Middle East

Human-Like Sculptures Cause Controversy Around the World

Mark Jenkins Installation / Pictoplasma 2011 ©MatiasR Artist Mark Jenkins has spent the last few years travelling the world and installing his controversial life-like sculptures. Civilians have been so shocked by his sculptures that they’ve called the ambulance and police to help what they thought were real struggling or dead people. Perhaps the most controversal [...]

Photo of the Moment: Sunset Over Downtown Dubai

Photo of the Moment: Peeking Schoolgirl, Iraq

Website Offers Globetrotters Virtual Passport Stamps

Passport Pages ©jonrawlinson In an era of open European borders and passports with digital chips the passport stamp is now almost the exception instead of the rule in international travel. Now, a new website and app called Visastamper is offering a virtual passport service to give travelers the souvenir stamps from all of the countries [...]

They Draw & Travel: One-of-a-Kind Illustrated Maps

Map in Progress © Magic Madzik Get inspiration for your next trip abroad by studying the amazing illustrated maps on the website They Draw & Travel. The maps on this site aren’t like those found in an atlas, instead each map is one-of-a-kind, highlighting off-the-beaten path sites and activities that are local favorites. A variety [...]

15 Ways to See the World by Water

The Maldives ©nattu If you limit your travels to only land-based excursions you will miss out on 75% of the wonders the the world has to offer. CNNgo has compiled a list of 15 fantastic water-based excursions. From penguin spotting in the pristine coves of Tierra del Fuego to following the trail of the pharaohs [...]

Photo of the Moment: Lonely Boat at Askar Beach, Bahrain

Afghanistan – Touch Down in Flight [Video]

As each of us has his own impression of Afghanistan that is predominantly marked with pictures of foreign forces, explosions and terror, we were privileged to have access to capture daily life and portrait some people of Afghanistan. We hope the pictures you know will merge with the pictures you see and will enrich your [...]

8 Foreign Fast Food Chains You Should Know

Albaik ©toyohara When most people think of fast food the American chain McDonald’s is the first thing that comes to mind. And while McDonald’s chains seem to be popping up everywhere, there is a growing number of local homegrown fast food resturants that are challenging McDonald’s around the world. These local chains present travelers with [...]

A Day in an Afghan Market [Gallery]

It is not easy to photograph the market. It is hard to overcome the allure of genre scenes, the charm of exoticism, the commonplaces of orientalism, the temptation to grasp this whole buzz at once, and in the end nothing remains in our hands. This time the star of Russian press photo, Ilya Varlamov did [...]

A Guide to the World’s Rudest Hand Gestures

Rude Kids ©VMOS When you’re abroad and someone is giving you the thumbs up sign, it may not mean quite what you think it does. Likewise, in Jordan you should avoid inadvertently brushing your nose with your finger—it might lead to some unwanted sexual attention. If you are having trouble translating the international language of [...]

How the War in Afghanistan has Changed Buzkashi

Buzkashi© isafmedia Carl Hoffman at ESPN The Magazine (via WorldHum) gives a fascinating history of how U.S. invasion has changed Buzkashi, the national sport which involves men on horses battling over a dead goat. The game is a microcosm of the country, a tangled web of patronage and allegiances, of great wealth, chaos and brutality. [...]

Playboy Magazine Reports on Iraq Tourism

Baghdad hotel © James.Gordon6108 Looking for an excuse to pick up the September issue of Playboy (other than the fact that the daughter of rock has-been Gavin Rossdale is on the cover)? You’ll have no trouble justifying buying it “just for the articles,” since the issue will feature Paula Froelich’s report on traveling to Iraq [...]

Arab Sheikh “Tags” Island with Signature Visible from Space

Name written in sand © Jamiesrabbits How do you say chutzpah in Arabic? From Yahoo news: Here’s a big idea: Writing your name in the sand so large that it can be seen from space. Of course, you’re much better position to carry off this sort of vanity project if you’re Hamad Bin Hamdan Al [...]

Exploring the Ancient Ruins of Qatar’s Zubarah City

Sitting on the coast of northern Qatar is Zubarah, an ancient town that for several hundred years was the epicentre of the pearling industry. Although most of it remains buried under sand dunes, its location near pristine beaches provides a sweeping view of the waters that made this place a flourishing city. Abandoned for 74 [...]

Photo of the Moment: Textured Desert Ruins, Saudi Arabia

Qatar’s Own Hollywood: Film City

Kirsten Amor explores Qatar’s unique, Hollywood-esque ‘Film City’ – a bizarre movie set oasis in the middle of nowhere.

Photo of the Moment: Burj Khalifah at Dawn, Dubai

Exploring Qatar’s Mysterious Rock Carvings of Al Jassasiya

Kirsten Amor explores one of the most mysterious and fascinating sites in Qatar.

Photo of the Moment: Lost in Fog Atop Dubai

Million Dollar Vacation Package Available in Abu Dhabi

Backpackers aren’t likely scrambling to come up with the funds for a million dollar luxury trip package at the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi, but two unidentified Arab men have already booked the package for themselves. The package includes a first class flight from anywhere in the world straight to the hotel, where residents [...]

World’s First “Building in Motion” Moving Forward in Dubai

Eccentric architecture can be a good thing and, like any work of art, can be received a number of ways by the public. In Dubai, plans to break ground on architect David Fisher’s “first building in motion,” the Dynamic Tower, are being made to materialize in the coming weeks. The design of the tower is [...]

Photo of the Moment: Unity in Diversity, Dubai

Photo of the Moment: Kabul Kids, Afghanistan

Saudis Arabia Bans Valentine’s Day (and the Color Red)

© CarbonNYC It’s a little hard to be surprised at anything Saudi Arabia does. What would be a “Huh?” moment in the rest of the world is just another day at work in this deeply secretive country. Even so, this takes the cake. The BBC is reporting that religious police in Saudi Arabia are preparing [...]

Dubai Plans Seven Wonders of the World in Falcon City

The Dubai construction juggernaut rolls on … A new project called Falcon City will see grand replicas of some of the seven wonders (and some also rans) of the world, all positioned in the shape of a falcon when seen through an aerial view (???). There will be replicas of the Taj Mahal, the Grand [...]

Buzkashi: Afghanistan’s Bloody National Sport

Buzkashi is Afghanistan’s national sport: it involves whips, horses, and a dead calf. The calf itself has been beheaded, cut off the knees, soaked in cold water for twenty-four hours to make it tough, and occasionally filled with sand. It is placed into a shallow hole, and a circle of quicklime is drawn nearby: this [...]

Dubai Building 21st Century ‘Jurassic Park’ Park

What’s up with Dubai and mega-construction? Not satisfied with having the world’s tallest building (which is also the tallest hotel which has the highest tennis court and the tallest atrium and … you get the picture), and a cluster of islands shaped like a palm tree, the wealthy emirate is now looking to build a [...]

Saudis Gone Wild: Male Youths Take to YouTube

YouTube is proving to be a popular medium of expression for young men in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Alongside videos of drunken women doing the unmentionable are now posted clips of Saudi youths behaving like, well … brats. Racing on the streets of Riyadh in Porsches and BMWs which happens to be the “in” [...]