in 2001 by a veterinarian named Shevaun. She arrived on Koh Phangan while traveling and was struck by the condition of the animals: they were injured, untreated, and with no veterinary services on the island at the time. Stray population control was often done through culling (killing, as they do in Hebron), and locals had to travel by ferry to Koh Samui just to treat their pets.

So she started small, asking vets back home to send supplies, treating animals for small donations, and using those funds to help strays. From that, PACS grew into what you see today: a hospital, a sterilization program, and a quiet force of nurses, vets and volunteers, trying to stabilize the island’s stray population.

How you can help

PACS runs on small acts that add up.

• Donate through their website – this keeps the clinic running, pays for surgeries, medicines, and daily food.
• Follow and share on Facebook and Instagram – awareness leads to adoptions and support from outside the island.
• Adopt, or help find a home – even sharing a dog or cat’s story can connect them to a forever family. There are people on the island, PACS says, that can help you with pet relocation and adoption to foreign countries much like the cats of Istanbul. Fall in love with a Thai dog or cat? It’s possible to take them home with you.

Not everyone can take a dog home from Koh Phangan. But everyone can do something.

::PACS

The post Koh Phangan’s angels for the dogs and the cats appeared first on Green Prophet.

Few sights capture the spirit of Sydney quite like the illuminated sails of the Sydney Opera House and the sweeping arch of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Over time, I’ve realised that enjoying these icons isn’t limited to sightseeing spots or waterfront walks — some of the most amazing views actually come from a dinner table.

There’s something special about sitting down to a great meal while the harbour glows around you. From elegant waterfront restaurants to unique dining experiences that bring you right onto the water itself, Sydney offers plenty of ways to pair incredible food with unforgettable scenery. If you’re looking for dinner venues in Sydney for a date with the city’s most famous landmarks, here are some of the spots that truly stood out to me.

Bennelong 

If you want a luxurious restaurant with a great view, Bennelong is the place to go. Nestled within the sails of the Sydney Opera House, you really can’t get any more up-close than this! The dishes you are served are just as dramatic as the architecture around you, and the menu captures the essence of contemporary Australian dining. 

While I could go on about the dishes they serve, it’s the views that we’re here for! When you’re seated within a World Heritage listed site, the views are arguably going to be one of the most impressive ones in the city. The extraordinary Opera House architecture, followed by sweeping views across Circular Quay, the Harbour Bridge and all the way to the Royal Botanic Gardens, I believe that Bennelong offers Sydney’s most spectacular dining room.

Harbour Dinner Cruises 

Now that we’ve checked out dining inside an icon, let’s go out a little further – but not too far. Aboard one of these Sydney Harbour dinner cruises, you dine ‘on the water’, with the views of not just the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, Luna Park, Fort Denison et al – truly what I would call an ‘all-in-one’ experience . While you could choose an authentic paddlewheeler or a premium catamaran, if you don’t want to compromise on the ‘luxury’ element, then there’s the elegant glass-boat option as well – the perfect ‘luxury sightsee and dine’ experience. 

Of course, as expected of a Sydney Harbour dinner cruise, you enjoy a delicious dinner. While some cruises come with a buffet, most have multi-course meals with hot dishes of seafood, veggies and local produce. Some experiences even have live entertainment on board, making it more than just a sightseeing cruise. An evening on board a dinner cuisine really blends ambience and iconic harbour views with just one booking.

Cafe Sydney

Don’t get confused by the name, because this is no cafe. Perched atop Customs House, Cafe Sydney is exceptional among dinner venues in Sydney. It captures the very essence of the city with breathtaking views of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and the sails of the Sydney Opera House from its rooftop vantage point. As the harbour stretches out and the skyline begins to glow, the view becomes just as memorable as the meal itself. 

Cafe Sydney’s dedicated team curates a dining experience that feels every bit as premium, sophisticated and elegant as its surroundings. With an impressive backdrop setting the scene, every meal here feels like something truly special. The menu is just as impressive—offering everything from à la carte selections to thoughtfully crafted plant-based dishes and a refined three-course set menu, all complemented by a tempting dessert selection. With so many enticing options to choose from, I felt completely spoiled for choice.

