Has oil wealth been a blessing or a curse for the Middle East?
Oil has brough astonishing wealth, but alongside it political and economic stagnation. Why have results been so mixed?
The Golan
200m away, I can just about make out a Blue Star and the words ‘WELCOME TO ISRAEL,’ painted in bold, capital letters across the roof of what appears to be a gas-station type construction, here ...
Probably The Best Restaurant in The World
Ahhmaaayyzing”, Hussein exclaimed, with the unmistakably deep, throaty voice of a well-practised smoker. As he said it, the said smoke bellowing from his nostrils as if they were the windows of a house on fire. ...
Stranded on a Grey Island
Stranded on an grey island, surrounded on all sides by dusty road, litter, bits of tyre and crystals of broken glass, I arrived in Syria. A small grove of pathetic looking trees provided the only ...
The Edge of Civilization
And so begins my accidental trip to Syria by train. It was going to be Iran, it should have been Iran- I’ve done my research on Iran. Syria, I know very little about beyond a ...