The Older Generation of the Middle East

The older generation of the Middle East is a pretty broad topic that has the potential of being elaborated upon for a very long time and I like the older generation of the Middle East. The age of the people around my grandparents maybe or something like that is the generation I am really interested in. For example they all have stories of their past. In fact, I find it really odd that they are able to still recall. Nonetheless, it is always interesting to just sit down with the older people and just listen to them talk.

Their style of talking is also really unique. It is like they are always narrating something like a story or something. The dramatic touch they always add to their speech is interesting and I find it difficult to do it myself. Also when older people get together and start talking it is more interesting than watching something on the television or something.

The older generation is also unsure of the features of the newer generation. For instance they don't like their music, their outfits, and their hair. There are plenty of other things that the older generation just looks down upon however I can't seem to remember it at the moment.

The main thing that the older generation has to offer is their idealistic approach to things. They are not materialistic (at least the vast majority of them aren't) and they also are really don't seem to think at all about their nation. Some of them have been living in the terrible governments for a very long time and they all seemed to enjoy the Arab Spring (the simultaneous revolutions that occurred throughout the Middle Eastern nations) very much.

I like the fact that the older people still showed support for the Arab Spring because they seem like they still have to have a hand in fixing up their nation.

The older generation's features of music and clothing and so on is something that they still use until today. Even though they have been introduced to the newer and more modern outfits and music yet they still like their older music and they don't like what the newer generation is into itself.

Older generations have get plenty of respect from the younger generations. You will often see a younger child helping out an older person. It is really nice to see the respect being exhibited to the older people.

Restaurants of the Middle East

The restaurants of the Middle East differ from nation to nation and from places in a particular nation to different places. I don't really know much about restaurants in like Dubai or Kuwait City and so on however if I was to make a guess I'd probably say that they are all fancy and they attempt to appeal to the public like as if they were tourists. However that is just a guess. Restaurants in the Middle East tend to get very fancy in hotels and so on and more richer areas. In fact, there are some restaurants in the Middle East (particularly in Egypt because I know about them) that tend to get very expensive and it's like who would want to pay this much for it.

If you go to a tourist town any where in the Middle East the restaurants there are very fancy and modern and that's because the owners are probably trying to attract the tourists that are arriving from abroad. Those restaurants also have the potential of being very expensive and mainly tourists and the upper class people visit them. Tourist towns and their restaurants are among the main source of revenue for the city itself. There are plenty of other forms of money and so on however restaurants play a prominent role.

Then there are the restaurants that are in like the middle of the city and that have the potential of being either very fancy or not fancy at all. There was once a restaurant in in the older areas  that had places to sit outside. It was really cheap. Nonetheless the food was amazing. The fact that the place itself wasn't "modern" and "fancy" and so on made it seem much better.

The fancy restaurants in the Middle East are not visited much by me only because it is unnecessary to pay the much money for food that you could buy somewhere else in the street and also the people that go there are not your average person in the city. It would definitely be nice to visit one of these restaurants only to have been there. However I wouldn't plan on going there often.

The food on these restaurants is very similar to what you can make at your house. In fact, it has the potential of being so similar that it is like you are eating your mother or your grandmother's food. If the food in the restaurant itself tastes like that then you know that the restaurant offers very good food.

Modern Middle East

The modern form of the Middle East is something that many people around the world tend to understand. For instance, many people tend to think that they (Arabs) still live in the old age. This fallacy tends to also be the same thing that's attributed to the modern Middle Eastern world of no expansion and progression. I'll be honest, the governments of the past have definitely had a hand in impeding the growth of certain areas in the Middle East. Nonetheless, there are some nations around the Middle East that have experienced economic growth in the past and they have established more modern infrastructures.

Dubai, for example, is a city in the Middle East however you would never associate it with like a city in Yemen or something. For some reason or another I haven't really been paying attention to the cities in Oman and Yemen and Bahrain and so on and that's only because I really don't know much about them, however that's another story. Nonetheless, Yemen is very old. To think that Dubai and Yemen are in the same region is unbelievable. However they are in the same region and they are inhabited by Muslims.

Middle Eastern societies have enough to deal with on their own. They haven't really been worrying about materialistic (or some cities there) goals and so on. I think that there is a difference between expansion and progression to be able to accommodate a growing population and so on and expansion based on temporary wealth appearance (oil) and see what it can lead to.

Modern Middle Eastern societies have been subject to plenty of wars and occupations in the past. For instance Palestine is a beautiful nation and Jerusalem has been among the centers of world affairs for a very long period. I think that if the Palestinians weren't subject to occupations and war and so on then they would be an advanced and modern society.

There's no doubt that some Middle Eastern nations have adapted to their own particular form of dealings and so on and so they may seem like they are unable to adapt to modern forms of world affairs and attributes. Modern qualities are unique to the already advanced places in the world (Europe and so on) and so the Middle East, whether it's advancing or not, is unable to among the advanced nations around the world because the Middle East is mainly different.

Women in the Middle East

Are women in the Middle East oppressed? Are they really limited in their rights? Do they even have rights? Well, it's questions like these that I love to answer only because I love to spread the positive image of the women in the Middle East. First off, let's discuss the things that they are limited in. I really can't think of anything except maybe in Saudi Arabia where they are not allowed to drive. Ok, I agree that is not good. Nonetheless people tend to look to very trivial aspects and make assumptions that this certain feature is proportional to the equal different topic of something else.

I want to make it clear that women in the Middle East are appreciated very much. It wouldn't be right for me to say that they run the nations. Nonetheless they are more dignified than what they may be presented as. Just because they have to wear a scarf and whatnot around their head doesn't entail that they are oppressed. It just happens that they are Muslim and all they are doing is following their religion. In fact, if you look around the world and find Muslim women all around the world you will find that they too wear the scarf anywhere they go as well. So how come that when they wear in the Middle East they are considered oppressed and if they are in Europe or something they are only portraying the "expanded rights" offered to people there.

Women in the Middle East have had special roles. For the longest time they have been able to vote and they have been considered equal in the work force. And if it happens that a woman chooses not to work then the closest male to her in the family (whether it is a sibling or her father or whatever) is supposed to take care of her. This is to ensure her stability and freedom without forcing her to work.

Women when they get married are not responsible to take charge of the financial aspect of their life and their husband's life after marriage. It is the husbands duty. If they choose to work then it is out of her own decision. Nonetheless people might say that putting the duty on the man only justifies that the male is destined to be the one making most of the decisions and so on. This is incorrect only because the male is supposed to ensure the women's freedom and they (the men) are supposed to go out of their way to make a comfortable life for the women. Women in the Middle East are not oppressed.

Projects in the Middle East: Abdali

The Middle East nowadays (dismiss the fact that there have been numerous uprisings and so on in the past year or so) is quickly expanding its infrastructure and economy and each individual nation is developing numerous projects. There are so many projects going on around the Middle East these days you wonder where they get the money. Then you remember that there are plenty of natural resources such as oil and uranium located in the Middle Eastern region.

One project that caught my attention was Abdali. It is a new business district located in the middle of Amman. Basically what this project consists of is a series of skyscrapers and business parks and so on to take on the expanding economic image of the nation as a whole. Amman is quickly becoming one of the regional spots for starting up businesses and so on and its economy has been expanding incredibly. In order for them to accommodate the expanding business sector of the nation it is imperative for them to start developing a new image to the city. In fact when you look at rendering of the project itself you can tell that it is in the older downtown area (I don't know why they would do so). So they need to knock down older buildings and so on in the area just to put up new skyscrapers.

What is in these skyscrapers? Hotels, apartment complexes, business hubs and so on. And on the ground floor you will find malls and all that stuff. Yes the necessary things that tend to attract the tourists. I'll attempt to refrain from exhibiting any discomfort only because I want to talk about the project itself. So, other than the skyscrapers and so on that necessarily are a few years late, what else is in these skyscrapers? Look, I support expansion but I don't support meaningless expansion. Amman, I think, is a different story though only because I like the city a lot. But Amman insists on developing an infrastructure that models that of European or whatever models. And when I say it like that it does sound like I'm uncomfortable with expansion. Nonetheless I don't know another approach to developing a more modern infrastructure for the Middle East.

Shops along the Streets

The shops along the streets in the Middle Eastern nations all have many similar features. On one street or sidewalk you will have plenty of stores and shops that have absolutely no shared theme whatsoever. You will have a store that sells spices and right next to it you will have a store or a shop that sells clothes or something. In fact, these places sometimes it gets to be like how did these two stores get together in the same area; but it happens.

