Category: Travel

Tajikistan Tourism: The Tajik People Shine | Marin Magazine. The Pamiris are predominantly Ismaili Muslims, whose geographic nexus occurs in this historic region of Badakhshan, extending from southeastern Tajikistan into northern Afghanistan and Pakistan. At the core of Ismailism is Prince Aga Khan IV, the imam whose religious leadership provides a living interpretation of the Koran. The Aga Khan’s embrace of women’s rights and education has fostered a uniquely progressive orientation among the Ismailis, whose peaceful communities constitute a foundation of stability in one of the world’s most polarized regions.

Read it here. Technorati Tags: Australia, Humor

This exhibit sounds really interesting. If anyone is checking it out, or know about an exhibit book, please let us know. I love the last line about the novel and poetry, although I think it devalues poetry too much. Technorati Tags: Islamic art

I flew this airline, and I don’t remember this being the emergency card. I wonder if it’s new, old, or a fight club job.

The Silk Road was a very cool trade route that joined civilizations and cultures. It now seems it’s being revived. Aside from the physical reconstruction, you can see off to the side under “voices in our heads” a CD called “Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet,” put out by the Silk Road Project. They are committed to using the cultural synthesis that defined the Silk Road to help bring people closer together. They were part of the Folklife Festival at the Smithsonian in DC in 2002. The really nice thing is that they list the major funder and creative partner…

For those of you who don’t know, there was a site in Australia known as Woomera where refugees were detained. While technically not like Gitmo, it was where refugees, predominantly Muslim, were held without legal recourse or appeal until they could be deported. They were not given a hearing to determine their status, they were simply locked up. Condition at one point had gotten so bad, the prisoners sewed their mouths shut. Because of all the bad press, the center was shut down, but the practice continues, and Woomera has become symbolic of the racist policies of John Howard, Prime…

One of my secret passions is Apple Computer. I love the elegance and ease of use, and I read Mac news sites on a regular basis. I ran across this article on Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, and it had the following great quote from Walt Disney: Before his death in 1966, Disney said, “I don’t believe there is a challenge anywhere in the world that is more important to people everywhere than finding the solution to the problems of our cities. But where do we begin? Well, we’re convinced we must start with the public need. And the…

A travel journal and photos can be found here.