Savvy Traveler: Arab vs Muslim

by Iva Skoch on

It is a little frightening how many people use the terms “Arab” and “Muslim” interchangeably. Shows how much we know about that region of the world even after years of being intimately involved with the Middle East.

One often hears that people say “Arabs” when referring to Iranians. They are actually not Arabs; they are primarily Persians. Yes, they might practice Islam but that’s another story. Iraqis, on the other hand, are primarily Arabs. Afghanistan is not an Arabic state.

Just last week, I heard somebody describing a person as “looking Muslim.” People don’t generally look Muslim, just like they generally don’t look Christian. They might look Arab, but even that’s questionable because there are many races that live in the Arab world. Needless to say, Muslims in the Middle East look different than Muslims in Africa or Indonesia.

Arab refers to somebody from an ethnic group that shares a culture, history and language. Muslims are people who practice Islam. The Arab world covers most of Northern Africa and part of the Middle East. Many Arabs practice Islam, but many are also Christians, Jews, etc. Arab world is only a part of the Muslim world.

List of Arab Countries:

  • Algeria
  • Bahrain
  • Djibouti
  • Egypt
  • Iraq
  • Jordan
  • Kuwait
  • Lebanon
  • Libya
  • Mauritania
  • Morocco
  • Oman
  • Palestine
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Sudan
  • Syria
  • Tunisia
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Western Sahara
  • Yemen

New Airline in Iraq Bans Iraqis

by Justin Glow on

There’s a brand new airline in Iraq fittingly called ExPat Airways, and aside from limiting food and alcohol on the flight, they’re also banning citizens of Iraq, among other countries.

According to ABC News, “Expat Airways said it is only accepting U.S. and Western citizens on its flights as it tries to capitalize on the thousands of U.S. contractors traveling in and out of the Iraqi capital each month.” This is the first airline to restrict passengers based on nationality. Also barred from boarding are Indians, Pakistanis, and people from other non-Western countries, according to the Seattle Times.

The only route runs from Amman, Jordan to Baghdad, Iraq, and costs a whopping $450 each way. [via]

iPods Save Lives

by Iva Skoch on

There is some usefulness to iPods, outside of playin’ tunes.

Here’s a wild photo of an iPod which took a bullet for a soldier in Iraq.

According to the post, the soldier (Kevin Garrad, we’re told) faced off against an insurgent with an AK-47. Both fired, just a few feet from each other, and a bullet hit the soldier’s chest pocket, holding his iPod. The iPod helped slow the bullet so that it didn’t penetrate his body armor, and probably saved his life. The insurgent had no iPod protection and didn’t fare as well.

source: tikigod

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.