Many times you will see apartment buildings that sore into the sky with shops on the ground floor. Many of these stores have like the necessary materials that an individual home may require. The understatement of "they are a small shack" and so on does not tend to get to anyone only because the concept of these stores is fantastic. Instead of driving yourself to a supermarket somewhere and getting stuck in traffic for an unnecessary period of time, all you have to do is walk downstairs out of your apartment building and walk not even two or three steps and you will be at a store that has plenty of materials.

Of course these qualities of the stores that I am defining is only found in the middle class areas and the older areas of the cities. For example you won't necessarily find these shops in the newer developments in Abdoun in Amman but you will certainly find them in the older areas downtown.

Then you begin to wonder if these stores are listed and if the people pay taxes and if they are really among the system in the nation's economy. Plenty of people tend to take a small room or storage place and rent it and just start selling things there. I'm not so sure, however, that these places actually are among the listed shops.

Actually, I'm not even sure that these stores exist in places like Dubai or Doha because these shops portray extreme "Arab" qualities of like the older, pre-modern era of the city and Dubai and so on are like the exact opposite of these cities. Since I have never been to those new "world class" cities I really can't say if they (referring to the shops) are there or not.

I personally think that a true Middle Eastern city has these shops around

Places inside Egypt I still haven't seen

I have never once seen the pyramids up close in real life. It is something that tends to not make sense because I have traveled to Egypt plenty of instances before and I have drove by them, flew over them, and never once stopped in for a near-up sight seeing image of the structure itself.

I honestly don't mind that I haven't seen the pyramids (before), however actually seeing it in real life would be quite an experience. This post should have been included with the previous one in which I was discussing the places that I would like to actually visit in real life.

The sphinx and the pyramids are interesting actually, however there are people that live in Egypt that haven't even seen it in real life. That's something that I tend to find funny. I personally think that going to the pyramids is a hassle because the place itself is far away and also I don't want to be considered a tourist.

Another place inside Egypt that I wouldn't mind going to in real life would be somewhere in the Sinai Peninsula to see the Bedouin people and how they live. Also, the scenery there surrounded by water all around also offers quite a remarkable experience.

Places I'd like to go

I know I keep on talking about Egypt and the cities there such as Cairo, Alexandria, Mersa Metrouh, and so on and I haven't really been giving much detail about other nations and cities within those around the Middle East out of experience except maybe just offering known facts and then giving my opinion about the city or whatever. However, in this post I plan on discussing the cities throughout the Middle East that I would like to visit, however I'm not sure I'll get to see them.

The city that I would definitely travel to first would be Mecca. That's because Mecca to a Muslim is extremely important and it is mandatory for every Muslim to make Hajj during the time of Hajj. However you can still go to the city and make U'mrah. I'd go see Mecca than travel to Riyadh and see that city as well as my second city on the list. 

Another city I'd like to see that is outside of Egypt is Amman. Amman seems like it is another Cairo, just like three times as small. However all of the attributes that are available in Cairo seem like they are available in Amman. Amman seems clean and rich and organized, so I wouldn't mind visiting an actual Middle Eastern city that has these qualities.

The next city I would like to visit would be Istanbul. This is mainly because Istanbul sounds like the cleanest and richest city in the Middle East with quite a different culture than the rest of the Middle Eastern nations. Although the city itself may seem european or whatnot, I have an odd feeling that Istanbul is very different from that and I wouldn't mind seeing it in real life.

The next city I would like to visit would be Dubai. Despite the fact that I extremely dislike the city as like a tangible thing, I wouldn't mind visiting it and seeing the towers and the fancy and luxurious hotels that they have to offer. Also, since I like exotics and whatnot, Dubai seems like it would offer a lot of that. And I know this because of plenty of videos online and so on.

Doha and Kuwait City both would be nice to see, however I get this feeling that these two cities share very similar qualities of Dubai. And out of the two cities (Doha and Kuwait City) I would probably favor seeing Doha over the other. This is mainly because Doha just seems more touristic and more modern and I personally wouldn't mind visiting such as place. Nonetheless, Kuwait City is nice, however I wouldn't travel.

None of these cities (except for Mecca then Riyadh) are in any particular order. This is just some of the cities of a list. There are maybe other cities that I have forgotten temporarily that I wouldn't mind traveling to in the future.

Night Time along the Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is amazing. I know I have talked a lot about it and I plan to maintain the discussion about this beautiful place. Look at the title of the blog itself.

Besides swimming in the beautiful blue water in Mersa Metrouh and swimming in the amazing beaches in Alexandria, the Mediterranean Sea offers other things besides just swimming. For example, there is an extremely famous bridge in Alexandria known as "Staley Bridge". This bridge is amazing when you look at it from far away. It's modern looking, yet it still provides an image of older style architecture. Many people arrive to this bridge at night and just sit there. Refreshments such are brought and people just relax there. And if you are on the bridge and look into the distance at night, you will indeed probably find some people taking on the water at night. They don't mind the time, whether it is two in the morning or not, they'll stay there until when the sun arrives if they want to.

Apart from the bridge and the night swimming, you can also stay along the shore and just relax in one of the numerous cafes and places to just relax in. And as I said, you don't have to worry about the time because guaranteed there will be plenty of shops open. There are cafes that offer amazing things ranging from mango juice to tea to many other things that I just can't seem to remember at the moment.

Traffic at night along the Mediterranean in Alexandria especially is also a sight. It is like the people are acting like it is not two in the morning and it is something like ten at night or something. Imagine getting stuck in traffic at two in the morning. I loved Alexandria at night, especially when you are along the Mediterranean. And like I mentioned before in another post, we ended up swimming in one of the beaches there at two in the morning. It was an amazing experience. And the post swimming meal at around five or six in the morning was also amazing. Everyone of us in the group was starving and nothing sounded better than just giving all you got at some shop that offered amazing food.

Alexandria (so I hear) offers plenty of seafood restaurants. I'm not the biggest fan of seafood as I have mentioned before. Nonetheless, I wouldn't mind spending some time at the restaurant to just hangout there at night overlooking the sea. Another thing that I love about the beaches there is that the waves (more in Alexandria than in Mersa Metrouh) is that the waves there offer another form of excitement.

Along the beach also are many different people that walk around ready to sell just about anything. From things to eat to things to wear to things to not even think about buying and so on. I know that may not have made much sense, however explaining it might take a little too long and so I'll just stop here.

Staley bridge, the cafes, the swimming, it all offers amazing things. I love the atmosphere along the Mediterranean Sea.

Fellahin in Northern Egypt

The fellahin are the farmers that inhabit the delta or the northern part of Egypt. Farmers and grass and land and wealth and old style living and just away from the urban centers of Cairo. It is quite different from the centers along the Nile. The northern Egyptian cities are all known, however the villages that surround these cities are not known. Nonetheless all of the families that live in these villages know each other and that is only because there are like five or six families in a village. However there are a lot of people in one family.

There is electricity and water and necessary utilities in these northern cities, however the general background of this fellahin area and something like Cairo is that the cultures there are somewhat different. I won't go into too much details because I don't know much about the northern part of Egypt (the delta) or the cultures and practices there, however from what is shown on television and from what I hear, it is quite different from Cairo.

The fellahin also have a different form of music. I think it is nice. It differs from the modern street Middle Eastern style music of like Nancy Ajram or all of those other musicians. I don't know if they like them or not (referring to the fellahin and these modern artists) however I can tell you that their taste differs from a normal urban Middle Eastern.

I have visited the fellahin or northern Egypt a long time ago. I'll tell you that I didn't like it because I was little in age and the lack of amenities was uncomfortable for me. It was hot, and I remember I just didn't like it. Nonetheless, and as far as I know, the fellahin are very respectable because they just obtained their own culture. Some people mix them up with southern Egyptians and what not, however that's not important. The fellahin are in the north.

Tea in Egypt

Tea in Egypt (and I'm guessing around the Middle East, however I could be wrong) is essential. One cup in the morning, one or two cups at work, one cup after dinner, and maybe one cup late at night (however this depends on if the person is staying up late or not). This is a rough estimate. There could be more cups per day or there could be less cups per day, nonetheless, tea in Egypt is something that's available quite a bit.

Tea after breakfast is essential. It is technically considered during breakfast however since most people drink it after the meal then it is after breakfast. It is sort of an energy booster for the morning.

After dinner and either before or after the nap (depending on how tired an individual is) there must be a cup of tea. Usually more than one person drinks from a pot at a time so they leave the sugar up to the individual to place as much as they want. The large tray that comes in through the door carrying at least five or six cups of tea with sugar in it's own separate container is quite a sight. The smell is amazing (if it's made right) and the color is beautiful. The light reddish, or whatever that color is, is definitely essential post meals for plenty of people.

Then the late night cup of tea. However like I said before it depends on whether a person is staying up late or not. If they don't mind, then they sure will definitely drink a cup right then. This is also sometime however not all the time after the late night meal.

