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  • Adventure, Jordan, Long Reads, Off-the-beaten-path, Places, Stories, Uncategorized

Qusayr ‘Amra and Jordan’s ‘Desert Castles’

A stone's throw from the runway at Amman's Queen Alia Airport I'd spotted the first on my list of Jordan's 'desert castles,' studding the empty Badia to the east: a little-visited, motley array of middle-of-nowhere caravanserais, lodges and Umayyad palatial pavilions long left to the desert...

Umm ad-Dami & the Bedouin of Wadi Rum

The afternoon sun was sinking into the tops of the ochre cliffs as we burst south of Wadi Rum village, bounding along a highway of tracks in the sand in Salman’s old truck, subtly shifting the wheel to dodge dunes and shrubs. He hurriedly poked at his phone. The network wouldn’t last...

Cimitero delle Fontanelle & Naples’ Cult of the Dead

Northwest of old Naples, an ordinary driveway leads to a gaping chasm in the hillside over La Sanità: the enormous Cimitero delle Fontanelle, a vast quarried cave packed tightly with the remains of tens of thousands of Neapolitan souls.
The Church of the 21 Martyrs

The Church of the 21 Martyrs

Tattered, discolored jumpsuits fill most of the nave at Samalut's Church of the 21 Martyrs, along with the zip tie cords that bound their hands and whatever was found in their pockets. Their fresh-faced icons adorn the back of the sanctuary with gold-leaf halos beneath an image of Christ.

Sacred Landmarks of Jordan

Introducing Jordan's undersung trove of sites considered holy to the Abrahamic trio: Jordan's ancient landscape is an intrinsic part of the Biblical 'Holy Land' and Quran's 'blessed neighborhood. The sacred landmarks of Jordan flag the footfall of scriptural giants like Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, Jesus and Muhammad...

Scaling the Cliffs of Shahin al-Khalwati’s Khanqa

The jagged ruins of Shahin al-Khalwati’s khanqa (Sufi lodge) first caught my eye from Saladdin’s Citadel. On the hazy horizon to the south, its minaret juts from the cliffs of Muqattam like a knife. From miles away, the rest of the complex appears one with the desolate ridge.
Attending a funeral ceremony in Tana Toraja, Sulawesi (Indonesia)

Funeral Season in Tana Toraja

A carton of kreteks was our ticket to enter a funeral party in the highlands of Tana Toraja. Tobacco, sweets and palm wine were consumed in abundance as the big day's events rolled along: buffalo sacrifice, a mass slaughter of pigs and the ritual shaking of the coffin to send the deceased on their way.

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