Invasive species of the Mediterranean Sea
The Med region is changing as hundreds of new species invade. Can you imagine floating in Cefalu with killer jellyfish?
Turkey
Turkey’s all electric Togg EV
Turkey launches its first EV company, an all electric car called TOGG.
Svenn wooden watches are the sign of our times
Svenn wooden watches are the sign of our times
Meet the Mountain People of the Middle East
A joint study found that mountain ecosystems are becoming increasingly fragile, under pressure from changes to land use and climate, overexploitation, pollution, demographic shifts and other factors which threaten livelihoods and food security.
November’s Seasonal Produce
November in the Middle East offers a colorful spread of fruit and veg, including some heritage varieties.
Beach called hidden paradise is plastic hell
Everything counts in large amounts: July 13, near a beach in Turkey. Campers and locals creating a dump they will later burn. This eco alert hopes to stop widespread illegal dumping of consumer trash. There is nothing more annoying than getting out of the town or city and going to nature for a stroll or […]
6000 years before Stonehenge, there was Göbekli Tepe
Believed to be the oldest known temple, and where modern agriculture first began. The sprawling 11,500-year-old stone Göbekli Tepe complex in southeastern Anatolia, Turkey.
Science finds a way to stop cow farts
Ideally we should all be living like this, with our own personal cow. Until that happens new research finds a way to slow methane development in cow stomachs.
Turkish locals displaced coal, new report by 350.org
The global climate crisis, mainly generated by the biggest fossil fuel corporations in the world, is seriously aggravating the already extensive and heavy set of human rights violations caused by this same industry, warns a report released this Friday, February 7th, by 350.org. The whole report can be found here (links to PDF) and offers […]
Mouth-Watering Vegetarian Burgul Balls in Garlicky Yogurt Sauce
This recipe actually brought water to my mouth even as I was reading it through. Then I cooked these spicy bulgur balls and set the platter on the table. The family and guests simply snarfed it up; not a scrap left. This bit of Turkish home cuisine is called Arap Koftesi, and I discovered it […]
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, […]
These Nature-Approved Home Designs Will Amaze You
What are some of the top priorities for your dream home? Maybe you’ve long yearned for a cheerful sun room, with beautiful made to measure blinds and big, bright windows. Maybe it’s heated floors in the bathroom. Or a secret hideaway at the bottom of the garden, perfect for escaping the summer heat. Whatever your […]
Hundreds of Disney style palaces lay in ruin in Turkey
It’s every little princess’s dream and an environmentalist’s nightmare: a little palace for everyone. Well some developer in Turkey had their own dream and build a complete suburb of hundreds of palaces, Disney-style, that now lay abandoned in what’s more like a ghost town nightmare. Drone footage and Google Earth reveal the extent of the […]
What Israel, the UAE and Qatar have in common
WASHINGTON — Israel is the best-prepared country in the Middle East for climate change, followed closely by the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Turkey, according to data released Nov. 5 by the University of Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index (ND-GAIN). Publication of the 2014 index was followed only a week later by the signing of […]
Turkish electric car
While visionaries like Elon Musk are trying to make electric cars like Tesla mainstream in America, electric cars have yet to become commonplace, largely due to their cost and low driving range. A number of countries are now involved in developing electric car technology that will give these vehicles a sufficient cruising range, while being […]
Two-headed dolphin washes up in Izmir, Turkey
Here’s something you don’t see every day – a double-headed dolphin! This week the two-headed immature dolphin washed ashore in Turkey, where a sports coach alerted authorities.
Pomegranates should be your new year resolution
Pomegranates and their ruby-like seeds are one of the fruits that define the Middle East, or at least the Levante side of the Middle East. Even though suspect pomegranate seeds were traced to an outbreak of hepatitis this past summer in the United States (organic fruit at that!), we have to let bygones by bygones.
World’s longest undersea water pipeline uniting Turkey to Cyprus
Turkey has started constructing what will be the world’s longest undersea water pipeline. The 107 kilometer pipe will draw water from the Dragon River and unite the Turkish mainland with northern Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea. Proponents are hoping it will unify the island, divided for the past 39 years.
Polygamous foreigners can glean from Turkey’s one wife law
Polygamous Arab men who buy property in Turkey must choose just one of their brides to carry over the threshold; polygamy isn’t legal in this country which grants residency permits to just one wife.
Turkey’s Beaches Are Third Best in World for “Eco” Blue Flag Rating
Now that the turkey and its trimmings have digested in your belly, time to start planning a spring eco holiday!
Turkey Opens World’s Deepest Subsea Tunnel, the Marmaray, Connecting Asia to Europe
Turkey inaugurated the Marmaray undersea railway tunnel on Tuesday, linking Europe and Asia. It is the Marmaray, the world’s deepest immersed tube tunnel at 60.46 metres (198.4 ft).
Make Simit, the Iraqi Bagel with Sesame Seeds
Simit (also spelled simeat) are well known throughout the eastern Mediterranean countries, especially Turkey. Despite some differences, they are all shaped as rings and are generously encrusted with sesame seeds. These could very well be the start of what is known today as the Jewish bagel.
Cyprus Fruit Bats Decline and Head to Turkey?
Animals the world over are changing where they live as humans effect changes on the land. Beyond the bees (see what this market would look like without bees!), the latest decline to be noticed are fruit bats in Cyprus
Mediterranean Surveillance Crew Eyes Oil Spills from the Sky
It’s hard to monitor vessels that pollute out at sea, so five aircrafts from Algeria, France, Italy, Morocco and Spain got together to keep an eye on the Mediterranean Sea in a recent coordinated aerial surveillance program organized by the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Center for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC).
An Energy Insider for Nuclear Newcomers in the Middle East
Nuclear energy is a low carbon power source, but whether or not it should be considered a renewable energy source is long debated and fought over –- even in the Middle East where the industry is nascent.