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Sahara Rains
Continue ReadingIt rained in Cairo, Egypt on this day — a brief and not very satisfying shower — which passes for precipitation in the great desert. It was less than usual, barely enough to make splotches in the dust covering the neighborhood automobiles. As in most Cairo rains you had to be alert or you […]
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Another Found Still Life
Continue ReadingThis brings to mind 17th century Dutch paintings, some monumental, depicting markets selling vegetables, wild game, organ meats and fish in strange varieties. Rembrandt and others made disemboweled animals into works of art. Here the Turkish butcher arranges complete carcasses meticulously. It appears he made aesthetic choices — perhaps unconsciously — nevertheless that prompts me […]
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An Unusual Self-Portrait
Continue ReadingIt is a portrait within a mirror-image, an excellent likeness; however this picture has importance for me because of its setting. While traveling by automobile in Turkey we came upon a railroad museum. I began to explore one of its locomotives then noticed a specially-outfitted train car nearby. I stepped inside and realized I had […]
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The Rapacious Salesperson
Continue ReadingWhen reading books about human biological psychology in the past, I often ran across the phrase: reptilian brain. We apparently have this in common with all other back-boned animals; it emanates from structures internal to the base of our skulls closest to the cervical spine, and its neurons are believed to mediate our most primitive […]
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Attending My First Khat Gathering
Continue ReadingA linguistic note: On the Horn of Africa people pronounce khat like our sleeping apparatus: Cot. Across the Gulf of Aden in Sana’a, Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula one pronounces a short ‘a’ with a hard ‘g’ in front: Gat. On arriving in Yemen I enrolled at a language institute. Western students of Arabic mingled […]
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You’re Definitely Not In Kansas Anymore
Continue ReadingOn your first journey beyond the Western World even routine situations will flummox you. You cannot avoid these gopher holes despite prior study and meticulous planning. If you stay gone long enough — exposing yourself nakedly and with bravery — hard experience will shatter preconceptions, adding a new and more spacious dimension to your character. […]
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Calls To Prayer On Testosterone
Continue ReadingHaving lived in Egypt above a neighborhood mosque for nearly two years, I was accustomed to hearing the daily call to prayer at first light. I could sleep through it after a while despite its amplified intrusion into my room. My first awakenings in Yemen — in the ancient part of the capital city — […]
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Children Playing in Sand and Fog
Continue ReadingA cloud of sand and fog covered Sana’a, Yemen during my one winter’s residence. The odd conditions persisted several days. Neighborhood kids ignored the weather, playing under streetlamps as usual late into evening. On lightly traveled streets Yemeni children stake out playgrounds with exclusive rights; girls enjoy hopscotch and boys organize dodge ball combats — […]
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Is This the Best Salesman in the World?
Continue ReadingThe image portrays Savash, a charismatic Turkish man— master of several languages — instantly a friend to every person he meets. I do not know his job title at the hotel. In other contexts he would be called a rainmaker, a troubleshooting outside man, leading clients toward the restaurant or pushing the lodgings, helping […]
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Shaking Sand From Her Shoe
Continue ReadingAn Egyptian girl perches on a ledge along the Coast Road and shakes sand from one of her shoes, her exposed head still wet from bathing in the Mediterranean Sea. Soon her conspicuous hair and skin will become unacceptable; casual innocent moments like this will be forbidden in public. It could signal a reputation-destroying […]
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