After a packed 10 days in Qatar and Bahrain I flew over to Israel to meet my brother who was flying in from Italy where he lives. I was initially concerned about coming from Arabic countries straight away to Israel and also receiving an Israeli stamp. In actuality Israel no longer seems to stamp passports, rather they give you a printed ID card which they check when you leave the country. After 10 minutes of solid grilling with random questions, … [Read more...]
Culture and Work Exchange in Jordan’s Wadi Rum Desert
As I exited the taxi a tall, dark, man wearing flashy sunglasses and brown tunic that nearly reached his ankles, approached me. This was Fawaz, my work exchange host for the next two weeks. While he appeared intimidating at first, maybe because of his height alone, his warm smile and outstretched hand made any first impressions quickly fade away. The head scarf he wore was similar to the "desert scarf" that had recently made its way in style in … [Read more...]
Umrah: A Pilgrimage of Peace
Florida to Saudi Arabia. A thirty-hour journey that was, to say the least, exhausting. But as soon as I stepped foot onto the bus that would be transporting our group, a fresh burst of energy and vigor swept over me. We were here, along with millions of other Muslims, to perform Umrah, one of the two pilgrimages that are essentially “pillars” of Islam. It is imperative that Muslims visit the two holy cities, Makkah and Madinah, and perform … [Read more...]
Visit Detroit Today: Summer in The D
Explore Detroit this summer and submerge yourself in the traditions that articulate America’s great comeback city. Detroit offers plenty of summer activities combining cars, culture, gaming, music and sports. Watch as hydroplane boats race down the Detroit River at speeds over 200 mph to compete for the oldest trophy in the history of motor sports, the American Power Boat Association (APBA) Gold Cup. Vintage race boats, a hot rod show, live … [Read more...]
Bucket Shop Blues
Daring to save deflationary dollars during a worldwide recession, John M. Edwards tries a risky “bucket shop” for cheapo airfare to Amsterdam, ending up on a white-knuckles chariot charter flight from hell. . . . For the umpteenth time I must reiterate: It is now high time to cash in and use up all those Frequent Flyer Miles. But with a worldwide economic disaster grounding us with nightmare worries about the future and egregious … [Read more...]
Spain: Help, Help me Ronda!
John M. Edwards gets vertigo and yells help in a lofty Andalusian precipice town where Walt Disney’s family supposedly originally came from. . . . Away from the ugly urbanization of Spain’s Costa del Sol, along scenic Highway 44, I arriveD in my leased “Europe by Car” vehicle via Marbella to Ronda, one of the most beautiful villas blancos (“white villages”) in the Andalusian countryside. Perched, this improbably fantastic nest persists on … [Read more...]
Beirut in the Baltics
John M. Edwards is drawn into the Wild Wild East of “Europe Minor.” After the collapse of communism in the USSR, inflation in the freshly minted Baltic republics of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia rolled up the ruble into the cheapest toilet paper around, so I decided to go East and stock up. I needed a cheap place to wipe my ass because I was then unemployed, and an Orwellian year of freelancing in Paris had left me as restless … [Read more...]
Can food broker peace? Mamnoon Restaurant, Seattle
Celebrating Syria: “We couldn’t go back, so we started mamnoon instead.” -Richard Bangs “For us, there is only the trying. The rest is not our business.” -T.S. Elliot There are so many delicious facets to this story. I first met Wassef Haroun in Zambia, at the Kafue River Camp, owned by a mutual friend who had invited us for a week-long private safari. Towards the end of the week Wassef excused himself from the Rhodesian teak table … [Read more...]
Cesky Krumlov: The Real Bohemia
John M. Edwards checks out the new Czech Republic’s “Cesky Krumlov,” where real “Bohemians” come from. . . . On my first visit to communist Czechoslovakia in 1989 (right before the Velvet Revolution), I drove down in my rented and probably bugged Skoda car to the legendary Bohemian locus of magnetic Cesky Krumlov, the most stylish picturesque village in the country. I realized to be truly “Bohemian,” you had to actually be from the … [Read more...]
My Name is Ali
“My name is Ali. I’m from Iran.” My mind went blank. What did I know about Iran? I tried to think of something. It’s a big country in the Middle East and my country, America, isn’t too keen on Iran. Persian carpets? The moment I was thinking, I looked around at my surroundings. A dozen of red Chinese lanterns were lit brightly and lined both sides of the street. Across from me at a mamak, Indian men were pulling roti dough around and around in … [Read more...]
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