Farshid Moussavi’s inaugural project in the United States, the sharp Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, is expected to achieve LEED Silver certification if it performs as designed. Born in Iran but currently based in London, Moussavi recently split up with her former work and life partner and beat out a lot of competition to win the […]
Skiing in Israel or Iran might not be what you think of if you’ve ever skied the Rocky Mountains in Canada or the Alps in Switzerland, but as people look ahead to the winter, Green Prophet can show Middle East readers that skiers can stay close to home. While you be looking around for cheap ski […]
Easkey Britton, a surfing champion and passionate environmentalist, became the first women to surf the Iranian waves When Easkey Britton walked into the sea in southern Iran with a surfboard in hand, curiosity brought out not only the locals but the police. Luckily for her and Marion Poizeau, the filmmaker who was documenting her journey, […]
A 45 minute shisha session is the equivalent of puffing 100 cigarettes. In a new study, Iranian researchers proved tobacco water pipes are as harmful as cigarettes, saying, “Our findings reveal profound effects of water pipe smoking on lung function, similar to the effects observed in deep inhalation cigarette smokers.” A student at Amman’s American Community School […]
None of Egypt’s pyramids existed. Khafre wouldn’t commission the Great Pyramid of Giza for another 1500 years. But some time around 4000 BCE an Egyptian artist discovered the secret. This secret was the wonderful alchemy which transformed sand, ash, calcite lime, copper and fire into a lustrous blue-green gem worthy of the pharaohs. Faience, also […]
Google does it again: sliding big history lessons into my idle internet surfing. This week in Jordan, the Google image was of Middle Eastern pharmacist, physician and alchemist, Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi, the preeminent man of science of his time, and beyond. If Guinness doled out world records in Razi’s day, this 9th century Persian would best swimmer Michael Phelps […]
A nuclear bomb wipes out all of Tel Aviv and central Israel, using the Ground Zero app. There was much disagreement around the dinner table the other night about whether or not Israel will be obliterated if Iran drops a nuclear bomb. Will there be something to spare? Should Israelis expect a bomb to melt […]
A shortage of tents and an overseas trip taken by Ahmadinejad has sparked criticism of the Iranian government’s response following the devastating earthquake which hit the country On Saturday afternoon, two earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.4 and 6.3 hit the East Azerbaijan province of Iran. Entire villages were flattened instantly, 360 people were killed and […]
It may surprise many Iranians living in the country’s dense and sprawling desert capital to know that millions of cubic liters of water are wasted every day. But where? Underground mostly, although occasionally modern construction projects smack up against an ancient irrigation system called quanats, resulting in devastating water losses and other destruction. How to […]
A man identified as “A.M” made off with $1 million worth of saffron before Dubai authorities launched an undercover investigation to nab him! Who would have thought that stealing saffron would be such a lucrative venture? An expert, apparently. Formerly a spice trader in Iran, a man living in Dubai stole more than $1 million […]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q4YTpa3Bwg] Who would have known 50 years ago that Angel Falls can be experienced like this? Flying in a motorized paraglider over one of the most diverse continents in the world I find it absolutely awe inspiringly mind blowingly beautiful that nowadays we have the technology to provides us with new perspectives on this spherical […]
Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant has been under suspicion for decades, rightly or wrongly. So as not to arouse alarm, the United Arab Emirates’ civil nuclear plan has been taking the opposite approach of complete transparency. The UAE has forgone any plans to enrich or reprocess uranium itself, so as to allay any cause for suspicion or concerns about […]
What if no one had ever witnessed the beauty of a dark night sky? The ancient light of distant stars inspired Middle Eastern art, mythology and science. While Medieval European leaders shunned astronomical observances which challenged our place in the universe, Middle Eastern civilizations embraced the night sky. It told them when they should plant, […]
Nearly 3 billion people lack safe and efficient cooking gear. It’s time to make the problem in the kitchen sexier. Half the world’s households prepare their meals over open fires or with jerry-rigged cookers fueled by scrap wood, coal, combustible waste and dung. Fatal burns are common and foraged fuel dangerously degrades indoor air quality. […]
Is this a sign from the heavens that Iran has no excuse now to pursue nuclear proliferation? A new reserve of natural gas in the Caspian Sea suggests that Iran might be the world’s biggest owner of natural gas reserves, owning more even that Russia, some experts say. According to an Iranian Government website a […]