The reason for drinking tea after meals is because people over in the Middle East think that it "puts a lid on the meal". If a person ate a heavy meal or something, then that cup of tea will ease the heavy feeling, or so I understand from the Middle Eastern explanation.

Tea is also essential for gatherings. For instance if you have friends at your house or if you are going to someone's house or whatever the scenario may be, guaranteed there will be tea offered. After meals at a friends' house, they'll most likely offer you tea. At any shack or sit down area, people will most likely be drinking tea.

This also brings up the question of other forms of beverages such as coffee or juice. Juice and coffee is around, nonetheless it is not as popular as tea. I honestly couldn't tell you much about coffee or anything like that because I just personally haven't seen much of it in Egypt, except maybe at some people's homes or a restaurant or something like that.

Tea is extremely popular in Egypt...

Middle Eastern Dinner

Middle Eastern dinners vary from home to home and from family to family and from type of home to type of home. I'll elaborate. Dinner time in the Middle East (I'm talking about experience) is amazing. I'll leave out the era before the meal and the post meal naps (yes naps) and I'll just get to the point about the meal itself. It is very common to hear of a house in the Middle East with a dining table that hasn't been used. The main reason for that is the family (for some reason or another) prefers to eat on the ground. Yes, the ground. They gather around in a circle and pack tightly together and the meal is efficient. The dining table can be used for some special guest or of someone decides to eat by him/her self and they they're too lazy to put the floor mats and the old rags on the ground. They'll settle for a table meal. However, if there are a lot of people eating at the same time, then the dining table is neglected and eating on the ground (off of the floor mats and old rags) happens.

Eating on the ground goes for all meals also, not just dinner. For example, breakfast is on the ground, dinner is on the ground, and the late night meal is also on the ground. I never understood the reason for eating on the ground, however after experiencing it on numerous occasions, I have come to realize that it isn't as uncomfortable as it may seem.

As for the post dinner nap, I'll explain that too. The reason for the nap after dinner is because the men that come home from a long day at work all want their food and the women cooking the meals all want their food. Both of the parties have had long days and after a heavy Middle Eastern meal, sleeping is inevitable (however). Don't get me wrong, this doesn't happen in every home, however I am only explaining what happens in some of the instances I have seen.

Tea post dinner is also very important, however I'll get to tea and coffee and all the other beverages in another post. During dinner however, there may be some beverages available. It ranges from soda to water to mango juice to other types of juice and so on. It's important to have the beverages available, however there are the people (older people usually) that occasionally wait to drink their tea after the food.

Middle Eastern Food

Middle Eastern food is my favorite food in the world. It ranges from nation to nation in the Middle East, however some people also tend to know that this specific dish came from a certain country, or for example, this certain dish arrived from here or originated from here. And the people in the Middle East eat things that may seem foreign or strange to the foreign public, however it is stuff we see as normal. For example people in the Middle East eat pigeons, turkey, geese, cow calf, cow stomach, cow intestines, cow kidneys, goat, and probably any type of fish that can be found in the sea.

Seafood in the Middle East is pretty important. For instance, in Alexandria, Egypt there are plenty of seafood restaurants that serve amazing (informed by other people) food. I don't mind seafood, however I wouldn't be found at a seafood restaurant.

There are plenty of vegetable dishes as well, such as Bamya, Fasuliya, Qolqas, and stuff that foreigners would never eat, however I personally seem to like it. Most of these dishes (with exception to qolqas) are served in some form of tomato sauce or another type of soup. Also, most of these dishes are served with chicken or meat that's right in the middle of the bowl containing this also.

Koshary is another vegetarian dish that's popular in Egypt. It's basically rice, noodles, lentils, and heavy tomato sauce with some fried onions on the top. It's a very filling dish, however some people say they get hungry after they eat it. I also recommend brushing your teeth for quite sometime afterwards because the onions on the top will leave your mouth smelling not fresh.

Nonetheless, Middle Eastern food is very unique to that specific location of the world and people there tend to find the dishes very appetizing. The markets that sell the ingredients in order to prepare these dishes are usually filled with people around noontime when little children are buying their necessary materials in order for the preparation to initiate at around three and dinner to start around four.

Night Time in Mersa Metrouh

The night time in Mersa Metrouh is really nice. I liked the fact that its attributes weren't necessarily the original known qualities of a loose city. It was really family friendly. There were little children like five or six or seven years old (or I could be really off however that is what it looked like they were) awake and around at two in the morning. The streets were packed with cars and people. Shops were open and the polluted look of the city during the day time is the same look (I think) that was there at night. I understood that the people awake were on vacation, however I had this feeling that the city was like this year round.

Eating along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea was a nice experience as well. I also thought that the tanks that were in the streets was something that wasn't normally there, however I decided to dismiss it as well. They weren't there for trouble. I know this because I thought I remembered seeing some people taking pictures with them.

During the day time, the city was hot. Night time, on the other hand, the city was cool and a breeze would arrive every now and what not and make the scene a little cool. And if there was one thing I wanted to try but the chance wasn't really available was that I wanted to try night swimming. I know I already swam at light two in the morning in the Mediterranean when I was in Alexandria, however night swimming is always fun and it would have been a remarkable experience to try it again.

The apartment we rented for the week was also nice. It was spacious, clean, and very close to the beach. The only problem with it (and it was a big problem) was that it only had one bathroom. And after a long day at the beach when everybody is wet, sandy, and angry, the shower is always taken. Nonetheless, patience prevailed and we managed to get through the post swimming day routine.

I remember that I would sit in the balcony until five or six in the morning just looking out into the street. The sky would slowly turn from black to purple, and from purple to light purple, and from light purple to blue and then soon the sky would represent daytime. The birds chirping was always nice as well. I also remember seeing the water in the distance.

Mersa Metrouh

The reality behind Mersa Metrouh is that it is an amazing coastal and touristic city for the Egyptian population and for the foreign to the country as well. I really liked Mersa Metrouh because we spent like seven days there and we tried not to waste time. I was in fact surprised that I wasn't bored only because I was there with like family members, however that didn't really seem to bother me.

Mersa Metrouh is famous for the right reason: the water there is not like any water elsewhere in the world. It's crystal clear near the shore along the shoreline and it becomes more and more blue as you go deeper in the water. I loved swimming in this water because it was refreshing. The experience was amazing and the idea behind the trip was something that didn't really get to me until after I left. There was a revolution going on in the nation and I was relaxing on the beach some seven hundred plus miles away or something.

My favorite beach that I saw was definitely A'geeba beach. The image that I mentally took a picture of was fascinating. I was on top of a cliff looking down into the blue water. The white sand along the shoreline was amazing as well and the cliff that was on the other side was something else also. I know that as I'm describing this image now it seems very under-described or something however that's because I can't seem to take the time to elaborately explain the image for it is essential to be seen and not heard about.

The best beach that I swam in was one in which I forgot the name. Nonetheless the reason for my liking of this beach so much is because of the normal attributes found in any beach in Mersa Metrouh along with a specific quality not found in most beaches. This quality is waves. Large body slamming waves. Waves that will tear down a city. Waves that tossed me around for several hours. There were some involuntary tricks that I was doing in the water that I didn't even know were possible, however they were expressed under water due to the waves. Oh yeah, underwater, that is an entirely different story.

The under water scenery of the beaches was nice when you were looking down however it was much more beautiful when you are down and looking up. The water does hurt the eyes, however this can be dismissed due to the fact that the beautiful image when you are looking up at the surface of the water is amazing.

I really liked Mersa Metrouh beaches. I liked them for the specific reason that they are famous for.

The Old Regime Needs to Leave

The old regime that once held Egypt needs to leave. That also goes for every single other country out there with a corrupt administration. Egypt's in a position right now that makes itself prone to going in any direction. I make it obvious to the public that I'm in no position to even offer an opinion on the political future. However I'm certain though that if someone from the previous regime (like Omar Suleiman who was running for president but is now disqualified) is around in the new one, there will be another uprising. In fact, more than half a million people were in Tahrir Square the other day protesting Omar Suleiman's involvement in the race. This number will be multiplied by like ten if he was to be elected president.

It's not like the new president is going to have a fun time in his new job. The country as it is right now is a mess. Politically unstable, economically unstable, and it's just going to take some time to fix it up. So if the new president is up for this huge responsibility and his intentions are clean, then he for sure has my vote. Along with the democratic policies and whatnot that everybody needs to hear in order to be secure, the main thing is that the president's personal qualities are respectable to a very high standard as well. This will ensure that no corruption will be present at all.

