Motorcycle Diaries Part XIV

May 3, 2008 – 3:08 pm

I am always baffled by the failure of the human race to overcome many of its lingering challenges and nagging troubles, despite the monumental level of intelligence and sophistication that we have reached as a species.

This thought visited me again most recently when I travelled to attend a conference and unpacked my favorite navy blue suit out of my suitcase, the one I usually put on when I am about to meet a bunch of very serious people.

Mankind, I said to myself as I examined the state of my official uniform, was able to squeeze billions of documents and complex data inside a tiny microchip, retrieve them at will, save them back and then retrieve them again in mint condition. All inside a piece of silicon the size of a finger nail. Mind-boggling stuff, almost like magic, we all agree.

However, we have not yet figured out a way to place a business suit inside the common suitcase and retrieve it at our destination without creasing the hell out of it. If that task is physically impossible, why can’t the federation of world manufacturers of travel bags come together and decide to rename the famous suitcase to something else, like underwearcase or sockscase, since it has been forensically proven that the worst item you can fold into a suitcase is an actual bloody suit?

You try to fix the problem. Read More »

By Zaid Nabulsi | Posted in entertainment, science & technology | Comments (0)

Russia, My Russia: The Final Chapter

March 30, 2008 – 3:04 pm

The previous installment of Husam’s travelogue can be found here.

In the early morning, I took a walk across St. Petersburg that would take me all day, crossing the waters, landing on islands, and visiting both well-known and lesser-know tourist sites, not to mention discovering hidden surprises that the city still had up its sleeve.

I started on Nevsky Prospect and went up over two bridges, each adorned with a different sculptural theme. I saw a lovely church built in a style very similar to that of St Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow! Hmmm… Wasn’t the original architect killed? - I wondered

I then quickly realized that St. Petersburg didn’t even exist when he was alive. Whatever his destiny was, he and his vibrant style were revived when the St. Petersburg church was built in the late nineteenth century.

This Church On Spilled Blood, as it is called, was built on the spot where on the first of March 1881, Czar Alexander II was assassinated. His successor commissioned a magnificent church to commemorate his father in the Russian revivalist style.

A park nearby lead me to the Arts Square, where the Russian Museum is located and another weird story of murder was played out in the beginning of the 1800’s. The Mikhaylovskiy Castle was built on orders of Paul I, who was obsessed with the possibility of assassination. The castle was surrounded by moats and draw bridges and supplied with secret underground passages to help in rescue. Alas, all those precautions were futile in the face of destiny, and he was murdered only 40 days after moving into his fortified haven!

At the moat I saw many young Russians throwing coins at small statue under one of the bridges nearby, driven by the belief that their wishes could be granted if their coin balanced itself on the statue without falling into the river Moyka, a tradition that has endured since since long ago. I didn’t try my luck; after all, what more can I wish for? Read More »

By Feature Writer | Posted in russia, society, travel | Comments (0)

Amman In Winter

February 28, 2008 – 5:18 pm

A wintry Amman is casually lovely. The summer is great for tourism, but the winter invites introspection and quiet contentment. This is the time to warm your fingers by candlelight in a lounge like Canvas, or walk hypnotized through City Mall’s minimalist sleekness, or else just gape at the construction projects that are bristling up all over the city.

In the cold, Amman is a quieter place. Sound carries. Sunlight is milky and diluted. The nights are more energetic, now that new bars and restaurants are welcoming residents and travelers into their cavernous, smoky insides. For myself, I have now discovered Loki, the place that everyone started talking about a long time ago. As an infrequent traveler, I hope I can be forgiven for my lateness and general un-hipness.

The joke goes that Jordan is stuck “between Iraq and a hard place.” And yet for a nation literally bordered by conflicts, Jordan has done fairly well for itself, all things considered. It remains a favourite with tourists who are particularly keen on history and nature (although international brand-name luxury certainly has its presence in Amman, the Dead Sea, and beyond). The economy has been growing, and the currency is pretty strong.

The Islamic Action Front, a conservative political party, has suffered losses in Jordan’s most recent parliamentary elections. This may have something to do that the economy appears to be a top priority to the electorate, but personally, I’m not sure either way. Jordanian society as a whole is still pretty conservative, but Amman in particular has mellowed out some. I used to feel my foreignness keenly in Amman. Perhaps I’ve mellowed out as well.

In many public places, hotels especially, metal detectors are a reminder of the bombings of November 2005. Read More »

By Natalia Antonova | Posted in jordan, society, travel | Comments (8)

Russia, My Russia: Part V

February 17, 2008 – 9:08 am

The previous installment of Husam’s travelogue can be found here.

Like most people, I have heard a lot about the Hermitage, but never in my wildest dreams expected it to be as stupendous as it turned out to be. Everyone knows the Hermitage is grand, not everyone realizes what “grand” truly means.

The museum is located on the waterfront, surrounded by statues. Behind it is a vast open square in the middle of which is the largest podium made of a single piece of granite in the world. The palace itself was built to host the collections of art and sculpture and curiosities that the Russian Empire both produced and collected, beginning at the time of Catherine the Great.

