Abu Dhabi’s New Market “The Souq” Harkens Us Back to Disco Days

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Everything old is new again in Abu Dhabi’s Central Market “The Souk” where developers are inspired by the emirate’s  not-so-distant past. Kinda crazy that the 1970’s can be viewed as olden times, but in the rapidly developing United Arab Emirates, thirty years represent radical transformation. Nestled in the base of the Emirate’s new World Trade Center […]

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How Richard III Helps Green Burials

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Remains of Richard III as found under Leicester parking lot.  Multi-level burial may have prevented this from occurring Photo: Washington Post As human populations increase, finding greener ways to bury the dead are ranging from sea burials to more simple land burials such as those practiced by Jews and Muslims. Even more bizarre ways of disposing […]

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The Greenest Libraries Have No Walls

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Pity the paper book. Libraries everywhere are closing due to lack of funding and tepid public support, and e-readers are luring people away from bookstores. Big-box bookstores tried, but they couldn’t replicate town libraries: vital public spaces where inter-generational interaction can freely occur between all economic strata. There are occasional glimmers of change. Last October, […]

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Hydropolis Aims to Restore the Nile Valley’s Natural Agricultural Rhythm

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Just about everyone learned in their early geography classes that the Nile Valley was once a fertile haven. Crops proliferated on the green banks due to natural flooding that deposited rich nutrients, although occasionally these floods inundated and destroyed crops as well, and the land of the Pharaohs was a mecca for agriculture. But when […]

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A Forest of Umbrellas Keeps Medina Pilgrims Cool

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Today’s pilgrims to Medina are way cooler than their predecessors thanks to sun shelters surrounding Islam’s second-holiest mosque. Al-Masjid al-Nabawī,  the second mosque built by the Prophet Mohammed, is one of the world’s largest. But continual expansion over the centuries hasn’t kept pace with the increasing swell of Hajj pilgrims who congregate each year in its courtyards. […]

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