The Middle East right now as a region is going through some major historical changes. It's imperative that these changes don't ruin each individual nation's notion of removing corruption and maintaining stability throughout the region. There comes a point when a revolt is no longer necessary and negotiation is the only way they can move forward. Nonetheless, the revolt is important.

Presidential Elections in Egypt

The presidential elections in Egypt have truly been absorbing the spotlight for quite some time now and it plans to maintain its position among the most discussed topics between the Egyptian people for a while to come. It's considered the first democratic election in the history of the nation. If you have heard about the 2005 elections, forget about that since those weren't even democratic at all. However this once seems like it's going to be a true showdown.

Just yesterday ten candidates were disqualified and this decision was made by the temporary supreme court judges whose only jobs is to maintain the constitutionality of the elections. However only four or five names were given out of the ten that were disqualified and the final list of those still in the race will be announced on April 26.

There is quite a window of candidates in this election. You have the labor activist (Khaled Ali), you had the very conservative Islamist (Hazem Salah Abu Ismail), you had the ex-vice president (Omar Sulieman), you had the Muslim Brotherhood member businessman (Khairat El Shater), you have the moderate Islamist and physician (Abdel Moneim Abu El-Futouh), and plenty of other secular and independent party candidates. This really divides the nation up as it leaves the youth (whom constitute close to maybe half of the entire population) undecided with their future and whom they want to elect. There are of course the candidates that are popular with the youth, then you have the candidates that are popular with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (who are currently running the country), and then you have the other different sectors.

I myself am leading towards the moderate and very knowledgeable Islamist Abdel Moneim Abu El-Futouh. This man just sounds smart when you hear him talk. He's open minded and above all that he's very intelligent. The robbery and stealing that used to happen under Mubarak's regime wouldn't happen under his regime. He's a moderate Islamist who's willing to negotiate. Many people who opposed the extreme Hazem Abu Ismail don't oppose this man only because they're sure of his values.

A lot of people were angry with the decision of ex-candidate Mohamed el Baradie and how he terminated his race due to the fact that he didn't like how things were being run. He was a very popular candidate among the Egyptian people and he is the one who essentially started the revolution, or at least had a very large and prominent role in doing so.

Then there was the controversy over the Muslim Brotherhood and how they did what they said they wouldn't do and that is support a candidate who was Khairat El Shater who is now potentially out of the race. They wouldn't have resorted to doing such a thing if it wasn't for the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces' dealings with this entire presidential race in the first place. However this doesn't matter now seeing that their candidate is out of the race and I wish that wasn't so because he would have been my first pick. Seeing now that he's out, I have decided to go to Abdel Moneim Abu El Futouh.

History of the Middle East

The Middle East has a long, complex, and possibly even the most complicated history in the world. The region has experienced many forms of occupations and has been the subject of numerous empires and a civilization that's been inhabited since its initiation. Numerous dynasties such as the Umayyad, the Ayyubid, and the Ottoman empire all have once had a say in the economic, political, and all other forms of affairs. It's fortunate for me to say that these empires were extremely successful. Their borders were very large and the economic stability was unbelievable. It makes modern day states seem like they are worthless. In the earlier era, the societies would build their economy on the ladder of trade, fishing, construction, technology, science, and education in a sense that made them more established then the modern day nations of the Middle East.

The Arabs invented many things. So many things that I don't even want to mention one due to the fact that I'll probably end up mentioning all of them. Their minds back then worked together and they accomplished numerous goals and their achievements were widely accepted throughout the world at the time. The Middle East was the world superpower and they (the people at the time) were the ones who ran the affairs.

Arabs, Turks, Mamluks, and many other nationalities all lived together in one empire. There was no theoretical separation, only that of political and tangible affairs. Seems logical? It most certainly is logical. I don't mix and match different forms of opinions of my friends to end up choosing all of them. It's a way to gain power and that is around the power itself.

Modern states could certainly learn a thing or one hundred from the earlier states. Their economic system, their political system (although that remains undecided because of the corruption), and a system based on dealing with international affairs and what not. Let those beneficial to you be the ones close to you and let them establish a well-connected friendship in your lands. I'm not saying that the earlier era was flawless. In fact, it was heavily flawed do to some political corruption, however the outer image of that time period is much better than the one now in the Middle East.

Transition Post

I am not very sure what I should write about in this post so I'll just make the best of it. I'll probably direct the attention of this blog towards Turkey and Lebanon and try to discuss the modern touch that those nations have. I'll try not to focus on the Gulf region because I personally believe that I talked about them enough and anymore posts about them is highly unnecessary. Nonetheless, I'll make references to them, however they won't be the primary title of the next posts.

You might ask me why did I choose Turkey and Lebanon in particular. I'll respond with, "I don't know." I just chose these two nations to discuss. I mean, I like Turkey. I'll probably just talk about its individual movie industry and elaborately discuss its economy and culture a little more. Lebanon is also nice, however I just plan to talk more about it regarding my opinion.

I probably even think that I could talk about the history of the Middle East in general. About how like each region grew on its own and stuff like that. Oh well, I'll think of something.

The Newer Film era

The more modern film industry of the Middle East has adopted a specific routine of movies. What I mean is, ever since the corrupt regimes all took power in the 80s, the industry's main priority was to expose their nation's terrible ruler. This can be seen in Egypt's film industry especially. The 2000s were mainly filled with movies that talked about how their society was going downhill and how the corrupt regime was something that needed to be removed. The government quickly saw this and made the connection that this might be the source of any state of mind in which an individual wants to overthrow his/her government. So what the government did was it banned these movies and the prominent actors began not focusing on this anymore.

The fact that the movies whose topics were openly pointing fingers and exposing the government were banned didn't stop the industry from making movies that still talked about tainted the image of the regime. They only were able to do this transparently. Plenty of modern films in the Middle East also talk about the youth and problems that the youth are facing and stuff like that. The funny films are quickly losing their touch seeing that many people (especially these days) aren't very focused on watching a funny movie, although they are still produced.

The nice thing about the modern films is that the budget allows the actors travel around the world and apply better quality to the movie itself and better effects. Many actors have traveled to places such as Thailand, China, Syria, and other places. This can be both work and a fun experience for the actors.

I will make a prediction that the future of the film industry will be mostly comprised up of movies that are talking about the revolutions or that have something to do with them. In fact, there are plenty of movies that are out now that portray the revolutions and such that took place. Plenty of new shows and films are openly insulting the previous regimes seeing that there's not a government out now that will "ban" these movies. However this whole idea of insulting the government openly has never happened before.

My opinion on the modern movies of the Middle East varies from movie to movie, however the majority of the movies I have seen aren't very nice. I believe this is mainly because the plots are losing any originality, actors are becoming worse (hence the emerging new generation that plan to act), and the movies themselves lack any new message. There are however some movies that are very nice. Those are mainly action movies that have many prominent actors and a good plot and so on and so forth. In the end, I believe that the modern film industry needs a few alterations that will make it better than what it was, however they shouldn't focus too much on it.

Older Movies of the Middle East

The era between the 60s and 70s (and part of the 80s) was the best time of movies in the Middle East. Over 100 movies were made per year in Egypt and Lebanon (up to today) has produced over 500 films. I don't know too much about the older Lebanese cinema, however I can make the guess that the movies back then were much better than what they are now and if not, then that's just the case with Egypt.

The 60s and 70s movies were amazing. Plots were somewhat original, actors were good at what they did, and the movies weren't boring. In Egypt, plenty of the musicians were also actors. They'd take that opportunity to "advertise" their singing skills right there in the movie. That is why I think that the Egyptian cinema in general has more characteristics of Bollywood than it does anything else.

One thing I love about the older movies, like I said, was the plots. They made sense. They were unique. In fact, some of the movies are so unique that no other cinema in the world can use it as a precedent for their own movies. This is because some of the features of Egyptian (and Arab movies in general) are unique to the Arab world. Those particular societies have their own past and their own present. Particular aspects that may not seem taboo abroad would definitely find itself among the "adults only" portion of movies back in the Middle East. The comedy films shown on screen in the Arab world is something that is definitely cannot be shown elsewhere. This is also because people foreign to the Middle East wouldn't find it funny and so on.

Aspects of the older movies such as the effects and cinematography can easily be dismissed. This is because the movie's plot and acting would cover up for those lesser qualities. The older movies were also different than the modern movies in a sense that the older movies tried to exhibit something new to the world. What I mean by that is the older movies were much more focused on discovering new plots and story lines, while some indeed did actually talk about Egyptian society, it wasn't their main priority. The case is much different with modern movies, however I'll leave that discussion for a different post.

Some people disagree with the including the 70s and 80s as a time period in which the movies of Egypt were actually good. However I personally believe that many of the older actors today were in their prime during that time period. In fact, if it wasn't for that time period then they probably wouldn't be regarded as prominent these days by the new generation of actors that are appearing.

