Beauty and health hacks from the Bedouin
The Bedouin have an ancient and fascinating history of life hacks. Here is one: crushed scorpion paste for your baby to keep the sting at bay. Recipe inside.
Jordan
Make your own creamy white malabi, the Middle Eastern Milk Pudding
Rose-flavored sweetness and a light, creamy texture that keeps you dipping your spoon back in – in Israel this pudding is called malabi. In Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt, people call it muhallibieh. The Greeks eat it as well. And it’s only milk pudding, made in ten minutes. Sounds like a dessert for children, […]
25 eco-athletes swim to save the Dead Sea
This week, 25 open water swimmers endured seven hours paddling throught the hypersaline waters of the Dead Sea to draw world attention to the environmental degradation of that three million year old lake. Equipped with facemasks and snorkels specifically designed to protect them from the mineral-rich water, they dove in on the Jordan shoreline, and emerged in […]
The Martian stars the Wadi Rum Desert and every Sci-Fi book we love
Ridley Scott’s, The Martian is based on Andy Weir’s best-selling novel. It was filmed in Jordan’s beautiful Wadi-Rum desert. Hollywood loves adventure stories, especially tales of humans struggling to survive in the wilderness. The Martian has something in common with The Life of Pi, 127 Hours, Castaway, Into the Wild and All is Lost. But a […]
Israel and Jordan sign deal to save the Dead Sea
Israel and Jordan have signed a historic deal to press ahead with a plan to save the Dead Sea. The ‘Red-Dead’ project will build a plant near the Jordanian tourist resort of Aqaba that will desalinate water to be shared by Israelis and Palestinians. The brine left over from the desalination process will be channeled […]
Jordan’s eco park helps the country go green!
It might not have the archaeological marvels of Petra or the adventure of Wadi Rum, but a two-hour drive from Amman’s dusty streets, you’ll find something special that you won’t find elsewhere in Jordan. Nestled in the hills and landscape of north-western Jordan, lies a green oasis with an eco-minded philosophy: Sharhabil Bin Hassneh EcoPark (SHE.) […]
I’ve trained Muslim clergy on how to be green. This is what I’ve learned
I had an opportunity to conduct a series of green workshops for Imams, or Muslim clergy throughout Jordan. The workshop was funded by Germany’s Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung based in Jordan. Here are my thoughts from the workshops which focused on sustainability and energy conservation issues. In many instances we blame the “other” for not understanding our discipline […]
Halloween goes green with fantastic DIY costumes you can recycle (PHOTOS)
Halloween landed on a Friday this year, meaning your “I have to work tomorrow” excuse for not dressing up becomes as flimsy as a ghost. So, with a few hours to prep before tonight’s parties begin, how do you devise a spooktacular costume without buying more polyester (most likely shipped over from China) to crap […]
Secret gardens planted by Syrian refugees in Jordan
Mostly we hear stories of pain and tragedy from Syrian refugee camps. But the Za’atari Syrian refugee camp in Jordan, a place where Green Prophet’s Laurie Balbo is knitting together and flying hope, there are new sprigs of hope. The non-profit organization Save the Children is teaching some of the camp’s 800,000 refugees how to garden. […]
Say hello to healthier fast food delivery in the Middle East?
We love grandmothers and we love what they do, especially when they know how to cook well using traditional recipes. While we like to support the food and lifestyle of yore, we do not think that not everything fast is bad for you.
In Jordan, 33 percent standing can’t see their feet
Jordan is becoming a heavyweight on the global stage, but this is nothing to puff up about. The kingdom is among the world’s worst countries for obesity according to Oxfam’s World Food Index 2013, with 33% of standing Jordanians unable to see their feet. Over 14% of the population is also diabetic.
Broken trees from epic storm sprout public art at Jordan University
If a tree falls in the woods, it will be immortalized as amazingly clever artwork if Fu’ad Khasawneh is anywhere nearby. The Assistant Dean and his colleagues at the University of Jordan transformed the detritus of a powerful winter storm into a remarkable display of public art.
