A tourist attraction in northern Israel has fitted donkeys with WiFi collars so that passengers can surf the web while exploring the historical Galilee region. The Kfar Kedem park originally designed to give visitors an authentic introduction to life during biblical times has added a high-tech aspect to the tour in order to attract a younger crowd. And it seems to have worked!
Wireless Donkeys Provide High-Tech Biblical Tours in Israel
Mechouia, Grilled Vegetable Salad from Tunisia
Tunisian flavors come together deliciously in a salad of charred, chopped vegetables.
Tunisian food features dishes based on simple ingredients dressed in plenty of heat and spice. Mechouia salad is typical of this sunny cuisine, like Shakshukah. Hard-boiled eggs offset chilies and make mechouia a filling vegetarian dish.
To capture this salad’s most authentic flavor, build a coal fire and bury the whole vegetables in the embers until they’re roasted through and soft.
But if a cooking fire isn’t practical, go ahead and grill the vegetables on a barbeque, on the stove top, or even in your oven grill. The idea is to get them cooked to the point of charring their outsides. That gives the characteristic smoky flavor that, like the grilled eggplant in our Baba Ganoush recipe, will take your senses to Tunis.
Mechouia, Tunisian Charred Vegetable Salad
serves 4
Ingredients:
4 large plum tomatoes
2 green bell peppers
2 fresh, mild chillies such as poblano or Anaheim
1 large red onion
4 large garlic cloves
½ teaspoon ground caraway seeds
½ teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved
Do not peel any of the vegetables. Grill until they’re soft and the peels are charred. Keep an eye on the vegetables, as each kind cooks at a different rate. Remove them to a large dish or platter.
Allow the vegetables to cool. Peel the garlic. Discard any really burnt onion parts. Peel and seed the tomatoes and peppers. Turn the tomatoes upside down in a sieve or colander to drain for a few minutes.
Chop the vegetables finely, or process in a food processor into a coarse mix – not a smooth puree.
Add lemon zest and juice, dry spices, and salt. Mix. Add olive oil and mix briefly.
Serve in a deep dish, garnished with olives and hard-boiled eggs.
Bon appetit!
More summery Middle-Eastern recipes on Green Prophet:
Image of mechouia salad by seelensturm via Flickr.
2012: Thousands Face Displacement Due to Middle Eastern Land Grab
Back in early 2012, Human Rights Watch warned that tens of thousands of Ethiopians were being made destitute so their land could be leased to foreign investors such as Gulf Arab states
Following last week’s news that rich Middle Eastern royals were threatening Maasai land, I look back at land grab stories which have involved the Middle East this year – from Ethiopia, Tanzania and the Congo. The worst case to catch my eye is the forced displacement of Ethiopians.
According to a report by Human Rights Watch which came out in January 2012, the Ethiopian government is forcing tens of thousands of people off their land so it can lease it to foreign investors, leaving former landowners destitute and in some cases starving. The US human rights group states that there plans to lease 2.1 million hectares of land – mainly to countries such as China and Gulf Arab States.
Dubai Bribes Recyclers With iPads and Cash
We probably shouldn’t poke fun at the Dubai Municipality for bribing local residents with cash awards and iPads as part of their recently-launched My City, My Environment recycling program. Because their intentions are essentially good.
But it’s so hard to resist when so much that happens in the Vegas of the Middle East (need I list the stories we’ve covered over the years – the Burj Khalifa, a white gold Mercedes, bottles of water that cost $2600?) is so absurd.
Burj Khalifa Firm Wins Contract For World’s Tallest Statue in India
If you want a taste of what is so wrong with the world, read this news clip from India. The US firm behind the cloud-sniffing Burj Khalifa in Dubai, Turner Construction, has been awarded a $450 million contract to build a a 392 foot tower of Sardar Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel in a country where 230 million people go hungry every day.
Called the Statue of Unity, the world’s tallest statue will be placed in the middle of the Narmada River, according to the Times of India, right across the way from one of the world’s biggest dams.
Jordan Implements New Recycling Program
In August, Jordan’s Ministry of the Environment started a waste sorting and recycling project at public agencies. According to statements by the ministry, in the first phase of the project, they will implement waste sorting and recycling across a number of ministries, institutions and schools.
Environment Minister Yaseen Khayyat said the project is being carried out in cooperation with the private sector.
Istanbul Twilight: Hand-Crafted Felt Candlesticks With Mood
German/Iranian designer Siba Sahabi has handcrafted Istanbul Twilight – a series of sophisticated felt candlesticks that mimic the city’s skyline at dusk and dawn. A self-described poetic designer, Sahabi coils long strips of moody-colored felt that resemble the facades of Istanbul’s historic buildings during moments of low light, and tops them with different sized candles.