The older actors of the Egypt especially would attract my attention very well when they would combine together and form a masterpiece film. The ensemble cast would be so effective in the acting and the plot's success would essentially lead to the film's success all over the nation.

In the end, I loved the older movies. Newer movies, not so much (although some are very good) however I'll leave that for some other post or something.

Movies of the Middle East

The movie industry in the Middle East requires more than one post because I won't be just analyzing contemporary movies, but older ones as well. So just a preview- the movie industry is nice. I like it. Other people don't. To each his own...right?

Wrong. The movie industry is flawed as well. Like the music industry, movies were so much better back int he 60s, 70s, and 80s. Some movies made in the last decade are very nice, however the majority of them are just in-watchable.

Some movies have effects that make me ask the question of how can they even bring themselves to putting this up on the big screen. Other movies, on the other hand, have world class effects and the plots are very nice and unique.

I won't go into too much detail this post because this particular sector of entertainment requires an elaborate description. Keep in mind that what I say is my opinion and not facts; although I wouldn't be surprised to see my opinion being among the majority.

The largest movie industry in the Middle East is in Egypt. Other prominent ones include Lebanon, Turkey, and some areas of the Gulf. Now, those movies/shows are unbearable. But like I said, I'll leave that for its own.

Stay tuned for the most opinionated post about the movie industry in the Middle East!

Music of the Arab World

Music of the Arab world is something that seems to embarrass some people and define others. The contemporary style music isn't what the older generation likes and the older style of music seems to appeal to everybody. The older style of music was (in its time) unique, new, appeals to a large audience, made sense, and just flat out amazing. During the 60s and the 70s and maybe the 80s, the Middle East was for sure on the map regarding the music industry around the world.

Famous older musicians include Mohammed Abdel Wahhab, Abdel Halim Hafez, and Um Kalthoum. These artists here were actually talented in a sense that threw everybody off when they'd first hear them sing. Their voices embodied something along the lines of extreme professionals with talent that wasn't available anywhere else in the world. The topics of their songs were too very unique and complex. Since most of them were around the 50s and 60s, they all seemed to sing about Egypt and wars and stuff that appealed to everybody. Love and romantic songs were also present, however the way these artists went about exhibiting their talent through topics like these only made these topics listenable.

Modern musicians and artists are embarrassing to the older generation and "amazing" to the youth. I personally don't seem to understand what their talent is. It seems that these artists have become so dependent upon the west and India for examples, whereas the older generation was purely theirs and it wasn't copied.

The topics (or should I say topic) that all of these musicians sing about it love and romance. A scenario that seems to talk about someone being cheated on, they cheated on someone, etc. I don't seem to like their music videos either. They're boring, unoriginal, and sometimes useless. For example, they'll be geographically off. Like when's there going to be very hard rain in the middle of the Middle East? Or a better question- why do you even sing?? Modern musicians include Tamer Hosny, Amr Diab (who is somewhat respected only because he's been around for so long and his music actually kind of sounds good), Nancy Ajram and more.

The music industry in the Arab world needs a few things. First and foremost, it needs massive reforms to filter out the unnecessary music videos that practically don't coincide with anyone in the Middle East. Now, if they insist on keeping it (I'm not going to lie, I like the music) then they need to change the topics up a little bit, make it more clever, actually talk about something. 

They need to make the industry more like what it was before. I guess I'll reluctantly put out there that many new songs these days have to do with the revolutions that took place. Oh look, some variety! That's a nice move, they should elaborate on that for a little bit.
 

Interviews

The interviews that deal mainly with celebrities are something that can be both entertaining and unwatchable. I'd first like to point out that these celebrities think their something that they are just not. You are an actor in this country yes, but who cares what you do for a living? The moral side of this situation is something that is generally absent because when you analyze the interviews with these celebrities, you know that there's nothing more concrete than it.

The interviewer asks simple questions like 'tell me about you childhood' or 'explain to me what the toughest par about being an actor is' or 'what's your favorite memory that you have throughout this career'. Literally, these are questions that require no preparation except maybe for a few minutes before the start of the show.

There are some exceptions. You'll tend to find that the more prominent actors and actresses only agree to do shows with the more professional and well known shows; like they are. It's not that I despise these shows. In fact, I find them very interesting. However, I do believe that there is much potential for improvement, not that anybody in the Middle East right now has "watching interviews" as their top priority. Nonetheless, when it was actually very popular among the population, people did seem to watch it constantly.

The political interviews are my favorite. The best thing about them is that they always seem to turn into a discussion between the interviewer and the guest. Essentially the interviewer isn't supposed to express their views, however the informality of the show itself (especially these days) causes the host to forget completely his role that only requires him to ask questions and just say what he personally thinks.

I really like the topics that are held in these interviews. They focus much on the problems in the Middle East rather than the international problems. They could care less about what's going on in with regards to soccer somewhere in Europe, but when it comes to their own country and the revolutions taking place there; yeah, that's mostly where their attention in directed.

My favorite political discussion is called "Opposite Direction". It's mainly a neutral host who mediates between two opposing parties who are required to discuss on certain topics. This show can get so out of hand that they're forced to take unscheduled commercial breaks. Sometimes the discussion will quickly turn into an argument that will turn personal that will has the potential of turning physical but will stop before that stage.

Not all of the political shows are like that. It just so happens that my favortie one is that one only because of the overall nature of the interview/argument itself. Like I said, political interviews are much better than other ones.
 

Entertainment in the Middle East

The entertainment industry in the Middle East is something that can be either very copying-esque to other industries around the world like Bollywood in India and Hollywood in the U.S. The contemporary music industry has received plenty of critique from the older generation music listeners. Same goes for the movie industry as well as the interviews of the stars.

Of course the entertainment industry can be unique in a way. For example, the most prominent actors of the Egyptian cinema are some of the best actors I have ever seen in mu entire life. Their qualities as actors have crossed many international boundaries. Now, the music is something that I tend to stay away from a little bit only because it just sounds very bad.

I won't go into detail about the entertainment industry in general because each specific sector deserves its own elaborated upon description. Nonetheless, I will say that I do hope that these posts take a while because they are unfortunately important to the Middle East.

Villas in a Gated Residential Place

The newer developments in the actual Middle Eastern cities like Cairo or Amman are all classified by contemporary architecture, Mediterranean style villas and mansions, and they are expensive. All of these villas take the form of more European style homes like in Spain or something like that. They seem very nice from the outside however some people tend to exhibit discomfort towards these places because it is the actual manifestation of the social class difference in these countries. However, I think that some people deserve a break form the rush of the inner city traffic and noises. So essentially the people who live in these developments are not trying to show any disrespect to the actual state of their nation.

These interiors of these villas are modern, clean, organized, and expensive. Numerous t.vs are lines up all over the place. Bedrooms upstairs that show contemporary architecture and the master bedroom is like a king's room. The kitchen can either be locked away in the back and it may share some of the characteristics of an older Arab home or it may be open to the living room like any modern home and be clean and organized.

The backyards all have swimming pools that are very nice. The garden is large and the greenery is very nice. The in these areas tend to have a nice car and all the amenities of a city are available.

I like these new developments. I think they are very nice and people shouldn't show any discontent. We're not sure of the intentions of the home owners and blah blah blah.. I could go on about both sides of the situation and talk about it however I'm only informing you the reader of how different the newer areas are from the older places.

Old Arab City

The Old Arab City is literally something that just came to me when I was thinking of a title for this post, however the true nature of this title truly reflects the vast amount of options that may be used in order to title the posts that deal with old Arab homes.

Indeed, the old Arab homes are old. In fact they're so old that I sometimes think I took a few steps back in time into something like the 18th or 17th century (when these developments were actually built). The fact that they presevre these old places provides support for either two things; they are too lazy to tear them down and build actual modern homes or they like their past because it makes them feel unique.

Nonetheless, these homes are so old and unique in their designs that it seems like a touristic center in itself. Preserved Roman architecture and complicated designs are found a lot, especially in the older cities like Alexandria or Amman. The architecture in Alexandria in particular is something that amazes me a lot. It is something more closer to Mediterranean style place.

That's the exterior and what they look like. Inside however, is something more unique than the exterior. Ok, we can temporarily dismiss the fact that the density of the six to ten story apartment buildings is present. However, I personally need to address the fact that you can literally hear/see the actions that take place in other homes. It's like nothing's a secret, yet people will in fact get caught in tangles over privacy.

We go into a specific home now and you will find more elaborate images of the living room, kitchen, bathroom, etc.