The Squire’s Landing

The flagship brewhouse of James Squire, this venue is ideal for all sorts of special occasions — from celebration dinners to casual catch-ups with family and friends. What makes it truly special is its wrap-around, floor-to-ceiling windows that face the waterfront. So, you can dig into a delicious meal while gazing out across picturesque Sydney Harbour toward the iconic Sydney Opera House and the illuminated Harbour Bridge.

The menu, inspired by James Squire, offers bold flavours crafted from the freshest seasonal produce. It was the first time I spotted Moreton Bay bug tails on a menu, so I couldn’t resist trying them — and they were delicious! You’re welcome to pair your meal with a pint of James Squire brew or sample one of their limited releases. With great food, great brews and one of the harbour’s most iconic views, it’s the kind of place where the flavours on your plate and the scenery beyond the glass compete for your attention.

Sails 

Sails in the Sydney suburb of Lavender Bay is a waterfront retreat that offers front-row views of the iconic Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. Set along the harbour at Lavender Bay in McMahons Point, the restaurant blends contemporary Australian dining with the relaxed charm of life by the water. Just an 8-minute ferry ride from Circular Quay, it’s a scenic escape that feels effortlessly accessible.

Sails’ menu celebrates Sydney’s coastal flavours, showcasing the finest local seasonal ingredients in beautifully executed dishes. One item that immediately caught my attention was the Swordfish Tataki, and it absolutely lived up to my expectations. The beverage selection is just as thoughtfully curated, with vibrant cocktails and a wine list featuring vintages from Australia and Europe. With delicate coastal flavours on the plate and uninterrupted harbour views all around, dining here feels like a perfect pairing of Sydney’s food and waterfront views.

Wrapping Up

In a city like Sydney, dinner can easily become more than just a meal — it can turn into a memorable evening. With the glowing sails of the Sydney Opera House and the towering arch of the Sydney Harbour Bridge as your backdrop, even a simple evening out feels a little more special. Whether you’re celebrating something special or simply want to soak in the harbour’s magic over dinner, these dinner venues in Sydney prove that the view can be just as satisfying as what’s on your plate!

The post Dinner Venues In Sydney With the Best Views of Opera House & Harbour Bridge appeared first on Green Prophet.

Salman Rasouli

Critiquing architectural and development projects, particularly within environmentally sensitive contexts, is an essential component of social dynamism and a prerequisite for healthy public discourse. However, such dialogue can only be constructive when it is built upon accurate information, verified field observations, and unambiguous reference to scientific sources.

The article “The Aga Khan is Greenwashing Their Awards,” written by Ronak Roshan and published on September 3, 2025, on Green Prophet, critiques the “Majara Complex and Community Redevelopment.” While the project appears at first glance to align with the sustainability values of international awards, the article relies on a series of claims to argue that it contradicts the fundamental principles of sustainable development.

Majara is part of the “Presence in Hormuz” initiative by ZAV Architects, developed alongside projects like the “Rong Cultural Center” and the “Typeless.” Designed within the natural and social fabric of Hormuz Island, the project aims to foster cultural tourism and create socio-economic opportunities for the local community. It was subsequently named a recipient of the Aga Khan Award in the 2023–2025 cycle.

While disagreement regarding the balance between development and the environment is expected, when a critique relies on scientific and environmental claims, the accuracy of citations and field observations becomes paramount. Such texts significantly shape the perception of non-specialist audiences regarding architectural and development projects.

Accuracy of Information and Responsible Critique

In the article in question, references to academic research are presented in a way that initially lends the arguments an air of validity. However, a closer examination reveals that the scientific content of these sources has been misinterpreted.

For example, regarding sea turtle nesting sites:

Research by Loghmani-Devin, Savari, and Sadeghi (2013) regarding “Hawksbill Turtle nesting on Hormuz Island” [1] states that while two-thirds of the island’s beaches are suitable for nesting, the northern and western shores are not utilized for this purpose due to the nature of the substrate. The Majara complex is situated precisely along these northern and western shores.

Research by Maria and Nasir (2014), referenced in the article, focuses on “Identifying and Prioritizing Important Nesting Sites of the Green Turtle on the Iranian Beaches of the Oman Sea” [2]. While the study makes passing reference to Persian Gulf islands, its primary focus is the Iranian mainland coast. No specific data or field maps were provided for Hormuz Island, making it an insufficient source for conclusions about the island’s habitats.

