Manama souq
Newer Manama, Bahrain
In brief: Alongside the skyscrapers and new developments in Manama, the older parts of the city sit comfortably. (For our take on the older and oldest parts we loved in Bahrain, click here to go…
Ceiling, main prayer hall
Welcomed to Our Fingertips: Kuwait’s Grand Mosque
In brief: In visiting the glorious Grand Mosque of Kuwait City, we felt like honored guests – celebrated, entertained, and educated. Even your fingertip will be restored to you after death, says the Quran. Our…
Calligraphic art, Tareq Rajab
Remembrance Past: Sand thru a leaky Hourglass
In brief: One can visit many Kuwaiti cultural institutions though much of the wealthy society looks forward rather than backward. Kuwait has built “Cultural Centers” all along its Persian Gulf coast, places to celebrate the…
Cafe gatherings, Al Mubarakiya
The Look and Feel of Kuwait City
In brief: Kuwait can seem not quite tourist-friendly at times, but our experiences and its warm welcomes made us feel like royalty. Kuwait is the first of the three oil-soaked emirates we visited along the…
Hosam & Hoda
Shukrun back to our Jordanian family
Though muted this year, Jordan’s spring celebration of Ramadan demonstrated fully the admirable qualities of its people: charitable, family-oriented, pious, learned and full of good humor. Our extended stay let us see all these qualities…
Outlasting Covid-19: a Jordan journal-18
Departing Jordan... After four and a half months in Jordan, our “covid-19 normal,” we were flying out. Our time there extended far past the month we planned back in February, partly due to Nancy’s recovery…
Qasr al Abd villa
On tour again at Qasr al Abd
It felt so good to be touring once more. After 3 full months of restrictions, lockdowns and curfews in Jordan – plus a few stumbles on arranging a car rental – we were freed to…
Outlasting Covid-19: a Jordan journal-17
A not so usual celebration of Eidh The festival of Eidh al Fitr has passed, as has the coincident 74th Year of Jordanian Independence. It has been a relatively quiet time compared to the usual…
Jordan protects itself well (Image from Roya-TV)
Outlasting Covid-19: a Jordan journal-16
Jordan's recovery: The power of just one After over a week when Jordan reported no new internal cases of covid-19, and many of the limitations of lockdown were lifted, suddenly the statistics looked bad –…
Jordan journal-15: Sounds of the lockdown
Just for fun... In 70 seconds, here are some of the sounds and sights of Amman, Jordan’s capital, during its coronavirus lockdown (yes, it makes more sense with volume up): Curfew alarms sound at 6pmThe…