Egypt: Discontents of modernity, promise of antiquity
When Ibn Khaldun, the 14th-century polymath and forefather of modern-day social sciences, arrived in Cairo after spending 50 years in […]
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Cultural musings from a visit to North Korea
Before going to North Korea (the Democratic Peopleâs Republic of Korea or DPRK) I tried to prepare myself for what […]
The Chilean Miners â Culture & Team-work
Chilean President, SebastiĂĄn Piñera, recently made a European âvictory tourâ following the successful rescue of the now world-famous 33 miners. […]
Country Focus: Hungary
At the end of the 9th century, the Hungarians went through the Carpathian mountain passes to settle the Central Danube […]
âThe Islamic Republic wonât last forever. The Iranian Phoenix will be rebornâ
No country, except perhaps North Korea in recent years has attracted so much adverse attention as the Islamic Republic of […]
Jordan: a unique brand of hospitality
Among the worldâs many tourism destinations, not more than a handful may be said to live up to the hospitality industryâs old dictum of âtreat visitors as you would treat guests in your own homeâ. And it tells us a lot about the human condition that Jordan, a young and in many ways improbable country saddled with more than its fair share of economic and political problems, is one of them.
Unhappy valley: Kenya in 2010
The old colonials associated with the âhappy valleyâ also used to call Kenya âGodâs own countryâ. It remains an attractive, […]
The Cultural Commandments: Germany
Germany is a relatively new country, not being unified until 1871, after the Franco-Prussian war. It is still characterized by […]
France as a model?
It was not long ago that France was regularly criticised by the more liberal economies of the world and its […]
Malaysia: An ‘open house’ tradition
Those who have visited this Southeast Asian destination in the past few weeks have been treated to the spectacle of […]