Word for the Travel Wise (11/02/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Now that November has come the holidays will be here in the blink of an eye! And with the holidays, I always start to think about a nice cold glass of egg nog with nutmeg sprinkled all over the top, but besides that I think of all magical festivities. Take the Nutcracker for instance – sadly I’ve never had the chance to see the Russian fairy-ballet performed on stage. Yet, with each and every season it seems the opportunities to watch this show are a dime a dozen. Whether or not they’ll be great I can’t say and aside from all this babble, I bring you your very special word for the day.

Today’s word is a Russian word used in Russia:

tantsihvat – dance

Ready to learn Russian? Check out Master Russian first. They have numerous excellent sound files and the text is clear and easy to read. Learning also goes beyond your Russian A, B, C’s at their site as they have crosswords, literature, proverbs, folk music, and homework help. Other good sites include Learning Russian and this Ectaco Translation Dictionary. Click here for two language book rec’s on Amazon. BBC has the basics to download and hear audio, while Wiki provides the in depth Russian lang back history.

Past Russian words: , shakzochniy, paka, spasiba, tuhmohzhmyah

Why the Veil?

by Erik Olsen on

Every good traveler knows that it is imperative when abroad to be sensitive to the local culture. But some cultural practices have a foreignness to them that is off-putting to people ,and when you factor in Islam, well, there’s a whole nasty stew of prejudices and issues associated with that as well. One of the cultural practices that has long puzzled me is the veil. It is said that Muslim women are compelled to wear a veil over their faces because several interpretations of the Koran say so. The veil, goes some interpretations, is meant to prevent women from exposing their beauty to other men, thereby lessening temptations that might lead to…well, adultery or other potentially damaging societal problems.

OK, that’s just one of several interpretations, but the reason I bring all this up is because the veil is a rather interesting cultural artifact that any traveler should be aware of if they are visiting a country where women wear one. And, along these lines, I just heard a very educational radio story about the origin of the veil. This story from NPR is one of several that will be examining Islam over the next week. The reporter talks to several scholars who study Islam as well as an Iraqi in California who discusses the matter from his perspective. It’s well worth the six or so minutes it takes to listen to it.

Get Paid to Travel to Iran

by Erik Olsen on

I’ve mentioned in these very pages how much I’d like to travel to Iran. Several friends of mine and folks I know have been there and have said that it is a lovely, friendly country, steeped in history and culture. That the “axis of evil” moniker and the current issues that make the news are political matters, and do not reflect the attitude or hospitality of the people. Well, now it seems one could test that theory…ad get paid to do it.

Or at least your travel agent will get paid. Yes, the Iranian government wants to attract Western tourists, especially Americans, to Iran and those that are able to lure them can get a $20 per head reward (as it were). Same with European tourists….$20. Other countries, well, those are worth $10, said an Iranian official. Al I can say is: sign me up. I’d go to Ira in a heartbeat. And I’d eve meet the fella in this picture. Sure, he seems a bit kooky, but it might be fun to share a hookah with the guy, see what makes him tick.

Photo of the Day (10/29/2006)

by Erik Olsen on

No matter how cliche this photo is (and I’m sorry, it’s cliche…this near exact shot must be in the collection of every tourist who’s ever been to Angkor), I still like it.

I like the fact it’s in black and white and I like that the shooter, one RW007, had the patience to at least wait until one of these little scooter guys, rolled through the frame. The shot is, of course, Angkor’s famous south gate, and having savored Angkor’s jaw-dropping size and beauty myself, I couldn’t resist choosing this photo from the Gadling Flickr site.

Iran Photo Gallery

by Erik Olsen on

This is a travel site, not a political site, so we try not to get too deep into sensitive, polarizing issues. I’m sure you all remember the phrase “Axis of Evil” and the context in which it was used. Now whether or not you agree with the use of the phrase, well, that’s neither here nor there. Let’s just say that we all have our notions about how beneficial it is to classify an entire country as “evil”.

So with that out there as a rather leaden preamble, I want to point you to a gallery of photos taken in Iran. I have ALWAYS wanted to visit Iran. I’ve been told from numerous sources that it is lovely, culturally vibrant and that the people, as opposed to being mean, nasty, America-hating evil-doers, are actually very fond of Americans and terrifically friendly.

It seems to me like we could do away with a great deal of all this name-calling and cultural misunderstanding if we each took 2,000 people and swapped them for a month. Move 2K Americans to Iran and 2K Iranians to the US…say, Seattle. Make a reality show out of it.

But that idea aside, I really do urge you to check out these fab photos by photographer Bobby Model taken during a month-long trip to Iran. Better than the stuff Sean Penn took, for sure, and quite revealing about a country that most Americans know only as a part of the AoE.