Furthermore, inaccuracies exist at the level of basic field observation. The article mistakenly places Majara in the west and southwest of the island. In reality, the complex is located on the northwestern shore, approximately four kilometers from Hormuz City, a fact easily verifiable by public maps.

Development, Sustainable Tourism, and Hormuz Island

In the post-World War II era, rapid industrialization and environmental damage gave rise to environmental movements that increased awareness about resource exploitation. The central dilemma remained: how to reduce poverty and improve social welfare without economic and industrial development.

The concept of sustainable development emerged as a response, aiming to meet present needs without compromising the future. In tourism, this requires balancing economic, social, and environmental impacts.

In Hormuz, the debate is often framed as development versus conservation. Global experience shows that development brings both risks and opportunities. The goal is not to reject development, but to manage it responsibly through planning and conservation strategies.

Majara Project’s Strategy for Sustainable Development

The Majara project outlines several approaches to maintaining a sustainable relationship with the island:

Architectural and Environmental Strategies

• Materials: Use of Nader Khalili’s Superadobe technique and sustainable materials.
• Permeability: Elimination of perimeter walls to maintain ecosystem integration.
• Setbacks: A 71-meter distance from the high-tide line.

Socio-Economic Strategies

• Employment: Jobs for 120 local residents.
• Empowerment: Training in construction, management, and hospitality.
• Local Support: Support for cultural events and artists.

Social Impact Strategies

• Workshops on biodiversity awareness
• Wildlife mapping for visitors
• Community use of Typeless complex
• Support for cultural programming

Participatory Conservation Strategies

• Collaboration with NGOs and environmental groups
• Stray dog management and gazelle surveys
• Development of a sustainable tourism framework

Technical Analysis: Turtle Habitats and Soil Quality

Sea turtle nesting depends on specific coastal conditions. Scientific data indicates that the Majara shoreline is unsuitable due to fine-grained, saline, and metal-rich soils, as well as its narrow width.

In contrast, southern and southeastern shores have light-colored, permeable, carbonate-rich sands suitable for nesting and are designated protected areas.

Vegetation and Restoration

Prosopis juliflora, introduced in the 20th century, became invasive. At Majara, approximately 80 trees were removed and replaced with over 500 native species.

Waste and Water Management

The site includes a wastewater treatment system capable of processing 20 cubic meters per day, along with a composting system handling up to 50 kg of organic waste daily.

Conclusion

The Aga Khan Award process involves rigorous field evaluation. While no project is without limitations, discussions of sustainability must be grounded in accurate data and transparent analysis.

We invite researchers, critics, and interested parties to engage further through field visits and dialogue on Hormuz Island.

_____

Salman Rassouli is an Iranian architect with a passion in green architecture and sustainable development. Starting his career path as an environmental activist, he gained a Master’s degree in environment and sustainable development from UCL in 2009. Further, he served as project manager in the NGO CENESTA, where he led projects such as “empowering nomadic people of Iran” through facilitating development of conservation plans and promotion of sustainable livelihoods. Since 2017, he started working as an architect and sustainability manager in ZAV architects, consulting the Majara and other Projects for sustainable design and environmental impact assessment.

::Zav Architects

The post A Fact-Based Reflection on Sustainability and Tourism in Hormuz appeared first on Green Prophet.

Neom, a bombastic collection of futuristic cities and resorts, has flopped as Saudi oil prices roll back reality. The Saudi plan of hosting the 2029 Asian games to be held at Trojena, a ski report in the desert, has been cancelled.

The 2029 Asian Winter Games were supposed to be Saudi Arabia’s big moment for tourism and Vision 2030, hosted at Trojena, the ambitious mountain ski resort being built inside the $500 billion Neom megaproject in the northwest desert. It would have been the first winter sporting event ever held in an Arab-speaking country, a remarkable geopolitical flex for a nation with essentially no winter sports tradition and barely any snow. (Read here about Snowmax and the dangers of artificial snow).

The Olympic Council of Asia announced the games would be postponed last month, and within days announced they would instead move to Almaty, Kazakhstan. Al Arabiya Gulf News gave no reason for the change, but the context is hard to ignore.

With oil prices down, Saudi Arabia is in fiscal trouble, and oil is the core of the problem. The kingdom’s budget deficit widened in the fourth quarter of 2025 to its highest level in five years, as lower oil prices squeezed government finances, according to Arab News.

