Archive for October, 2008

The medieval magic of Fes

The city of Fes, Morocco, has enchanted many a traveler. Tahir Shah was spellbound by the medieval magic of Fes and wrote about the city for the U.K. Guardian. Walk through the bustle of Fes’s medina and it’s impossible not to be catapulted back in time. It is as if the old city is on a [...]

October 10, 2008 Middle East/N.Africa 0 Comments

Mediterranean diet vs. fast food

The much talked about Mediterranean diet appears to be in retreat - in the Mediterranean. Yes, strangely enough, the diet full of olive oil, fish and fresh vegetables that is considered one of the healthiest in the world is struggling to maintain a foothold in its home region. The culprit? Fast food. Check out this story [...]

October 8, 2008 culinary cultures 0 Comments

Discovering Eritrea

Eritrea is not a well-touristed place, nor even a very well known country. But Jeffrey Gettleman went there recently with his wife and found it to be a rather interesting destination, with a taste of old Italy mixed with Africa. He wrote about his trip for the NY Times. Eritrea, for better and for worse, is [...]

October 7, 2008 Africa 0 Comments

The culture of Italian food

I came across a great article about a movement that has sprung up in Italy to preserve the country’s culture of cooking and serving good food. Ah, but Italian food is always good, you might say. Perhaps, but the members of the Home Food movement contend that something of the country’s heritage is being lost – [...]

October 3, 2008 culinary cultures 1 Comment

Not countries or cities, but mega-regions

Richard Florida wrote an interesting article a while back in which he suggested that government policy makers would be wise to forge new ideas based on the economic and innovation potential of so-called mega-regions around the world. Much more so than countries or cities, he contends, mega-regions are actually the prime drivers of the global economy. While [...]

October 2, 2008 countries & regions 0 Comments

Tourists in Baghdad?

Well, yes, if Humoud Yakobi has his way. The chairman of the Iraq Board of Tourism, Yakobi has a vision of legions of tourists returning to Iraq. Not decades from now, but in the near future. The NY Times reports on Iraqi dreams of building a tourist infrastructure. Humoud Yakobi gazes at the rubble-strewn parking lot, the [...]

October 1, 2008 Middle East/N.Africa 1 Comment
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