Salmiya

A Saudi-Arabian man was shown in the Al Watan newspaper earlier this week trampling on a bunch of roses in a flower shop, making clear that he despises Valentine's Day (February 14). Bad for him. My first thought which came to my mind was the pogroms about 70 years ago in Nazi Germany when Jewish shops were demolished ( "Kristallnacht" ). These fundamentalists threaten people who they urgently need for running their societies , for instance, Philippinos. It is quite a shame that Arabs still need some extra lessions in humanity, tolerance, love and peace. I was also wondering whether Saudi Arabian men wear winter dishdashas these days. Could it be that the picture had been taken in Kuwait? I suppose, many Philippino flower shop owners in Kuwait were scared last week as well.

When I posted my pictures from Yemen last month, I got a new understanding for the importance of towers in human culture and civilization. The ancient, multi-storey buildings in even the smallest villages in Yemen , nestling in hillsides of the harsh, mountainous landscape, are a perfect example of how human civilization mingles with Nature. But now let's have a look on the new developments in the oil-rich countries of the 21st century. The tallest building in the world is, for some time already, the construction site of Dubai’s Burj. So far, the site looks a bit chaotic and the Burj itself can best be overlooked from the air. The Burj has definitely been ugly but is now beautifying quickly. Computer-generated rendering of the final building shows a metallically glistening needle. It is said that its antenna will peak 818 meters, when finished. That will be at some time during next year. But there are also rumors that it will reach 950 meters! While the gulf emirates, and Dubai al...