May 21st, 2013 at 11:00AM: Desert Island Boy, flickr
The tiny Persian Gulf island nation of Bahrain is home to one of the most mysterious ancient civilizations of the Middle East.
Archaeologists have long known about a civilization called Dilmun. It's mentioned in many Mesopotamian texts as a wealthy place of "sweet water." Even the Epic of Gilgamesh mentions it, but all the sources were vague about its location.
It ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
MiddleEast posts
Could Bahrain Become The Next Big Heritage Tourism Destination?
May 21st, 2013 at 11:00AM: Desert Island Boy, flickr
The tiny Persian Gulf island nation of Bahrain is home to one of the most mysterious ancient civilizations of the Middle East.
Archaeologists have long known about a civilization called Dilmun. It's mentioned in many Mesopotamian texts as a wealthy place of "sweet water." Even the Epic of Gilgamesh mentions it, but all the sources were vague about its location.
It ...VIDEO: What People In Jerusalem Wish For
May 8th, 2013 at 4:00PM:
When the news talks about the people of Jerusalem, it's usually to highlight their differences. While those certainly exist, there's more to it than that. People all have their own opinions and priorities and the folks living in Jerusalem are no exception. In this video, a group of Jerusalem residents are asked all the same question: if you had one wish, what would you wish for?
Their answers ...
VIDEO: Jerusalem In 1896
Apr 16th, 2013 at 2:00PM:
Jerusalem is one of those cities that clings to you long after you leave it. The mix of faiths, the musky scents of the markets, the muezzin's call ... once you've been there you can't forget it.
It's prominent in the imaginations of many who haven't even been there, so it's no surprise it was one of the first travel destinations filmed in the first years of motion pictures. In 1896, a crew ...
Photo Of The Day: Israel's Negev Desert
Mar 13th, 2013 at 5:00PM:
Alexis Wiener has a gift for photography and I knew that immediately when I saw her photos from Israel on her website. This photo, an expanse of the Negev Desert from Zin Valley, is striking. Wiener's words about Israel cannot be separated from the photo itself. Beneath the album for the country on her website, she writes:
"It was about two weeks into my journey in Israel that I found ...Not Constantinople: 9 Misconceptions About Istanbul, Turkey
Mar 7th, 2013 at 11:00AM:
The country of Turkey has been getting a lot of bad press this year, due to the tragic disappearance and murder of American Sarai Sierra in Istanbul, and the suicide bombing at the U.S. Consulate in Turkish capital city Ankara, which was quickly linked to a Marxist group protesting the Turkish position on the war in Syria (a Turkish security guard was killed, no Americans were harmed). Both ...Ibn Battuta: The Greatest Adventure Traveler Of All Time
Jan 19th, 2013 at 9:00AM:
This humble little building in a back alley of Tangier is the final resting place of the greatest traveler in history.
Ibn Battuta was born in Tangier in 1304. In 1325 he left to go on the Hajj and ended up visiting not only Mecca, but crisscrossing much of the Middle East and sailing far down the east coast of Africa. Then he headed east, passing through central and Southern Asia and making ...Escaping Christmas In Tangier
Jan 5th, 2013 at 11:00AM:
The Christmas holiday in Spain is a classic case of too much of a good thing. Stretching from before Christmas to after Epiphany, it's a long haul of eating, drinking, socializing and getting nothing done. I have no problem with that except it goes on for way too long. My Spanish wife agrees, so we decided to escape for five days, a sort of holiday from the holidays.
She wanted to go to ...Tawlet: Lebanese Locavore Love
Dec 11th, 2012 at 9:00AM:
On my first visit to Beirut's Tawlet, I stopped to ask a shopkeeper directions. "Tawlet?" she verified. I nodded. "C'est très bon," with a delicate flutter of the fingers accompanying her très, before she pointed me in the right direction. I'd heard great things about Tawlet for quite some time. The shopkeeper's gesture was the icing on the cake. I knew the way I know my own name ...Kurdistan: The Other Iraq
Dec 4th, 2012 at 12:30PM:
Families out for an evening stroll, friends sipping coffee at sidewalk cafes, tourists seeing the sights without a police escort – am I still in Iraq?
Sort of.
I'm in Kurdistan, an autonomous region made up of Iraq's three northernmost provinces. The Kurds kicked out Saddam in 1991 after suffering years of bloody persecution, and they've pretty much been doing their own thing ever ...Visiting The Great Assyrian Sites Of Iraq
Nov 27th, 2012 at 12:00PM:
This Iraqi policeman is busy texting at one of the great archaeological sites of his country – Assur, the first capital of the Assyrian Empire.