Saudi Arabia needs crude at around $91 a barrel to balance its budget, but prices have been stuck in the low $60s for months Securities Finance Times, a gap of nearly 30% between the dream and reality.

That gap is starting to show in the kingdom’s grand ambitions of building The Mile, a 15-minute city on the Red Sea.

Saudi officials have signaled a pivot to “wiser” spending, and the government has made clear it will not hesitate to walk away from costly projects that no longer fit its priorities.

Trojena, which was already facing significant construction delays and had missed its original 2026 completion target, appears to be one casualty of that reckoning along with The Line.

Saudi officials have been quietly reviewing some of the biggest Vision 2030 projects and though they are not canceling them outright, they are stretching timelines and trimming scope.

Almaty, by contrast mades sense. Kazakhstan previously hosted the 2011 Asian Winter Games and the 2017 Winter Universiade, so the infrastructure is already there.

For Saudi Arabia, losing the games is more than a sporting embarrassment. It’s a signal that Vision 2030’s most spectacular promises: a ski resort in the desert, a linear city in the wilderness, a new Las Vegas on the Red Sea were always contingent on oil staying expensive. And one by one, reality is doing the editing that ambition refused to do. If Americans pull through on fusion (see Xcimer), OPEC oil will be over.

The post Saudi Arabia cancels the Asian games at Neom’s Trojena appeared first on Green Prophet.

Balat is not a neighborhood you would visit on a standard tour to Istanbul—the kind that shuttles you between giant mosques like Hagia Sophia. If you want a real taste of the city and the people who live there, wander a smaller neighborhood. Balat is my favorite for its cobblestone lanes, record shops, cafés, second-hand clothing stores, colorful stairs, textiles and towel shops—and the cats. Cats rule Balat, and much of Istanbul.

Be prepared to lose yourself wandering around this village-like part of the city. I’d spend half a day in Balat, much of it in wanderer mode. This is one of Istanbul’s most quietly enchanting quarters, where cultures overlap not as a museum piece, but as a living, breathing fact.

For centuries Balat has been home to Jews, Greeks, Armenians, and Muslims, and that mosaic still shapes the streets. You’ll pass the Ahrida Synagogue, Orthodox churches, and modest mosques within minutes of each other. Unlike grand Sultanahmet, Balat’s diversity feels intimate and domestic—it’s history at human scale you can still touch and feel. Homes and cafés are built among crumbling walls and old fortifications, and the vibe among the people is good. As my Uber driver said arriving in Balat, “In Istanbul we love our cats, and hate our mayor.”

Balat has recently become a magnet for vintage lovers and collectors (some say it happened when Coffee Department opened in 2010), but it hasn’t lost its edge and grit.

Find old record players spinning Turkish tunes, bent silverware, Anatolian rugs, colorful caftans, postcards, rusted tools, and ceramic cups poking out from tiny shops that are halfway between a flea market and a time capsule. We saw men dancing in the street and attractive local couples (lovers?) having intense coffee conversations in the late sunny morning—on a weekday.

The prices in the second-hand clothing shops are not what they once were (here is our old guide to second hand clothing shops in Istanbul around Istiklal street), but the items are well-curated. And the second-hand shops in Istanbul will still offer you eastern garb such as cloaks and overcoats, plus colorful wool sweaters. The stairs and buildings in Balat are colorful too.

The joy of being in Balat—or in Istanbul in general—is not ticking off addresses and sites of interest. It’s letting curiosity pull you down side streets where eye contact can lead to a conversation.

Three Cafes Worth Lingering In

Velvet Cafe – A Balat institution. Mismatched furniture, plants everywhere, and the feeling that time has agreed to slow down. Looks like a place to join a revolution—or start one.

Naftalin Kafe – Nostalgia perfected: old family photos, radios, and Turkish coffee that tastes like it belongs to the room. Cats rule the café. Notice our top photo taken recently outside Naftalin on one of the main tourist streets, where the cat is telling the waitress who to serve next.

Coffee Department in Balat – A more modern stop with excellent coffee, popular with locals and creatives without breaking the spell of the neighborhood. Believed to be the café that opened Balat up to becoming a prime tourist destination.