Tarfaya: Africa’s Largest Wind Farm in Morocco is a Go
Africa’s largest wind farm to date is slated to begin construction as soon as a long-delayed financing agreement is completed, according to Wind Power Monthly.
Morocco’s state utility Office National d’Electricite (ONE) awarded a $350 million, 20-year PPA contract for the 300 MW Tarfaya wind power plant to a consortium consisting of the local firm Nareva and the UAE-based Karabel Fez/International Power (a subsidiary of GDF Suez Energy International) and International Power from the UK after months of haggling over the details.
Solar Panel App Angles Your Investment to Catch the Best of the Sun
This new app from the UK helps solar panel installers the world over choose the best location on your property for installing solar panels.
Investing in solar panels for your home or company isn’t just about taking a leap of faith, and being green. It’s a solid business investment that can give you good returns as the panels feed back to the grid, depending on where you live and the set feed-in tariffs. And if you are living or running a business off your supply, the energy savings by going solar will be significant.
But if you are installing solar panels on roofs or are a keen do-it-it-yourselfer how do you know the best location to get the most from the shifting sun? While your panels are stationary, the sun is not. It not only rises and falls but shifts position throughout the year. A new app, the Solar Panels Suitability Checker can tell you where is the best place to put your panels. And it may not even be on the roof!
Turkish Soccer Club Trabzonspor to Fund Itself With Hydroelectric Plant
When the Union des Associations Europeennes de Football’s (UEFA) fair play rules come into effect in 2014, Turkey’s Trabzonspor club may be among the few that will be financially self-sufficient. The UEFA’s new rules are designed to ensure that no clubs have an unfair advantage over another due to wealthy owners who can afford to woo the best players with obscene contracts.
Instead, each club will be required to raise their own funds in a more ethical manner. Trabzonspor’s response to these new restrictions and Turkey’s overall energy and fiscal challenges is a government-approved 28 MW hydroelectricity plant planned for Trabzon, Northeastern Turkey.
6 Facebook Tips to Grow Your Blog in the Middle East
When I first took over Green Prophet’s Facebook page, we had just over 1,000 likes. That was about one year ago. Now we have just over 5,500, and communicate with dozens of people on a daily basis.
That number may seem small – especially when compared to a handful of “green” blogs in the US that have been around longer than us – but given Green Prophet’s unique niche – comprehensive environmental coverage in a region fraught with longstanding political problems – this growth was earned through a series of very careful and thoughtful processes. Hit the jump for a list of our most important pointers that will help you grow your blog in the Middle East.
Turkey’s Economic Growth Hampered By Oil Addiction, Analysts Say
Rising international petroleum prices are bad news for Turkey, which imports 90 percent of the oil it consumes.
Turkey’s dependence on imported oil has already been key in creating its $86.6 billion current account deficit, and will continue to hold the country back from reaching its full growth potential, according to analysts from three major financial research firms who were quoted in a recent CNBC article.
Syrian Desert People In Need of Sustainable Tents
Aid groups accused of profiting from Syrian crisis.
Jordan hosts 150,000 displaced Syrians. These are documented figures; other estimates number refugees closer to 500,000. Syrians are also pouring into Lebanon and the GCC states. Critics assert that while hosting refugees is pressurizing Jordan’s economics, the government is also looking to benefit from the situation by overestimating the number of exiles.
United Nations sources told The Media Line that some refugee aid groups inflate their numbers in order to keep funds flowing. Andrew Harper, Jordan rep for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), anticipates the numbers will continue to balloon, nearly 500 people crossover nightly from the Syrian city of Deraa.
“Whenever we have tents, they are filled and new people keep coming,” he told reporters.
Is This Runner Electric Scooter A Poor Man’s Better Place?
Not a thing of beauty, but the Runner will zip you around town at 70 kph – Photo via Haaretz/ David Bachar
It’s not a Trekker that is commonly seen flying on the streets and sidewalks of cities like Tel Aviv. It’s also not a car, as is the Better Place Renault Fluence ZE that was test driven recently by Green Prophet on busy thoroughfares leading in and out of Tel Aviv. But at only NIS 9,000 or US$2,250, the Green Motors International Runner could be the answer for city dwellers who want a vehicle that is economical to run, easy to park, quiet and non-polluting.
Better Place Sets Electric Car Record – 1172 Miles in 24 Hours
The 2012 summer Olympics are over but electric car marathons are beginning to heat up. Israel’s Better Place smashed the 24 hour distance record of 994.14 miles set last month by Renault’s Zoe. The new record was set with a Hoden Commodore. This is an Australian made electric car modified to use Better Place’s innovative quick battery change system to get a fresh battery during every 75.8 mile lap.