The World’s Most Dangerous Destinations for 2007

by Willy Volk on

Here at Gadling, we usually profile places people WANT to go. However, sometimes it’s useful to mention places to avoid. Consequently, here’s an interesting (and not altogether surprising) list of the 2007’s 12 Most Dangerous Destinations:

  • Somalia
  • Iraq
  • Afghanistan
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Côte d’Ivoire
  • Pakistan
  • Burundi
  • Sri Lanka
  • Haiti
  • Chad
  • Lebanon
  • Liberia

Of course, you probably don’t think of these places as vacation destinations, unless you’re a whacked-out Robert Young Pelton. However, employees of governments, oil and mining industries, and telecom industries are increasingly being dispatched to these locations. If you work for one of those groups, be certain to ask about insurance, hazard pay — and a bodyguard.

Interestingly, the piece argues that the world is NOT getting more dangerous right now. Rather, globalization and the attendant “shrinking” of the planet is largely responsible for making the world APPEAR more dangerous now than before. Whether or not you agree with that assertion, the article is interesting, and the gallery is frightening.

Polo’s Bastards Top 10 Worst Destinations

by Adrienne Wilson on

With the current conflict going on between Ethiopia and Somalia, my mind immediately began to wonder what the writers at Polo’s Bastards had been up to and what dangerous lands they’ve been exploring. Last time I checked in they’d just posted a piece on Rio’s favelas. Since then North Korea and Chechnya have also made their blog pages.

To round off the year though, Lee Ridley spent a little bit of his Christmas day highlighting some of the world’s worst destinations in 2006. Iraq assumes the position of No. 1, which doesn’t come as a shocker at all. The conflict created by the Hezbollah kidnappings of Israeli soldiers earned Lebanon the No. 10 spot, and in the middle you’ll find Haiti, Afghanistan, the entire Horn of Africa (poor Eritrea), Nepal, Chad, Chechnya and North Korea. If you’ve been in the dark concerning the political climate of these particular areas, you might want to mosey over and see what the deal is. Otherwise, just be sure to proceed with caution in the upcoming year. It is a far, far more dangerous world out there.

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.

Looting Baghdad’s Past

by Neil Woodburn on

What happens when you invade one of this planet’s oldest civilizations?

Much of what remains of its past suddenly goes missing.

The list of “Bad Things That Happen When you go to War” is immeasurably long. Since this is a travel site, we won’t discuss the political, economic, and social travesties which occur as the result of war. But we will spare a moment for the cultural plunder.

A recent article at Radio Free Europe discusses the impact that the Iraqi war has had upon the nation’s historical antiquities.

For those of you who ditched your Western Civilization class, Iraq is widely considered the cradle of civilization. Remember Mesopotamia? Yep, that is present day Iraq. Thousands of years of history has passed through this dusty stretch of land and today, the antiquities which remain behind are slowly disappearing into the hands of looters and black marketers.

To give just one example, 14,000 items were stolen from the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad shortly after the war began. These are irreplaceable antiquities which are now spread across the globe in private, illegal collections or merely as mantle pieces and paper weights purchased by unknowing tourists in nearby countries.

The cultural impact of war can never be measured. How can one place a true value on empty museums and a missing past? Sure, there are far worse things going on over there, but cultural plunder is one long-lasting tragedy from which Iraq may never recover.

Kurdistan Launches Tourism Campaign

by Adrienne Wilson on

USA Today runs a rather interesting story on the recent tourism campaign launch to get more travelers into Iraq’s Kurdistan region. A California marketing firm involved in helping the Kurdistan Development Corp., recently created a new television ad campaign for the three-province region in Northern Iraq and notes that Westerners are welcomed, walk around the area freely and that there is an active nightlife. Apparently, the three TV commercials airing nationally try to convey the message that Kurdistan isn’t the Iraq we know from CNN. It isn’t the Iraq with roadside bombing and beheadings. The lure for potential travelers is adventure, smiling-friendly Kurds, bustling businesses in addition to rock climbing, river rafting, exploring Roman ruins and the gravesites of great ancient prophets. There’s only one drawback – you have to fly through Baghdad’s sometimes dangerous airport.

Some question this new launch to help bring in tourism dollars. With one eye-brow raised and slight skepticism, some marketing experts wonder about the real intentions of the campaign. Considering the location and political history – where Kurds have sought to break away from Iraq, it comes across as if it were for the greater good of Kurdistan and the ads help create Kurdistan looking like a separate land far away from the rest of Iraq and their horrible war. Clever indeed, but one has to wonder how many people are really ready to take that leap. If the Baghdad airport stop wasn’t involved I could see more than a curious soul or two heading over, but for now I clearly can’t envision the masses river rafting in Kurdistan.