Nothing was spared as successive Russian monarchs tried their best to benefit their country by sending agents to gather and assemble precious collections of art, as well as commission Russian and international artists and architects to design and build. The mere size of the St. Petersburg museum made me realize that at least several other world museums can easily fit inside this gargantuan wonderland.

Once you enter the maze of the Hermitage, even a compass or the latest GPS system, even a laser-guided tour, will not save you from getting lost in its vastness. Your mind will wander in its labyrinth and your heart will jump in every new room you encounter. It is simply endless.

The Hermitage boasts huge exhibits centered Romans, Greek, Egyptian, and Babylonian civilizations, rooms that not many people know about. Add to that precious collections of paintings from every epoch and every school of art. Add carvings, sculptures, artifacts, tapestries, and so on. This is beside the fact that the presentation itself is just as priceless:

Each new hall and gallery has a different theme. The floors vary from marble mosaics to wooden parquet of every conceivable color and design, created with loving care, like a painting that you can walk on. Read More »

By Feature Writer | Posted in russia, society, travel | Comments (2)

Russia, My Russia: Part IV

January 21, 2008 – 7:27 am

The previous parts of Husam’s travelogue are as follows: part I, II, and III. Enjoy.

The sun graced Moscow with its presence on my fourth day in town, and so I therefore decided to stay outdoors and visit the open-air memorial known as Park Pobedy (”pobeda” means “victory” in Russian).

This place commemorates what the Russians refer to as the Great Fatherland War, or what we call the Second World War.

The vast open passage to the memorial park is absolutely breathtaking:

There are rows and rows of water fountains gushing dramatically upward and a giant obelisque piercing the air, topped with sculptures of angels of peace.

There is the sense of beauty here, and violence; violence that remains in Russian memory.

Inside the park are various exhibitions showcasing tanks, fighter airplanes and jets, battleships, cannons and all types of heavy and light weaponry of the war. The exhibits are scattered beside ponds and forest groves. Here, fountains bristle with golden sunrays and falling leaves. Attached to all this are places of worship representing all three Abrahamic religions as a way to pay respect to the millions of different soldiers, those who joined hands during the defense of their shared Homeland.

Following this dramatic excursion, I went to the Kievsky Train Station and proceeded towards the house of Leo Tolstoy, a place not to be missed by literary buffs arriving in Moscow. I then crossed the river on a magnificent glass bridge and walked towards the famous Gorky Park (listen for a mention of it in the Scorpions’ “Wind of Change”).

Close by, there is another peculiar park, this one dedicated to fallen monuments. Some call it the “statue cemetery” as it also now home to many sculptures that were neglected or removed from their podiums after the fall of communism. This is a haunting (if not haunted) place.

There I was able to get a very close look at the modern statue of Peter the Great commemorating one of his many feats (this one, I believe, is dedicated to his establishment of the Russian navy). Walking along the river, I reached a pedestrian-only area that leads to the prestigious Zamoskvoreche neighborhood and the famous Triyatkov Gallery. To reach the gallery I had to cross the river again over a small bridge, this one planted with metal trees bearing fruits that looked, to my eyes, like locks. I was initially bewildered by this. Read More »

By Feature Writer | Posted in russia, society, travel | Comments (1)

Russia, My Russia: Part III

January 6, 2008 – 2:01 pm

Check out parts one and two of Husam’s travelogue.

I had a slow start on the third day of my Russian adventures, but did finally make it to the Moscow History Museum.

This place tells the story of human civilization through four million exhibits, spanning thousands of years from the Stone Age and on. The museum puts a lot of emphasis on the various peoples and cultures that comprise the Russian Federation.

For that matter, a stroll down any Moscow street can be a very informative ethnographic experience. Russian citizens’ backgrounds are extremely varied. My friend Renata for example has Russian (Slavic) and Tatar blood running through her veins, while other friend Dzera is half-Russian and half-Ossetian. On my trip, I met people of German, Baltic, Swami, and Central Asian heritage, among many others.

All of these ethnic groups and more are represented in the Museum. It was peculiar to see the personal belongings of past czars and church patriarchs next to shamanic tools and flint stone daggers, such contrast!

However, one of the exhibits that especially moved me was devoted to the late Imam Shamel of the Caucasus. There was his portrait in oil, as well as his personal dress and kamas (daggers) next to official letters handwritten and signed by him. To my astonishment, the language of these documents was Arabic and not Chechen, despite the fact that they were official written orders and directions to his followers and agents. The history of interaction between Russian and Arab cultures had never seemed more tangible to me as it did when I stood next to that exhibit. Read More »

By Feature Writer | Posted in russia, society, travel | Comments (2)

Russia, My Russia: Part II

December 10, 2007 – 7:24 am

Read part one of Husam’s travelogue here.

The second day in Russia started out gloomy too, yet it was significantly brightened up by my friend Dzera, who works in the fashion industry. Together we scouted Tverskaya, another fashionable location in downtown Moscow, walking past famous locations such as Café Pushkin and past neighborhoods with beautiful Arte Moderne houses. There we saw the Gorky House Museum that was built about a hundred years ago.