Laundry soaps – is less more green? Jordanians Concentrate for the Environment
Jordan is cleaning up its act, at least in terms of laundry detergent, with a project entitled Concentrate for the Environment. The voluntary, industry-led initiative aims to reduce the negative environmental impact of powdered laundry soap. Seems the soap industry excels at greenwashing; this looks like corporate cost-shaving spun into environmental (fool’s) gold.
Will the Polar Vortex “Dip” freeze the Middle East?
Extreme winter weather has been causing severe climate changes all over. The includes the Middle East, where a freak December winter storm paralyzed Jerusalem and Amman and brought snow to Cairo for the first time in 100 years. Will the Middle East experience a Polar Vortex?
Mind-blowing Jordan trip on $20 a day (PHOTOS)
Sunday was Mawlid an-nabī, the observance of the birth of the Islamic Prophet Mohammed, but unlike Eid al-Fitr (Little Eid) or Eid al-Adha (Big Eid), Mawlid is a low-key celebration marked by a quiet focus on the prophet’s life and an uptick in eating and charitable acts.
Teens make stunning snow sculpture of Petra
When you think of Jordan’s Wadi Rum, Lawrence of Arabia and a hot and dry desert might come to mind. And Petra too. Well when Jordanian teens need to make lemonade from lemons, or snow castles from the freak snowstorm last week, they made a castle relevant to their region! Petra.
Cautionary tale when saving refugees, and the world
Cash is King. An essential ingredient of charitable giving; it greases the wheels when moving goods. A month after 4,000 hats were collected and shipped from Ireland to Jordan, they’re finally keeping some of Syria’s refugees a bit warmer. But in the end, it took money to drop the curtain on this act of giving.
Grow a Middle Eastern Beard in Under 2 Hours! [knit pattern]
I’ll bet snow-capped pine trees and ice-crusted cars don’t spring to mind when you think of the Middle East, but that’s what we’re seeing in Amman as we tuck into the second straight day of fierce blizzarding. A perfect setting to tuck in with some simple knitting.
Wadi Rum Bedouins Defy Nature by Growing Organic Veggies
Who says you can’t make the desert bloom? The desert regions of Israel and Jordan have for years been the subject of numerous agricultural projects. Some of these projects include creating community gardens by residents of desert towns; and being involved in epic Sahara forest projects. Now let’s look at what’s happening in Wadi Rum.
Experts at US-Arab Policy Conference debate Mideast’s future as global energy supplier
How relevant will OPEC be 10 years from now? Does the rapid expansion of new technologies like fracking threaten the future of eco-friendly energy alternatives such as wind and solar energy?
Israel’s Bird King Yossi Leshem: Jordan’s Tafila Wind Farm is a “Real Problem”
Jordan is pushing ahead with the largest commercial scale wind farm in the Middle East region, the Tafila Wind Farm, seemingly without care for the massive bird migration population that passes through Jordan twice a year. Green Prophet called Israel’s Bird King, bird migration specialist Prof. Yossi Leshem.
Tafila Wind Farm in Jordan
With no appreciable amounts of oil or natural gas, Jordan, like Syria is a Middle East anomaly when it comes to its fossil fuel rich neighbours like Saudi Arabia and Israel. But new energy is blowing into Jordan. The Tafila project for the wind
Religions Sign On to Save the River Jordan
Our favorite peace-water NGO Friends of the Earth Middle East have just held a conference in Jordan last week and there had faith leaders sign the “Covenant for the Jordan River” to save the Jordan River.
4,000 Handmade Hats Collected for Syrian Refugees by this Green Prophet
What started as a few throwaway balls of yarn to a tiny knitter in Jordan’s Zaatari Syrian refugee camp inspired a goofball idea: I asked crafty folks everywhere to toss a few hats in the ring. The reaction has been jaw-dropping. So far we have collected some 4,000 handmade hats for Syrian refugees.
How Do You Know That Big Eid Is Coming?
Eid Al Adha, also called Big Eid and the Feast of the Sacrifice, is an important Islamic holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to honor the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his first-born son as an act of submission to God’s command. Everyone knows the story: God jumped in with a last-minute substitution and […]