This is cat country, and humans know it. Cats lounge on stoops, café chairs, shop counters, and car hoods with total confidence and airs of superiority. They do let you touch—on their terms. Bowls of food appear mysteriously. Some cats even drop down on a rope from the sky (or the top-floor apartment). People have built cat houses for their furry friends, and non-profits exist to help foreigners send a beloved Balat street-cat back home with quarantine and papers (see Paws of Hope if you are interested in the adoption process). This is far from the Erdoğan-style Turkey that has called for the culling of millions of Turkish street dogs.

In Balat, cats are not a feature. They are the management.

Explore your faith in interfaith

Balat wears its interfaith history casually. As you wander, the names surface naturally: the Ahrida Synagogue and Yanbol Synagogue, quiet and inward-looking, echo Balat’s once-thriving Jewish life. Then the call to prayer drifts from neighborhood mosques like Ferruh Kethüda, Tahta Minare, and Balat Çavuş; and church bells mark time at St. George (Aya Yorgi), St. Mary of the Mongols, and the iron-clad St. Stephen Church by the water. Holding time are the crumbling Byzantine walls—cracked, vine-covered, and indifferent to faith—reminding you that in Balat, coexistence was a daily habit.

Follow the slope down toward the historic Golden Horn and you’ll find fishermen casting lines for small fish, chatting here and there while watching the water—and making sure the crows and the cats don’t fish the tiny fish out of the buckets.

Second hand clothing and vintage shops in Balat, Istanbul

Istanbul is known for its curios and second-hand clothing shops. You will get a taste of it all in Balat as you wander the streets. We came across a few vintage and second-hand clothing shops. The prices were not cheap (a T-shirt was priced around 25 Euros), so if you are in the business of bargain-basement shopping, better shop elsewhere in America or Canada at church thrift shops.

Ayca Vintage

Ayca vintage has a great vibe, with African drumming and song beckoning you to come in. We guessed it was the owner who peeked at us from under her hat—cat nearby—journaling. The shop is stocked with vintage caftans and colorful sweaters. She’s taken the selection job out of your day.

Ayvansaray mahallesi sultan çeşmesi cad. no:83A BALAT Fatih / istanbul

Twobavintage

Around the same area is Twobavintage, which stocks mainly kitschy kitchen items and relics from another era. There is a small selection of clothes in the back.

Ayvansaray Mahallesi Sultan Çesmesi Sokak No 94 Balat

Kulis vintage

Expect to pay a pretty penny for thrifted T-shirts and second-hand, western style here at Kulis Vintage. We found the same in Berlin when we were there 2 months ago. Highly curated, high prices—which is the way of the world for curated vintage in cities. Kensington Market in Toronto has been like that for decades.

Exploring the streets and finding colorful umbrellas and painted stairs in Balat is a must. Some parts are tourist traps, demanding you buy food before you enter. Some coffee shop owners say they have the best rooftop views of the Golden Horn. We can’t confirm.

We found an excellent towel and blanket shop with great prices. Where you can still find a deal is if you are looking for high-quality Turkish cotton towels. We found a shop, pictured below, where we bought a few high-quality towels for 200 LR each, about $5 USD. We didn’t bother bargaining because the price was fair and the seller was very nice.

His shop was down the street from Ayca Eastern Design. We didn’t get the full name, so show this man’s photo around the neighborhood and the locals will point out the way.

Off the Path: Working-Class Istanbul

Another face of Balat reveals itself when you leave the “Instagram streets.” Wander toward Cibali, where workshops still hum—metalworkers, repair shops, small factories—and life feels practical. This is also where you brush up against literary history.

Nearby lived Orhan Kemal, one of Turkey’s great writers of the working class. Kemal was the chronicler of laborers, factory hands, and the urban poor. He worked near the old Cibali Tobacco Factory (today part of Istanbul University), quite close to his former home, and wrote about the very people you still encounter here.

His presence lingers not as a plaque-heavy attraction, but as a spirit. We walked past his modest corner house that holds a plaque to his name. Impressive wooden houses nearby are for sale, and we dream about being a writer from his vantage point in this now-charming location.

Balat isn’t polished, and that’s exactly the point. It rewards slow walking and making mistakes. Tune into a few landmarks that interest you and wander toward them, noticing what you meet, smell, and hear along the way. On one of our meanderings we came across three schoolboys “cat-napping” a cat in their backpack to take home.

