Catch some healing sun with your operation? The Middle East’s healthcare industry is booming. Rising healthcare costs in the United States and increased waiting periods for specialized treatment in Europe are fueling rapid growth in the numbers of medical tourists pouring into the region. Medical tourism, the practice of crossing international borders to obtain healthcare, […]
Where’s a charger when you need one? My device-addicted household is always running short on chargers for cell phones and laptops and iPods. I plug in my phone and come back to find it’s migrated to someone’s Kindle. What’s the impact of all this techno-juicing on the environment? A co-worker just nabbed the coolest birthday gift: the […]
A 45 minute shisha session is the equivalent of puffing 100 cigarettes. In a new study, Iranian researchers proved tobacco water pipes are as harmful as cigarettes, saying, “Our findings reveal profound effects of water pipe smoking on lung function, similar to the effects observed in deep inhalation cigarette smokers.” A student at Amman’s American Community School […]
Within 24 hours Jordan may become the latest Arab nation to muzzle media freedom if Parliament passes a bill to censor internet access in Kingdom. New amendments to the Press and Publications Law would require online news sites to register with the government, obtain costly operating licenses from the Ministry of Information, become members of […]
Dubai’s dream of exporting fresh camel milk to the rest of the world will soon become reality. Green Prophet’s been doing alot of yakking about camels lately. Prepare to hear a lot more as the camel products go commercially global. Camel milk is a healthy alternative to cow milk; Camel milk is for good for […]
People usually associate a flea market with old, dusty clothes and other “junk,” consider it a sort of yard sale collision. In Amman, however, Souk Jara is deemed a flea market and is a far better cry than that notion. A sort of upscale summer flea market, Souk Jara lets guests feast their eyes on […]
Though wallpaper is not popular in the Middle East, this wallpaper can help repair sick building syndrome. I grew up in a duplex, my mom warned us that the walls have ears. Now the walls can have lungs too. Germany-based Blücher Technologies has created a material called Saratech Permasorb Wallpaper that removes toxins embedded in wall […]
Laurie attempts to explain Middle East evil eye superstition. Can a lingering look with a penetrating gaze cause catastrophe in another’s life? If you’re Jordanian, you might think so (and your grandmother certainly does): it’s the pseudoscience of the “evil eye”. In Turkey, people with Frida Kahlo unibrows or pale color eyes are considered prime candidates […]
Learn about Arab greetings, the evil eye, funeral traditions and the habit of pigeon-keeping in these colorful books from Jordan. On my first free Friday in Amman, I walked to the downtown end of Rainbow Street and turned left to find the merchants of Souk Jara just beginning to set up shop. Souk Jara is […]
A nuclear bomb wipes out all of Tel Aviv and central Israel, using the Ground Zero app. There was much disagreement around the dinner table the other night about whether or not Israel will be obliterated if Iran drops a nuclear bomb. Will there be something to spare? Should Israelis expect a bomb to melt […]
This new approach uses bacteria to mine sulphur and magnesium from desalination’s polluting brine. Desalination’s no golden ticket to creating water for the Middle East but it’s an approach that more and more countries are turning to as a last resort. Desalination is energy intensive, and what to do with the toxic waste byproducts? Biomineralogist […]
Release some inner and outer light at Jordan’s lantern festival in the desert. The Cosmic Love Sky Lantern Festival is sure to be a feast for the eyes this fall in Wadi Rum. As if the dramatic mountain scenery weren’t breathtaking enough, sky lanterns will rise like one thousand moons over the vast expanses of […]
Cash cows in a time of conflict smuggled between Syria and Jordan As Syria continues to be swept up in violence, Syrian farmers are smuggling their livestock (and themselves) into Jordan to sell the cattle before they can be killed in bombing raids. Traders near Jordan’s border with Syria estimate that tens of thousands of […]
In August, Jordan’s Ministry of the Environment started a waste sorting and recycling project at public agencies. According to statements by the ministry, in the first phase of the project, they will implement waste sorting and recycling across a number of ministries, institutions and schools. Environment Minister Yaseen Khayyat said the project is being carried […]
Aid groups accused of profiting from Syrian crisis. Jordan hosts 150,000 displaced Syrians. These are documented figures; other estimates number refugees closer to 500,000. Syrians are also pouring into Lebanon and the GCC states. Critics assert that while hosting refugees is pressurizing Jordan’s economics, the government is also looking to benefit from the situation by overestimating […]