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Category Archives: Iran
One Hundred Years Ago, Lawrence of Arabia killed the Railroad – March 1923: Transjordan
Zur deutschen Fassung. Not quite a hundred, but still more than thirty years ago, I was in Australia as an exchange student. I don’t think I have ever told stories from that time, because back then, we still took pictures … Continue reading
Posted in History, Iran, Islam, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Technology, Travel, UK, World War I
Tagged Australia, Iraq, Lebanon, train, Turkey
13 Comments
A Postcard from Shiraz
In front of the Shah Cheragh Mosque, a guard stops me: “Are you Muslim?” “To be perfectly honest, I am not.” “I’m sorry, Sir, but today the mosque is only open to Muslims,” he explains, referring to the festival of … Continue reading
Taarof, the most confusing thing about Iran
Zur deutschen Fassung dieses Berichts. The taxi ride through Tehran was short, but there was enough time to yield three surprises. First, the driver who had stopped for me was female. I had just arrived in Iran, with an image … Continue reading
“Couchsurfing in Iran” by Stephan Orth
Couchsurfing, staying with hitherto strangers for free, is a good way to get to know a country and its people. It’s even more rewarding in countries where you don’t speak the language and where you are sometimes a bit lost … Continue reading
“Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi
I had long been too snobbish to read graphic novels. Cartoons like Tintin or Calvin & Hobbes are great, but when it comes to serious subjects, I prefer prose. Also, I read a lot on trains or in restaurants and … Continue reading
Brexit Poetry
Everybody knows the line “no man is an island”, but nobody knows that when John Donne wrote Devotions upon Emergent Occasions in 1624, he actually warned of Brexit. No man is an island, Entire of itself. Each is a piece … Continue reading
Persian architecture in Georgia
Tbilisi is formed by so many different architectural styles, that it’s difficult to take a photo of just one. Here, the tower of a brick mosque and a wonderful wooden balcony are squeezing themselves into the picture. The building with … Continue reading
Book Markets in the Middle East
In Iraq, booksellers leave the books at the side of the road overnight, thinking: “Readers don’t steal, and thieves don’t read.” That reminds me of an episode during my first visit to Iran. In a used-book shop, I found so … Continue reading
The Happy Hermit 