We also appreciated that some of the local artisans, like the owner of ilitya, are opening their studios for hands-on experiences. He is a graduate of design school and, unlike the thousands of traditional pottery studios in Turkey, he sells modern functional-ware. Made in molds and glazed in the studio, you can buy—or study and make your own—your choice.

We took a taxi to Balat from our hotel, but plenty of buses and trams run right to this neighborhood.

Green Prophet’s trip to Istanbul was sponsored by the United Religions Initiative, an interfaith network for peace and reconciliation. Their travel grant allowed us to tour Istanbul’s heritage independently to witness and report on the city’s diversity and heritage.

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It isn’t a grand idea like the Orient Express or a luxury train through Saudi Arabia (the Dream of the Desert) but a German R&D project piques curiosity on its feasibility to repurpose inner city and suburban railways. It helps urban and suburban renewable and seniors get around.

In New York, old rail lines were turned into The High Line, a gorgeous urban park platform full of urban gardens, art and the best ice cream sandwiches you’ll find in the world. It’s a must when you visit New York. Tel Aviv’s train lines, the ones that travelled from Jaffa to Beirut and from Jaffa to Jerusalem have also got an upgrade — into an urban center and shopping area called The Tachana, or The Station. Dog parks, playgrounds and cafes line the old rail tracks that are still apparent when you take a stroll.

How many cities and suburban areas have out of commission rail tracks?

The German innovators, a collection of researchers and city planners, are hoping to put oil train tracks to use by creating monorail cabs that can traverse the lines already laid down. This is especially important in the countryside where older people don’t drive and small towns are dwindling as people move to the cities for better access to resources. The cabs roll on one wheel, are stabilised by a gyroscope and allow two in opposite directions to pass one another.

They are called Monocab Owls. The pictures speak for themselves. And if anyone has ever lived through an urban improvement period as I have in Jaffa, you will know it can tear down trees (see how ecologists fought the city and won!), it costs millions of dollars, the dust and pollution is horrendous and it takes years of unpleasantness for residents. In Jaffa, dozens if not a hundred retail businesses were decimated in the process of building the cities Light Rapid Train. A Monocab could be a great solution until we all get renewably powered Jetson cabs that fly in the sky.

The Monocab project is a collaboration of many partners and include Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences, the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, the Fraunhofer IOSB-INA, the RailCampus OWL, and the Lippe district.

The project funding is provided as part of the implementation of the operational program of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in North Rhine-Westphalia, with co-financing by the Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, and Transport of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

We’d love to see this low-cost solution developed in suburban centers allowing residents to enjoy mobility without the cost of developing new infrastructure that can cost millions.

By investing in ideas like Monocab Owl, the EU is revolutionising sustainable commuting. This gyro-stabilised monorail offers autonomous, on-demand transport, boosting rural connectivity. A big yes for the environment.

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As our twins enter their last year of high school, we are acutely aware of the passage of time. We feel a strong pull to linger and savour our moments together. So at the end of the summer, with our national airline in Canada on the verge of a strike, we booked a 10-day trip to Morocco.  Looking to slow down our experience of time, we wanted to learn from people with different stories and life paths.

We focused on doing and learning.  We crafted with master artisans – carving wood, etching plaster and stamping copper. We cooked tagines and couscous with a local family, baked bread in the community oven, and walked the winding pathways of medina streets in Marrakesh and Fez. We travelled by train and car while delighting in raw landscapes, beautifully spiced food, colourful architecture, and connecting deeply with the people we met.

Between Marrakesh and Fez, we booked 2 nights in the small mountain village of Imlil, in the High Atlas Mountains, to experience nature and life outside Morocco’s more urban centres. Despite its proximity to and easy travel from Marrakesh, Imlil felt dramatically different. We stayed at the Kasbah du Toubkal which is much more than a boutique hotel.

The Kasbah du Toubkal

The Kasbah du Toubkal is set high on a hilltop overlooking the village of Imlil with North Africa’s highest peak, Mount Toubkal, behind it. Unique in its approach to tourism, the Kasbah was founded upon and reflects an intentional set of ethical principles that aims to promote Berber values of hospitality, community connection, environmental preservation and cultural harmony.

The Kasbah is grounded in a story of true partnership and friendship between two people, British and Berber, which is infused into every aspect. Mike McHugo and Hajj Maurice met in 1978 and the Kasbah opened in 1995, with the shared belief that the Kasbah be built in collaboration and connection with the local Berber community.