The contemporary living room in an older city in the Middle East consists of something along the lines of this: a nice t.v., a few very large couches (I'll get to why they're large in a second), and some table that's probably off center and with old decaying flowers in it. The nice t.v. is necessary because everyone watches t.v. at some given point in time. So they need this luxury because it justifies some leisure time home because they make plenty of sacrifices elsewhere in the house. For example, the reason why they have such large couches is because the grandfather or grandmother or someone will essentially be forced to sleep on it because of lack of beds that need to be in cooperation of the people. The decaying flowers is their form of decoration. I mean, they just do not care what it looks like in there. If they were forced to actually tidy their living room some time it would be because of a very important/prominent guest. Other than that, it pretty much looks like ancient history in there, except for the fact that there's a large and expensive t.v.

Kitchens are dreaded by everyone, yet everyone knows very well that they need to make their way in there some point in time. For one, they all are small and crowded. There's an enlarged fridge in the corner that can only be opened half way due to lack of space and there is also the ten thousand year old oven that some how still works. The sink is large as well. There's a window that leads out into the clearing area between the apartments of the building. It probably smells something like a combination of spices, onions, and old food leftover.

Bedrooms are nice. The master bedroom is the only thing that probably represents the remnants of the marriage of the owners of the house. It has some nice furniture and it also looks pretty well kept. However, the other smaller bedrooms are old, peeling walls, and multiple beds to accommodate the over flowing house of people.

Dining rooms are kept clean as well. The only reason why they're kept clean is because nobody eats in them. The entire family will spread out a mat or some old sheets onto the floor in front of the t.v. in the living room and they'll eat sitting down. The only time, I believe, when the actual dining table is used is when there's an important guest or something.

Do you see why now the older homes are unique?

Time for a New Topic- Homes in the Middle East

If you are anywhere in the Middle East, and you plan on going into a home there, then you need a few tips and pointers so you're not comparable to a foreigner. You can go into a shack on the roof of a rundown building somewhere in the older downtown areas or you can go inside a mansion in some gated community with palm trees lining the road and essentially you will find the same features in both.

I won't go into minimized detail about separate topics because each feature of a Middle Eastern home requires its own elaborate explanation. I haven't been inside a home in the Middle East that deserves the title "organized". The houses there can be clean and new but that will never change the activities that occur behind the walls of the home itself.

First and foremost, a Middle Eastern home, whether it is a shack or a villa, is probably filled will more than the immediate family members that actually own the home. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and etc will all be in there at some given point in time. Whether it is three in the morning or three in the afternoon, the homes there will always be crowded and people will always be yelling, crying, laughing. All kinds of noises from all ages ranging from a few months to more than ninety.

There will always be the diva girl who's on the phone with whoever, and the teenage boy kicking around a soccer ball screaming at the television that probably has a soccer game running. There will be the mother and the grandmother cooking in the overheated kitchen and there will always be an irritated grandfather and possibly even father.

It's these qualities that make the Middle Eastern homes much different than any other place in the world. The unique characteristics of these establishments embody the true nature of elaborated exhibition of Middle Eastern and nothing more to it.

Spotlight on Iran (part II)

It's not that I want Iran to build a nuclear weapon, but if that's what it takes to shut out the major powers opposing the advancement of them, then by all means prove them wrong. The Iranians have something that they need to fulfill; and that is dotted with plenty of different advancement in their science and technology sector. 

I would hope to see the west and Iran come to some sort of agreement regarding this topic that doesn't even need to be discussed. And it's not like the Chinese or the Russians are supporting Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, but they are doing the right thing by trying to advocate a peaceful route to obtain a solution. Turkey is trying to moderate between Iran and the west and everyone is waiting on Iran now. Whether they agree to international terms or not, it's up to them to do whatever they want.

Perhaps Iran wanting to obtain a nuclear weapon (that is if they even want make one) will indeed drive the other nations in the region to follow through and obtain the same technology. So what? What's the big deal? If it is not for defense then it's for advancing their science and technology sector. People need to eliminate the thoughts of "extremism" from their minds. Nations in the Middle East aren't trying to start problems. But since the west as been deliberately distributing tainted images of the Middle East, then everyone is forced to think of them as extreme; which is very very wrong in my opinion. 

There will not be one nation in the world that will benefit from war with Iran; not israel or Iran or Russia or any other nation. But that is something commonly known throughout the world; yet people still insist on keeping this option available.

In the end, I sure do hope that Iran and its enemies do come to some sort of agreement.

Spotlight on Iran

The current spotlight on the Middle East these days is centered around Iran and their extremely controversial nuclear program. To make a long story short; there are major powers around the world such as usa, uk israel, france, and all of their puppet states that are completely against Iran obtaining nuclear energy. These nations put together the equation that Iran plus nuclear power would equal israel's massive destruction....?

Ok, hypothetically speaking, let's say that Iran did in fact obtain a nuclear weapon(s). What's the big deal? They're not bullies, they're not murderers, and they are not terrorists. I happen to know that israel is suspected of having a massive arsenal of nuclear weapons. In fact, they indirectly admit to having it because they openly advocated the use of their so-called "samsun option" (look if up if you don't know what it is). Why would israel be making threats to destroy itself and all of the nations around it with nuclear weapons and at the same time they don't openly admit to possessing it. If you ask me, israel's the real threat in the Middle East. Not Iran. I mean, they never once admitted to even have the intentions of manufacturing nuclear weapons; yet everyone in the world seems to think that it is their number one priority. The only argument that the west has against Iran is the whole idea of the Iranian government not allowing international atomic energy officials to inspect their own classified military base that's "suspected" of possessing these weapons.

Responding to what has been said above, I don't believe the IAEA or anybody other than the Iranian government have the right to go to classified areas of their country and "inspect" vital points about their so called "nuclear program". I fully fully support the Iranian government wanting to enrich their uranium and I would even support them if they wanted to build nuclear weapons. People in israel claim that if Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons, then it'll spark a Middle Eastern "Cold War". Even if it does, what is the business of the other nations??

The opposition of the west and major world powers against the Middle East's advancement is something that seems to anger me a lot. It so happens that fallacies about the Middle East are viewed through the same pair of binoculars that essentially provide a tainted panorama of the Middle East and its "extremist" intentions. Iran nowadays is known as the "warmonger" because their holding excessive amounts of military exercises because of direct threats from opposing nations to make air strikes on Iran. So it's only natural for them to respond with the same, if not, more aggressive threats for they are not the ones who initiated the conflict in the first place.

Other people claim that this conflict over Iran is going to be the reason why the world is plunged into world war three.........no it's not. Nobody is going to initiate massive world destruction over some nation that appears to be advancing, because that is what is comes down to. World leaders aren't dumb and they know that if an attack on Iran happened the consequences would be devastating. Only then would a massive war break out; but until then, I don't believe in any military actions....from either side.

Politics

Politics of the Middle East is a very controversial topic that can essentially spark up anger and drive it to a certain point in which people will go crazy. Of course the topic of the Middle East these days has to do with the so called "extremist" country of Iran and the international dispute as to whether Iran should have nuclear energy or not. This topic can be talked about for hours and I love talking about it. I love hearing what the other side has to say. They don't respect Iran's liberty for building something that they (the west) have and have had for a while. Keep in mind that Iran has claimed that its intentions to generate nuclear energy is because they need it for electricity and other things essential for its nation. I believe them and I even support their right to build the nuclear weapon in they wanted to.

Tourism in Dubai/Doha/Kuwait City (they're all the same)

Tourism in Dubai and Doha and Kuwait City essentially all offer the same thing. No doubt that some of these cities are on different levels, but keep in mind that they all share the same qualities as well; low population, plenty of money, nothing to spend it on, and good weather all year.

I won't single out one city in particular, but I do really want to advocate the fact that these cities as well are in need for the tourism sector in their economy. If they don't strengthen this sector (among other ones) then they will be in deep trouble for when their oil runs out.

Now, what these cities have to offer is very luxurious hotels, world class amenities, and a stable society (for the most part). Indeed, the hotels there deserve commendation, but I just don't see the point in over doing it. The amount of competition these hotels that are essentially located on the same roads might cause some trouble or disputes. I don't think that they care for that at the moment since revenues from other things seem to cloud that fact.

Like I said, the tourism industries in various countries around the Middle East tend to compete with each other. But the competition can be very subtle. But as for monuments and historical centers, these new "world class" cities can't compete. It also angers me when tourists go visit these cities before thinking about the other actual Arab cities in the Middle East and claim that they went to the "real" Middle East. Oh man, can Dubai put on a show for its visitors. Apart from hotels and world class beaches and seven star hotels (which essentially all offer the same thing) they have nothing to offer its visitors.