We also saw the world famous Bolshoi Theater (still closed for restoration then) and the Moscow conservatory. We did some shopping for chocolates in the elegant Yeliseev food hall. After this lengthy walk we opted to visit one of the most important artistic landmarks in Moscow: the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum.

I was overwhelmed with the variety of exhibits spanning thousands of years of human civilization in art, sculpture, and painting. The Greeks, Romans, even ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians were represented. Large life-size reproductions of famous classical sculpture or temples were done faithfully. Slowly, from room to room, I was taken through different epochs and generations of painters and paintings: Dutch, Italian, Russian and more. Seeking rest from all the exuberance, we walked out of the museum to find a café near the river, but as soon as we were out I was distracted by the huge cathedral nearby and couldn’t resist dragging my tired body towards it.

This was the visit’s recurring theme: Whenever I decided to have a rest I found something else to feast my eyes on and struggled to reach it, like travelers in the desert struggling to reach that mirage of water. Yet in my case, there were no mirages, just more and more hidden treasures. Read More »

By Feature Writer | Posted in russia, society, travel | Comments (2)

Russia, My Russia: Part I

November 22, 2007 – 12:58 am

”A riddle wrapped in mystery inside an enigma” – these are a few words that Churchill used to describe the many faces of that continent of a country called Russia. That riddle has always, always made me curious. The tickle became an itch that soon turned into an obsession to know more and experience what Russia has to offer.

I just had to pack and explore that massively huge country spanning half of the globe, encompassing hundreds of ethnicities, religions, and languages. A country that pioneered the space age and made great leaps in medicine and other fields of science, while its still-existing shamans practice their own medicine. A place that has historically believed itself as the successor to the great Byzantine Empire and eastern orthodox Christianity yet has a Muslim minority of about 20 million strong, not to mention Jews, Buddhists, Pagans, and Animists. A nation that contributed to the human civilization countless works of art, literature and music, science, the spirit of discovery and that colonial drive that put Europe in the lead for the last two centuries of human history. An empire that died and disintegrated then regenerated and reinvented itself over and over again. Who could resist? Not I. Read More »

By Feature Writer | Posted in russia, society, travel | Comments (4)

Motorcycle Diaries Part VIII

November 4, 2007 – 11:56 am

    Motorcycle Diaries Part VII was deemed too “local” for our tastes, but we do hope you enjoy the triumphant return of the series in Part VII.

(This article was originally published in Jordan’s Living Well magazine)

I lost my gloves one day in a coffee shop in Geneva, and I tell you, it’s difficult to ride without them when it’s really cold. So as I was paying for a new pair with a credit card, the salesman, whom I knew was from Israel, tried to start some small talk by asking me what my family name means. I told him that it relates to the city of Nablus where my family is originally from.

Suddenly, the most bewildered look was plastered on his face. “Where is Nablus?” he asked, “I’ve never heard of it.” Then, after realizing that I knew he was bullshitting me, he pretended to remember, “Ah, Shkheim you mean?”With my insistence not to learn these ugly names that the deranged Zionists have dug up from oblivion to erase our identity, that name certainly didn’t ring a bell. But now it was my turn. Although I knew where he was from, I asked “And you’re… from?” As he smiled while reminding me, I replicated the same look on his face moments ago. “Israel? Where is that?” Then after a brief pause, “Ah, the land of Canaan you mean. Palestine”. Read More »

By Zaid Nabulsi | Posted in entertainment | Comments (0)

From Ukraine

October 22, 2007 – 12:27 pm

In Ukraine, the concept of central heating takes on a very different meaning than what I am used to. Getting the heating turned on once the weather becomes nippy is not a simple matter of heading towards the thermostat or radiator switch. Apparently, the decision to turn on the heating is controlled by some (quite possibly vodka-swilling) jerk sitting in a Soviet-era dungeon; it’s the jerk that gets to decide when you are cold enough to need heating.

Well, perhaps not exactly so, but nevertheless, that’s the picture I got when I realized that virtually all heating is centralized and controlled by a special government commission. I am told this is an old Soviet system that would be disastrously expensive to replace (and if there’s anything Ukraine lacks, besides decent public toilets, it’s money).

The capital, Kiev (some spell it Kyiv – which reflects he Ukrainian pronunciation, but I’ll use the Russian spelling, because I feel like it) is a charming place. The city vistas are littered with beautiful Orthodox churches which closely resemble lightly frosted tea cakes. Walking down Kiev’s centre, one comes across the most exquisite Byzantine architecture, topped by extravagant cupolas in bright colours such as blue, green and gold. Do step back for a moment and put the scene in context, however. The churches, chapels and cathedrals, are more often than not located in the midst of the most squalid of environments.

The breathtaking beauty of the soft arches and seemingly billowing domes contrasts sharply with the bleak horror of the Khrushchev-era apartment buildings. The monstrosities in question stretch on for miles, proud and defiant monuments to an era that, in many ways, refuses to die. Read More »

By Feature Writer | Posted in society, travel | Comments (0)