Hajj Maurice and his wife Hajja Arkia (who welcomed us with a hug) along with their team from the local community, manage the day to day operations. A core value of the Kasbah is to share the beauty of Toubkal National Park with anyone who respects it, thereby offering a range of accommodation and pricing to ensure it is widely accessible to a diverse group of guests.

The arrival

Only 1.5 hours from Marrakesh, up winding pink mountainous roads, we arrived at the Berber village of Imlil in anticipation of the mystery that awaited us. After a warm greeting, we began our walk up a steep rugged trail to the Kasbah, passing by families from the local communities and towering gnarled walnut trees, grateful to the mule accompanying us, our bags strapped to her back. After 15 minutes, we reached the dark etched wooden doors of the Kasbah eager to experience what lay beyond them.

The Kasbah’s doors opened into a mystical realm of intricate stone pathways, arched doorways and hidden alleyways. Nature surrounds, with mature fruit trees, colourful flowers, looming mountains, villages and waterfalls dotting the landscape. Large sitting areas with colourful traditional decor and fireplaces, interspersed throughout, offer panoramic views and facilitate connection among guests.

We were welcomed with fresh mint tea and nuts which we enjoyed while sinking into colourful pillows, the imposing mountains ablaze with the bright afternoon sun. We could hear the soulful call to prayer being sung from the village mosques further grounding us in this spiritual moment. Our kids sat at the edge of the newly built infinity pool looking out on the multi-coloured rock, still processing the previous days’ experiences in Marrakesh.

We ate dinner on the upper terrace as the sun set across the valley, the sun illuminating the towering peaks surrounding us. Dinner, prepared in house, included warm fresh bread with butter, black and green olives, potato soup eaten with long wooden ladles, fresh dates, and chicken tagine with preserved lemons, potatoes rice and carrots – beautifully presented on clay dishes.

That night we went to sleep in our family suite to the cacophony of sounds from the surrounding villages echoing across the valley, of children playing, and animals bellowing, making the mountains feel alive and comforting in the darkness of the night.

The Kasbah offers many types of accommodation from en-suite rooms, to full private self-contained houses. We stayed in a two-level family suite with colourful decor, hand-woven carpets and carved wooden doors. Upstairs there was a full kitchen, living room, dining room, indoor fireplace, and an outdoor terrace overlooking fruit-laden fig trees. The Kasbah also offers its guests the opportunity to sleep under the stars on carpets and under blankets which we hope to experience someday.

Mount Toubkal and Trekking

The next morning, we woke up early for a guided hike arranged by the Kasbah. We fueled up with breakfast from a display of wooden bowls filled with nuts, dried fruits (prunes, figs, apricots), cereal, and yogurt. The warm bread and crepes were served with butter, cheese, honey, hardboiled eggs, and freshly squeezed orange juice.

We set off with our guide, Abdul, on a half day rigorous hike. Following a stream, we eased in with a tour of local villages, then up a steep climb through the Toubkal National Park. Mountain trails took us through turquoise, red, orange and purple boulders where we spotted elusive squirrels darting in and out of the rocky cracks. We passed bee hives, apple orchards, and snacked on wild blackberries. We descended steep stairs built into the rocks to waterfalls, where families splashed in swimming holes and enjoyed tagines cooked on open coals.

Our guide told us stories of village life and explained the nature all around us. He told us his father used to ski between villages in winter until global warming took away most of the snow and that before electricity arrived in 1997, people used to communicate by yelling across the valley. These few hours only gave us a taste of the potential to explore this rugged region. The Kasbah offers multi-day treks including the ascent of Mount Toubkal.

That afternoon, we swam in the Kasbah’s new infinity pool, that holds a 270-degree vista of the surrounding mountains, villages and valleys. This pool was added during a major rebuild after an earthquake in September 2023 devastated the area and destroyed parts of the Kasbah. It is a beautiful addition that can be enjoyed by families. We met other guests from England and Wales who were resting up by the pool before commencing their multi-day trek up Mount Toubkal.

After our swim, we visited the traditional Hammam on the grounds of the Kasbah. Wooden doors enclose a room full of hot steam heated by wood fire. We covered ourselves with black soap and an exfoliating glove softened our skin. We felt even more alive after the cold plunge in the marbled mosaic tile bath under the high arches and windows to the sky.

