Showing titles in Middle East

Arabian Sands is Wilfred Thesiger’s stunning account of five years spent crossing the Arabian Peninsula by foot and on camels, with nomadic Bedouin tribesmen as guides. Travelling between 1945 and 1950, the British explorer treks through Yemen, the Empty Quarter, Oman, and parts of the then Trucial States, crossing and re-crossing around 250,000 miles of this most inhospitable terrain. He was the first European ever to set eyes on the dunes and wadis of these deserts.

There are many reasons why it might seem unwise to walk, mostly alone, through the Middle East. That, in part, is exactly why Leon McCarron did it. From Jerusalem, McCarron followed a series of wild hiking trails that trace ancient trading and pilgrimage routes and traverse some of the most contested landscapes in the world. In the West Bank, he met families struggling to lead normal lives amidst political turmoil and had a surreal encounter with the world's oldest and smallest religious sect.

Laura Kasinof studied Arabic in college and moved to Yemen a few years later - after a friend at a late-night party in Washington, DC, recommended the country as a good place to work as a freelance journalist. When she first moved to Sanaa in 2009, she was the only American reporter based in the country. She quickly fell in love with Yemen’s people and culture, in addition to finding herself the star of a local TV soap opera.

From the protests in Tahrir square, to Egypt's first democratic elections, and on to the massacres, the coup and its aftermath, The Buried follows the ongoing events of the Arab Spring while also exploring the social forces and historical context behind it. At its heart lies human stories: iconoclastic Pharaoh Akhenaten, rubbish collector Sayyid, Arabic teacher Rifaat, Chinese lingerie salesmen and resourceful archaeologists.

UAE - Culture Smart! will help you turn your visit - whether it's for business or pleasure - into a memorable and enriching experience. Its contents include: local customs and traditions; the impact of history, religion, and politics; the Emiratis at home, work, and play; eating and drinking, Emirati style; dos, don'ts, and taboos; business practices; communication, spoken and unspoken; and many practical tips for managing the unexpected.

Are you setting your sights on the rich tapestry of experiences that await in Arabic-speaking lands, from the bustling markets of the Middle East to the timeless landscapes of North Africa? Or perhaps you’re eager to delve into the Arabic language in a way that transcends the confines of traditional, dry grammatical studies? If you're nodding in agreement, Learn Arabic: The Traveler's Survival Toolkit is your indispensable companion. This isn't just another boring language book; it's a gateway to confidently engaging with the Arabic-speaking world, tailored for tourists and travelers like you.

A gonzo ride through war-torn Yemen as only Chas Smith, the award-winning author of Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell and Cocaine + Surfing: A Sordid History of Surfing's Greatest Love Affair, could provide. Follow Smith and his misfit band of merrymakers as they search for the true origins of Al Qaeda and endeavor to ride the unsurfed waves of Yemen all while exploring the slim opportunities for fun in the margins of our global war on terror and at any cost - even if it means eventual kidnapping by Hezbollah.

When journalist Taran Khan arrives in Kabul, she uncovers a place that defies her expectations. Her wanderings with other Kabulis reveal a fragile city in a state of flux: stricken by near-constant war, but flickering with the promise of peace; governed by age-old codes, but experimenting with new modes of living. Her walks take her to the unvisited tombs of the dead, and to the land of the living - like the booksellers, archaeologists, filmmakers and entrepreneurs who are remaking this 3,000-year-old city.

Are you captivated by the melodic Arabic language, but feel chained by the barriers of script, pronunciation, and dialect variations? Do you aim to grasp the Levantine dialect of Arabic for enhanced travel experiences, deepened cultural understanding, or for academic or professional advancement? Language learning, especially for Arabic, can seem overwhelming. Still, it doesn’t have to be complicated, especially with a guide specifically tailored to help you overcome these hurdles, with practicality and fun in equal measure!