Assur was founded at least as early as 2400 B.C., but it wasn't until the reign of the Assyrian king Shamshi-Adad (ruled 1809-1776 B.C.) that it became the capital of a true empire. Shamshi-Adad's armies took over the bulk of Mesopotamia, as ...Ghosts Of A Dictatorship: Visiting Saddam Hussein's Palaces
Nov 21st, 2012 at 10:00AM:
The name "Babylon" brings up two associations – that of an ancient city in Iraq, and of a place of sin and decadence. It's only fitting then that Saddam Hussein erected one of his palaces on a hill overlooking the ancient site of Babylon.
This is only one of 70 such palaces, many built during the UN sanctions while Saddam's people were short on food and medicine. Many Iraqis complained ...Muqtada Al-Sadr Promotional Posters--Why Saddam's Hanging Makes For Good Advertising
Nov 15th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
Like it or not, Muqtada Al-Sadr is the new face of Iraq.
Posters of him are everywhere in the Shia areas, alongside the faces of his father and father-in-law, who both rose to the rank of Grand Ayatollah. They appear on the upper corners of this poster. His father was murdered by Saddam Hussein, a Sunni who oppressed the Shia.
Iraq has always been divided between the minority Sunni and the ...Iraq Road Trip: Who Takes The Ultimate Adventure Vacation And What's It Like?
Nov 14th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
We heard our first gunshots a week into our trip. We were resting after a long drive in our Baghdad hotel when shots crackled through the night. Anyone who was sleeping immediately got up. Nothing wakes you up quicker than gunshots in Iraq.
Insurgency? Sectarian violence? No, a wedding taking place in front of the hotel.
Iraqis like firing in the air when they're celebrating – when ...Going On Vacation In Iraq
Nov 12th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
Who the hell would want to spend their vacation in Iraq?
Lots of people, if they knew the reality behind the media image.
Iraq is the cradle of civilization, with famous sites such as Babylon, Ur, and Uruk. It's also home to stunning Islamic architecture, lively souks and a variety of terrain ranging from snowy mountains to marshland, along with way too much desert.
And then there are ...A Traveler In The Foreign Service: A Conversation With Ambassador Ed Peck
Oct 8th, 2012 at 9:00AM: Conventional wisdom dictates that there are two ways to become an ambassador in the United States: become a friend or big-time donor of the President or work your way up through the ranks of the Foreign Service by not stepping on too many toes. But there are a handful of current and former ambassadors that aren't always very diplomatic, and Ambassador Ed Peck is right at the top of that list.
I ...Archaeologists Discover Key To An Ancient City's Wealth
Sep 6th, 2012 at 2:00PM:
A couple of months ago we reported on how archaeologists discovered how the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria thrived in the desert. A complex system of canals and cisterns trapped the sparse but regular rainfall.
Residents of another ancient city, Petra in Jordan, appear to have taken advantage of desert water to support their civilization too. Jordanian and Dutch archaeologists have ...Church Of The Nativity In Bethlehem May Become Palestine's First World Heritage Site
Jun 15th, 2012 at 2:00PM:
The government of Palestine is applying to put the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It would be the first such site for the emerging nation.
The government of Palestine is eager to increase its recognition among the community of nations. While 130 countries recognize it as a country, a few don't, most notably the United States and Israel. When Palestine ...Dust Storms Descend On The Middle East
Jun 8th, 2012 at 2:00PM:
A spate of dust storms caused massive disruptions and several fatalities in the Middle East this week. In Pakistan, winds reaching up to 68mph struck the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, destroying roofs, uprooting trees, upending billboards, and reducing visibility to under 100 meters. Flights out of Islamabad International Airport were delayed, and at least fifteen fatalities were ...Destruction, Looting Of Syria's Ancient Heritage Continues, Report Says
Jun 6th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
The upheaval in Syria has been going on for more than a year now, and in that time thousands of people have been killed, including many civilians and children. Syria's many ancient sites are also getting damaged. Previously, we've talked about how the Syrian army has shelled the ancient city of Palmyra and the Crusader castle Crac des Chevaliers. Both of these are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, of ...Jerusalem to host their first International Ice Festival this spring
Feb 13th, 2012 at 3:00PM: While Jerusalem, Israel, is well known for its religious traditions and sacred sites, there is actually a lot more for tourists to experience. In fact, this spring the celebration of Passover isn't the only reason to visit the city, as Jerusalem will be hosting their first ever International Ice Festival.
The festival will take place at the Old Train Station Plaza from March 3-April 4, 2012, ...