Connection to the local community

A core principle of the Kasbah is to ensure that it operates in harmony with and of benefit to the surrounding communities recognizing that it is itself a guest of the local Berbers and seeking to learn. A 5% levy is charged on the Kasbah’s services which is then directed to the Imlil Village Association to fund community projects including: building the first community hammam (bath house), creating a garbage disposal system, initiating the first two ambulances to serve the area, improving water safety in surrounding villages, and the creation of the organization Education For All to promote access to secondary education for girls from the High Atlas mountains including the building of a home for girls to board while attending school away from their families.

The founders’ longstanding commitment to education emanated from when they began leading educational tours in Morocco for school and college students long before the Kasbah was built.

Sustainability

The Kasbah was created in accordance with the principles of responsible tourism and sustainability. Highly conscious of the risk of greenwashing, the founders have intentionally sought to ensure the Kasbah benefits the community and also protects cultural traditions. Built before there was electricity in the region, workers from the surrounding villages used traditional building techniques (without electrical tools) and local materials, carried in by hand or with the assistance of mules. The fresh spring water is safe for drinking, and the Kasbah encourages the use of re-usable water bottles rather than plastic ones. The fruits, vegetables and meat are all locally sourced.

Standing on the terrace staring out at the mesmerizing landscape as the sun set behind High Atlas mountains, I reflect upon the passage of time in our parenting journey. Words cannot capture the mystery of the Kasbah du Toubkal – the magic of which must be experienced.

Walking well-trodden mountain pathways, eating fresh local food, and learning about the transformative work embedded in the Kasbah’s approach to tourism has now been imparted to our children. We hope, in turn, these experiences will serve to inform their contributions in the world as they continue to grow. Don’t wait, Morocco is on everyone’s bucket list. Growth and change are inevitable.

::Kasbah du Toubkal website

Karen Spector lives in Toronto with her husband, three kids, and three cats. She loves to engage in slow travel with her family, explore nature, and learn about local crafting and colourful textiles.

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Previous research that evaluated the effect of the hallucinogenic molecules of cannabis (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol THC) the main psychoactive compound in cannabis on motor vehicle crashes concluded that there is no increase of crash risk because of detectable THC. The molecule may linger days after use and is not a reliable indicator that a driver is impaired, report scientists in a new study.

Despite evidence showing no correlation between the detection of THC in the blood and driving impairment, 6 American states in the United States have per se laws using 2 or 5 ng/mL of THC as the cut-off point for driving under the influence of cannabis, while 12 have a zero-tolerance law.

These cut-off points are considered face value evidence of driving impairment, which means that even if it has been several days since an individual’s last use of the drug and they show no behavioral impairment, they may still face legal risks, up to and including felony charges. In Dubai you can go to jail for having cannabis in your blood, even if the cannabis was consumed in London, Tel Aviv or Toronto.

To address this issue, a team of researchers led by Dr. Thomas D. Marcotte, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, and codirector of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, set out to investigate the blood concentrations of THC in regular cannabis users, as well as the simulated driving performance for participants who exceeded per se cut-off points compared with those who were below these values. The researchers measured baseline concentrations of THC in 190 regular cannabis users after instructing participants to abstain from cannabis for at least 48 hours. Following abstention, the researchers also evaluated driving performance in this group using a driving simulator.

From this, the team found that many regular users of cannabis exceed zero tolerance and per se THC cut-off point concentrations days after their last use. Specifically, 43% of participants exceeded zero-tolerance statutes at baseline, while 24% had baseline blood THC concentrations that were greater than or equal to the per se cut-off of 2 ng/mL, and 5.3% had blood concentrations greater than or equal to 5 ng/mL.

Based on the results from the driving simulation, participants with elevated baseline concentrations of THC did no worse on a driving simulator compared with participants who were below per se cut-off points. Altogether, the results add to a growing body of evidence showing that current per se THC blood limit laws lack scientific credibility as face-value evidence of impairment.

“More work needs to be done to address how to best identify drivers who are under the influence of cannabis and are unsafe to drive,” the study authors wrote. “At present, the best protocol is a combination of observations in the field and toxicology testing.” They also added that “an essential component of improving highway safety is collaborations between law enforcement and the scientific community to develop standards that are unbiased and potentially lifesaving.”

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