Just 70 years ago, the Gulf nation of Qatar was a backwater, reliant on pearl diving. Today it is a gas-laden parvenu with seemingly limitless wealth and ambition. Skyscrapers, museums and futuristic football stadiums rise out of the desert and Ferraris race through the streets. But in the shadows, migrant workers toil in the heat for risible amounts. Inside Qatar reveals how real people live in this surreal place, a land of both great opportunity and great iniquity.

One morning on the outskirts of Damascus, two starving friends were walking through their war-ravaged city. They entered a once familiar street that had now been turned to rubble - concrete bridges towered over them like tombs, and houses were turned inside out. One of them, Aeham, turned to the only comfort he had left - his piano - and composed a song of hope. It was a song that would reach beyond the rubble and bring a message of solidarity to his fellow Syrians and all those suffering the devastation of war.

Returning to the UK in September 2010 after serving in Iraq as the political adviser to the top American general, Emma Sky felt no sense of homecoming. She soon found herself back in the Middle East traveling through a region in revolt. In a Time of Monsters bears witness to the demands of young people for dignity and justice during the Arab Spring; the inability of sclerotic regimes to reform; the descent of Syria into civil war; the rise of the Islamic State; and the flight of refugees to Europe.

Alev Scott's odyssey began when she looked beyond Turkey's borders for contemporary traces of the Ottoman Empire. Their 800-year rule ended a century ago - and yet, travelling through 12 countries from Kosovo to Greece to Palestine, she uncovers a legacy that's vital and relevant, where medieval ethnic diversity meets 21st-century nationalism, and displaced people seek new identities. It's a story of surprises.

For Tel Aviv Noir, Etgar Keret and Assaf Gavron have masterfully assembled some of Israel's top contemporary writers into a compulsively readable collection. Featuring brand-new stories by: Etgar Keret, Gadi Taub, Lavie Tidhar, Deakla Keydar, Matan Hermoni, Julia Fermentto, Gon Ben Ari, Shimon Adaf, Alex Epstein, Antonio Ungar, Gai Ad, Assaf Gavron, Silje Bekeng, and Yoav Katz.

Acclaimed travel writer Rick Antonson sets his adventurous compass on Mount Ararat, exploring the region's long history, religious mysteries, and complex politics. Mount Ararat is the most fabled mountain in the world. For millennia, this massif in eastern Turkey has been rumored as the resting place of Noah's Ark following the Great Flood. But it also plays a significant role in the longstanding conflict between Turkey and Armenia.

This book is a practical map that will help you understand the people and demystify the culture of the Arab world - the beliefs, values and social structures that determine how business is conducted and how things are done. This is not a sterile list of dos and don'ts. This book will help you develop a deeper knowledge and understanding of the motivators of behavior. It will also widen your perspective and arm you with the knowledge that will enable you to float with ease and confidence from one situation to the other.

This fact-providing publication informs the listener about relocating to Dubai and provides handy tips to ensure preparation and success in the Emirate. Written in the first person with funny quirks, British Ex-Pat Jazmine details "everything you need to know to turn your dream of relocation into a reality."

Dubai is a city in the Arabain Desert, full of ambition with sights to behold, from the tallest building in the world, the biggest mega malls to keep even the keenest shoppers never thirsting for more, and huge manmade islands like the world has never seen. If you’ve never visited this "City of Gold", as it is often referred to, then you seriously need to consider doing so, and I’ve compiled 101 reasons in this guide that should hopefully persuade you to do so.

Jeremy Kroeker is a Mennonite with a motorcycle. He doesn’t have a funny beard, and he’s never even driven a buggy, but his family hails from the same Mennonite community that Miriam Toews fictionalized in A Complicated Kindness. From childhood through college, Kroeker attended Christian schools where he learned to think critically back to predetermined conclusions.

Three years into a financial crisis that shows no sign of loosening its grip, a young couple make the unpopular decision to teach English in Saudi Arabia. The choice of Saudi Arabia is based primarily on the best salary offer and an all-expenses-paid round trip flight. Secondarily, it is to satiate a desire to explore a country steeped in mystery and taboo. Little do they know that the experience will come with a price and change their lives in a profound way.