Turkey’s government argues that much of the land has already been illegally developed and sold, especially in the outskirts of major cities like Istanbul (pictured above). Two weeks ago, Turkish President Abdullah Gül approved a law that opened a parcel of land in Turkey formerly classified as forests — known as “2B” land — to […]
My children, living a world apart in Hoboken and Amman, find the same goofy YouTube clips, only to learn their cousins in California and England already hit those same sites. Today’s instant communication is marvelous to someone who remembers rotary phones and punched card programming. I discovered Facebook page GreenWorldOne (GWO) on a single day when my daughter, […]
When Shimrit Elisar travels to other cities, she wonders where to find pizza after hours, where all the “cool kids” hang out, and how to score a reasonably-priced yoga class. In other words, she wants an insider’s look, which is why she was inspired to create DIY Tel Aviv. This alternative city guide is packed […]
Herbel is a wheat soup that dish reminds Moroccans of breakfasts during Aid El Fitr and Eid El Adha. A recipe that has probably crossed the centuries.
Gundeep Singh hasn’t exactly gone from riches to rags, but he has turned over a green leaf and is determined to help others do the same. Formerly a banking executive who owned a yacht and porsche, the Dubai-based man has switched to a hybrid vehicle and founded The Change Initiative, the first shop in Dubai […]
Can gardens really help promote environmentally friendly behaviour amongst the Muslim community? Mark Bryant from Cardiff University who researches Islam and gardens, says they can There’s nothing like being with nature to help clear your mind and when the weather is as lovely as it has been recently, who can resist spending a couple of […]
Manufactured landscapes and Toskha, a planned city to create a second Nile Valley in Egypt The Middle East is no stranger to construction failures. This page on Arabia Business gives an almanac of such failures. What is interesting about this list is the presence of some substantially big names. Failure of mega construction projects in […]
Late this February Israeli financial newspaper Calcalist, along with Israel Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, hosted a competition to honor Israel’s leading cleantech start-ups. Among the 12 competition finalists, was UniVerve, an Israeli biofuel company that specializes in using microalgae to create oil. UniVerve has gained international recognition for its microalgae technology, […]
Toxic gas leaks from gas stations contaminating water in Israel Israel’s Ministry of the Environment is struggling to rectify the nationwide soil and groundwater pollution from gas stations discovered over a decade ago. Meanwhile new reports show that the leaks are still causing pollution today. The original reports revealed that almost half of Israeli gas […]
You need half a box of flimsy tissues in Jordan to get the job done. Is there a greener way to dry your hands? Use more than a single sheet of paper towel per day – prefolded singles, the kitchen kind with perforated tear lines, or auto-cut by dispensers – and you’re a paper towel overconsumer. You know who […]
Young Israeli tourists are so common in India that in certain regions, restaurants hang signs and write menus in Hebrew. But Israel is now in the process of sending more than just tourists to the region. At the end of April, Israeli news site Ynet reported that Israel would be sending engineers, researchers and representatives from […]
The bad news is that Jordan’s Bus Rapid Transit system (BRT) was suspended last year amid concerns about the associated cost and feasibility. Although the multimillion dollar project would have considerably reduced traffic and smog in capital Amman, details of the system conceived by the Greater Amman Municipality in 2009 are still being ironed out. […]
A hydrogel could make deserts flourish with crops grown on under a fifth of the water.
Is it back to bonkers ideas in Dubai? Plans to build an underwater hotel hailed as a positive sign of Dubai’s property sector recovery Whilst I wasn’t happy that Dubai’s property bubble burst back in 2009, it did stop some awfully stupid building projects from going ahead. One of which was the underwater hotel idea. […]
Last year in Cyprus a total of 2.8 million migrating birds were trapped and killed to make a pickled dish called ambelopoulia. It’s a serious crime and offenders face fines of up to €17,000 and three years in jail if caught, but Agriculture Minister Sophocles Aletaris told an EU delegation concerned about environmental issues that […]