Although drinking alcohol is considered to be Haram or forbidden for Muslims, alcoholic beverages are becoming increasingly popular in Israel, and among Christians in the Middle East where growing vineyards and producing wine and vinegar has ancient historical roots.
For years, anyone who wanted to kite surf in Libya had a real challenge: beaches were under government control and many sports were outlawed. But now, 100 or so kite surfers in the country have reclaimed their turf, and even women are getting involved.
Just 37 years old, Arif Mirza is one of the few people in the world who can afford to live on the 35th floor of the towering Burj Khalifa. Never mind the building’s crappy human waste management system, this is luxury that some people dream of having. But Mirza plans to give it all up […]
The commercial capital of Morocco is catching up to the western world through a series of dedicated governmental initiatives, putting old institutions like ABC Cinema on Boulevard Mohamed V at risk. Made famous by the romance starring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart, Casablanca is a bustling metropolis with a brand new tram line that connects […]
Taskurgan is an unforgiving place. Located at 10,140 feet in the Pamir mountain range on the borders of Afghanistan and Tajikistan, close to Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan, this small autonomous Kashgar Prefecture county in Xinjiang, China is cold, the winters are long, and food is hard to come by. But out of such a place emerged a fascinating […]
It’s nearly 2013 and I am grateful. After three years of traveling with a backpack through 14 countries in Africa and the Middle East, I am finally back home with my family in the United States. The time I spent abroad stretched my mind and broadened my heart, transformed long held stereotypes into a long […]
When western women catch wind of a new “miracle oil,” the next super lotion that promises eternal youth and exquisite beauty, be sure that demand for the thing will soar. This is what has happened with argan oil, that illustrious “liquid gold” derived from a nut in Morocco, which is used in both culinary and […]
Overexposure by pregnant women to cookware coatings like PFC in microwave popcorn bags may result in underweight newborn babies. Be mindful of the risks when you cook. We wrote a few articles about the potential dangers of cooking with ceramic coated cookware, and the resulting lawsuit filed by one of these cookware manufacturers against the […]
Oh Joe. It’s hard to believe that after all these years I finally have to let you go. You have been the only constant in my life for well over a decade. You warmed my soul every morning, filled my various homes with your rich musky smell. And you carried me through those long and […]
There’s a new hookah on the street and she leaves without a trace… on your lungs. Shiazo Steam Stone Shisha provides a new smoking experience that uses Pressure Injection Method (PIM) technology developed in Germany to deliver a burn and stink-free smoke that feels and tastes like the real thing. Recently introduced in the United Arab […]
Horsh Beirut is not the only public space that has been hijacked from the residents of Beirut. In the years since the war, most of the sandy stretches along the Mediterranean Sea have been usurped by wealthy developers, who – according to Abir Ghattas – have forgotten that Beirut’s beaches belong to everyone. These private resorts […]
During a recent trip to Iran, EuroNews correspondent Ali Sheikholeslami found that many Iranians are becoming unwitting vegetarians as they can no longer afford to buy meat. Following international sanctions against the country’s nuclear ambitions, inflation has soared, the Rial has crashed to about half its former value against western currencies, and locals are feeling the pinch. […]
Today Egyptians stood in line for hours to vote in the first real, competitive presidential election in the country’s history. And our favorite bakery, the only one in Egypt to recycle their own packaging into attractive notebooks, bookmarks and other stationary, is encouraging voters to play a role in the future of their homeland. As […]
In ways both understood and yet to be discovered, the Arab Spring has changed us. All of us. Having finally tapped their personal and collective power through social media and community engagement, youth in the region are taking their creative, environmental and intellectual lives back into their own hands. But the unfolding of this process is […]
Having met a handful of talented Uzbeki musicians, I can attest that they seem perfectly normal and not at all traumatized by starting out life strapped to a cradle.