I know I mentioned this a little bit before in the previous post, but these Gulf Arabs tend to leave their countries and spend their money in other cities. You know, it's good for these other cities but it makes them look bad, in my opinion.

Tourism in Amman

Tourism in Amman is probably the one that's trying to advance the most. The newly titled "liberal" city is quickly making its way to the regional magezines and such forms of mass media that could quickly spread the word; the word that Amman is trying to become the regional "spot".

I agree but disagree with what they are trying to do. I mean, other than amplifying their current infrastructure and alter the city into a more modern one, they really have nothing else to offer the world. People who go there aren't going to go visit the marine life. Amman isn't bordered by water at all and the only city in the entire country that has what you may call a coastline is Aqaba, which essentially only shares around 16 miles of the Red Sea; something that could easily be disregarded for any tourist coming from Europe or something.

What Amman does have, however, is a bunch of monuments and Roman architecture that photographers seem to find intersting/fun. To each his own; when it comes to tourism and topics that differ, I personally tend to stay away from the unfortunate steryotype of the unnecessary sun hat, sunglasses, a camera that is expensive beyond words, and a comletely clueless mind about the place in which they are visiting.

Like I said, competition is somewhat present when it comes to tourism around the region. Monuments? You would be wasting your time if you go anywhere other than Egypt. But another thing that Amman wants to amplify is their nightlife scene. Clubs bars, stripclubs, adult shops, and possibly something that would never be seen in the Middle East; bars that allow for the unspeakable action between the same gender. This is something that would never pass off as acceptable any where in Egypt or Syria or places that are somewhat strict in their regulations. But since Amman is adopting the western cultures, they allow for it. I'm confused as to what they are trying to advocate exactly. They don't allow Muslim residents of the city to enter these clubs but they will take the tourists' money? Something else that doesn't make sense is the need to have these clubs and bars, especially when the money they collect from it is technically forbidden. This is something I have to look into.

Amman needs tourism though. The entire nation needs tourism because there is nothing else they can offer to help their economy except maybe industry and services. Whatever their reasons are for trying new routes that could be used to amplify this particular sector is completely up to them. Keep in mind that tourism is rapidly expanding in Amman; especially since plenty of tourists that aren't going to Cairo ot Damascus or Beirut are going to go there.

The Gulf Arabs are essentially the ones that provide a lot of money to the countries in which they visit. For example, in Cairo and Amman alike, they'll go the shopping malls and souks there and just spend tons and tons of money. You'll see them walking around in like packs of ten or eleven (which is usually the size of their families) and each member of the "team" is carrying at least two shopping bags in each hand. I mean, I know for a fact that they are not going to these cities because of the utilities of the malls offered there because they are essentially the same, if not less advanced and luxurious and blah blah blah as the kind of malls that they have in Dubai or Doha. So then the question is why do they go there. I honestly don't have an answer to this question because I'm still unsure. It might be that they want a change but it still doesn't appeal to me that they won't leave the Middle East to go visit places in Europe or Asia; which indeed is a huge possibility that they do.

In the end, I think that Amman (yes I got off topic a little but that's ok) is quickly expanding its tourism sector to be able to compete with the other countries in the region. I just hope they filter out some of the unacceptable features that they have and make it more reasonable.

Tourism in Lebanon

Being that Lebanon is a much more liberal country, the tourism industry there is quite flexible. Plenty of people tend to visit Lebanon to enjoy the enhanced night life there. Nonetheless, Lebanon's deep and complicated past also provides plenty of monuments and sight seeing events.

The scenic country also seems to take advantage of its mountains and forests and plenty of organized hiking trips are planned there, including some ski resorts. But of course the deep focus of Lebanon is directed towards their Rivera, with plenty of hotels and resorts lining up the Mediterranean coast. Rules are relaxed, which leads to the foreign tourists being relaxed when they go there.

The nice weather leads to swimming in the morning and the cool nights leads to a visit to the night clubs and discos or whatever they have there to offer, I don't even know what it is. All I know is that people there seem to have quite a bit of fun. Nonetheless, Beirut and Lebanon as a whole is facing some competition regarding it tourism industry from its neighbor county's capital Amman.

Tourism in Egypt

Now I can get back on topic and discuss tourism in the Middle East. Excuse my anger that may have been expressed in the previous post, however I though it was very necessary to post it considering the current state of the world.

I now plan to shift the topics of my posts back to tourism; first starting with Egypt.

The tourism industry in Egypt is diverse. You can practically do anything you want to; sight-seeing, swimming, and...oh wait, that is about it. True, it may not be as diverse as other countries, nonetheless it is very unique. Egypt has one third of the total historical monuments in the world. So if you are into photography and such stuff, Egypt definitely is the place to go.

Now, as far as the marine and swimming sectors go, Egypt has a very promising swimming life. From the Red Sea Rivera to the Mediterranean Sea. From the Gulf of Suez to the inner city water parks. The Red Sea Rivera offers plenty of things such as scuba diving, jet skiing, and many many more things that I just can't seem to think of at the moment.

There's a catch to being a foreign tourist in Egypt though; there is a big chance you will be scammed. A lot. Egyptians will jump to the chance to rob you of your money. They think that you are completely clueless and you won't know the real price of things. For foreign tourists, this statement is very valid. Which is why I recommend not taking a trip to Egypt unless you are with an Egyptian. But keep in mind that these scams are only present in the old areas where plenty of the monuments are located. For instance the Khan el Khalili bizarre, there are plenty of cafes there. A can of soda there costs around 30 Egyptian Pounds to a foreign tourist; which is close to six times the price of a can in a cafe outside the touristic boundaries.

Now, in places like Sharm El Sheikh you probably won't be scammed directly. True some things might be overpriced, however nobody will directly scam you. Reason is that many international branches opened there and the Egyptian industry needs to maintain a good name for these names. If they ruin them or spoil their cause, then the industry can consider them gone.

In the end, visiting Egypt is a very smart idea, however what isn't a good idea is visiting them now due to the current trouble that is found almost every where in the country. But when things calm down a little, then I highly recommend making Egypt a top spot on your list of places to go.

Puppets of the Middle East

I know I promised to discuss the tourism industry among the different nations of the Middle East, however due to the current state of the region and the different revolutions that have been taking place, I realize that I need to address something else very important. Something that people who seem to be looking for something corrupt in the current regime seem to overlook. Something that I myself didn't know existed until I looked into it. But before I go into that, I will have to apologize for my inconsistencies throughout my posts.

Now, people will have excuse my anger if it seems to be expressed by a lot, however this is an angering topic. The topic consists of very transparent empires; ones that now are expanding in the Middle East. The core of this so- called "empire" are the ones that seem to be ambiguous to the outside world. Nonetheless, people in the Middle East do sense something that is out of place. The core of these empires seems to be located in the west and other places in Europe. The entire modern era of the Middle East wasn't dominated by the Arab culture. Now doubt the Arab cultures were present, however, something is different when you have British nations and French nations occupying and taking over different countries in the Middle East.

Ok, so many revolutions took place that completely removed these outsiders; or so they (Arabs) thought. Contemporary rulers of the Middle East are the mere puppets of the west. They (the west) know very well that any new occupation won't help their case and in conclusion, they won't be successful. They have accepted that fact and so to counter attack it they have decided to plant different "rulers" among the different nations in the Middle East.

What's the point of planting these rulers in the first place? Their purpose is to benefit the "implanting" country; which in this case is the world powers which are classified as the west. Essentially what the rulers would do is they'd accept massive amounts of bribes from these large powers and in return they'd incorporate the idealistic principles that in the end would benefit the countries that put them there. For instance, they'd want to expand the thoughts of secularism, modernism, and tag anybody who maybe classified as an extremist as a potential terrorist.

Unwanted treaties were formed and citizens of the nations that were wronged started despising their rulers. The parasite that infests the Middle East is the source of all "evil" and political trouble that even powerful nations aren't able to solve.

Like I said, it is a transparent occupation. Any new rules or regulations that are imposed on the "occupied" countries are essentially the rules and regulations of the occupying nation; it is just someone else (the rulers) enforcing it for them so the world doesn't view the occupying nation as a threat. It's just one large show that everyone seemed to buy before; but now ever since the Arab Spring, many revolutions overthrew their rulers and the occupying nations are more worried than ever. They don't know whether they should interfere to protect their interests there or what. If they do that first option, they're prone to attacks from other nations and also it is like they want themselves to carry the title of occupier. So it won't be in their best interest to do so. In the end, the best solution for everyone is they (the world powers) accept the fact that they are no longer ventriloquists and the Arab rulers are no longer puppets for anyone.

Tourism in the Middle East

Tourism in the Middle East is something that seems to be expressed heavily. Tourism in almost every country in the Middle East (with a few exceptions) seems to contribute to a large proportion of that nations entire economy. There are a lot of shared features of tourism among these countries. They mainly consist of beaches, historical monuments, annual events, and much more. Some however can be very specific like the Hajj Pilgrimage in Mecca.

Tourism seems to be advancing in the Middle East, seeing that it is a relatively competitive sector; and like I said, there are many shared characteristics between the nations. Some nations however like to focus a little more strongly on specifics. For example, Jordan is trying to focus on enhancing its nightlife, especially in Amman. Dubai is trying to attract tourists from all over the globe to come see the city's infrastructure. Egypt and Syria aren't really focusing much on tourism these days because of what is happening in their countries.

Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates all seem to want to enhance their city life scene so people will come and join them. But when it comes to these nations in particular, plenty of international tourists tend to avoid showing up during the summer. This is because the summer season in these countries is something unbearable. You'd be out of your mind if you chose to take a vacation in the Gulf countries in like mid July. It just doesn't happen.

Saudi Arabia only collects revenues from tourism in during the Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca. Saudi Arabia is an Islamic nation that follows the Islamic Shari'a. Therefore you will not see any beaches, or nightclubs, or any of that. Apart from Mecca, Saudi Arabia doesn't really have any monuments or places to go sight seeing in. During the summer, I'm guessing that Saudi Arabia is dominated by domestic tourists, although I'm not so sure.

In the end, the next few posts will essentially analyze the tourism industry in various nations in the Middle East. And if there are any repeats or nations that seem to obtain very similar qualities regarding their tourism, then I'll pretend that their both competing against each other and I'll analyze both nations at the same time.

Natural Resources of the Middle East

Normally when people think the Middle East, their minds immediately think of sand, camels, and pyramids. I don't understand what it is with people who insist that the Middle East is like that. However contemporary stereotypes include people saying that we have massive amounts of oil, which is essentially true. Among the top ten largest proven oil reserves in the world, six of the nations are located in the Middle East.

Lots of people know how much wealth oil can bring in, seeing that oil is the main cause of the industrial boom going on throughout nations such as Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. So with information like this in mind, people tend to show some hostility towards the Middle East. It doesn't really matter what people say, I just hope that these economies that have oil and petroleum make good use of the money they get from it and not just spend it on useless things.

People seem to think that oil is all that's available in the Middle East. However there are plenty of other natural resources found in this region. Resources such as natural gas, gold, plenty of forests, and very large mines. Saudi Arabia possesses eighteen percent of the entire world's total oil, Iran and Qatar posses 17% and 13% of the entire world's total natural gas reserves, respectively. Egypt has plenty of cotton and natural gas as well and Jordan contains close to three percent of the entire world's total uranium share.

In fact, the Middle East is ridden with plenty of natural resources. Why else do you think there are plenty of nations in the past and in the present that want to occupy the Middle East? Oil is their first goal, then comes natural gas, and gold. These resources seem to drive nations apart and manage to conjure massive wars that in the end lead to nothing beneficial.

I hope that the Middle Eastern nations make good use of their natural resources that they have. The could potentially be self sustained if they choose to use them right, especially of their use is efficient. The Middle East also seems to enjoy an adequate supply of water, whether it's from various seas or rivers, but nonetheless water is present.

Syria

Syria is a very nice nation, with a unique past and very respectable culture. It's lifestyle isn't much different than what you may find in other Middle Eastern nations, however the city's architecture expresses some noticeable differences. For example, the unique combining of mosques and churches is notoriously found in Syria, even though you can find that in any other Middle Eastern city (especially Beirut).

The capital of Syria is Damascus, however the largest city if Aleppo. Plenty of other cities in Syria are among the oldest and still inhabited cities in the world. It's located in the Sham district, otherwise known as the Levant along with Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan. These three nations all share some style of Arabic that's somewhat different than the Egyptian Arabic used in Egypt. Don't get me wrong, an Egyptian will understand a Syrian or a Lebanese or Palestinian/Jordanian when they speak, however it might be a little unclear at first.

The population of Syria is almost 23 million people and the vast majority of it (87%) is Muslim, with around 74% being Sunni and the remaining bit is comprised of Shia and all of its branches. The remaining group of the population is mostly christian and other religions. Syria has many mosques near or relatively close to churches.  So you could say that Syria is sort of lenient about its laws regarding religion and such topics. I wouldn't call it a liberal country, however there are some characteristics in it that seem to be much more flexible than other features.

Syria has a strong educational system that they inherited from France. To be honest though, it is actually pretty similar to that of Egypt's and Jordan's. The grade system is divided up in the same way and then the university system is also pretty similar throughout all of these nations. Damascus University is the largest and oldest university in Syria with around 180,000 students. Syria also has plenty of other private universities that also offer a nice form of education.

Syria's culture is dominated by a number of features such as sports, cuisine, movies, and music. Sports in Syria seem to be diverse, seeing that soccer, basketball, swimming, and tennis all are popular throughout the nation. Music is also quite popular as well as the movie industry.

Like I said, Syria is a respectable nation. I just hope that their revolution ends fast, seeing that it is getting out of control by the day. It's a good friend of many other Arab nations, despite the fact that they are suspended from the Arab League, however that particular move was intentionally done to attack the president and the corrupt regime that empowers the country. I just hope that Syria will be among the other nations apart of the Arab Spring that were successful in their revolution.

Opportunity Cost of Conflict in the Middle East

The opportunity cost of conflict basically means what the economy of a specific country could have looked like, or appeared, had there not been any wars or other trouble that could potentially disrupt economic growth. The combined opportunity cost of conflict for the Middle East as a whole is around twelve trillion dollars! That's a very very very large number, considering that fact that many of these countries are seen as containing the potential for becoming economically powerful.

The opportunity cost of conflict in Lebanon is something close to one hundred billion dollars. The opportunity cost of conflict for Jordan is around eighty four billion dollars, the opportunity cost of conflict for Syria is close to $150 billion. The opportunity cost of conflict of Egypt is $800 billion, which is an extremely large number.

Basically these figures here represent the amount of wealth that could have been distributed among the citizens of  the specific country had there not been any wars or conflicts.

In my opinion, these numbers truly represent the economic power of the Middle Eastern countries. If other nations hadn't taken advantage of them in the past, then there would definitely be a change in the economic powers, with the list being altered magnificently.  

Mosques in the Middle East

Mosques in the Middle East are amazing. In Egypt, they are located almost on every single corner. They're easily spotted too. Every minaret in Egypt soars well into the sky at night and is illuminated with plenty of light green bulbs. There are thousands of mosques in Egypt, which is why they call the city, "The city of a Thousand minarets". It's the only city in the world that receives that title. However, there are many shared characteristics between the mosques in Egypt and the mosques in like Lebanon, Syria, or Jordan. And since each of these countries elaborately portrays the unequal distribution of wealth, the mosques differ based on where they are located. In Egypt, if they give you a small alley and put in some walls, a fan or two, and possibly a ceiling with green lights on the outside, then it's a mosque. In Amman the mosques there are in the middle of the downtown area scattered throughout.

It's essential to have mosques in the Middle East. People need to pray when it's time to pray and people need a close one that will be convenient to their jobs and homes. But since mosques in the Middle East are more common than cars, finding a few close to your home shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Saudi Arabia has the Ka'abah which is located in Mecca. It's the most sacred place in the world for worshipping for a Muslim. I myself can't imagine what it would be like to pray among those many Muslims in one area (even though I did, I just can't remember) and experience it. The Prophet's (Peace be Upon him) mosque is also located in Saudi Arabia. These two mosques are very important to a Muslim.

Every country in the Middle East has that "famous" mosque. The Ka'bah in Saudi Arabia, Al-Quds in Palestine, Masjid Al- Azhar in Egypt and so on. These mosques are important landmarks throughout these countries, however it's a against Islam to travel to a certain place with intentions to pray at a certain mosque unless it is Al Ka'abah in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

The qualities of the mosques differ from country to country as well. The very commonly known characteristics of a typical mosque in Egypt is as follows; crowded, hot, infested with flies and other sorts of insects. However these qualities are inviting, especially since it proves one's dedication to go pray. Several other mosques' qualities include clean, air conditioned, spacious, and in good locations. These mosques are present in Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon as well, however they are only found in the affluent districts.

Mosques in Dubai, Doha, and Kuwait city are probably large, clean, and air conditioned. What do you expect? These people have the money to do much more. And I thank God that they're actually building good facilities with their money. In Egypt and the Levant countries however, the mosques (particulary in the older downtown areas) aren't very new because they were either made on short notice, or in an emergency due to lack of mosques in the area. In the end, mosques in the Middle East provide clear images of the dominant religion in the Arab world.