How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
Author: Franklin Foer
Who knew you could learn so much about globalization, economics and politics from soccer? Great read.
Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
Author: Julia Cameron
One possible path to re-discovering the creativity you never knew you had.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, New Edition
Author: Jared Diamond
An admirable crack at explaining why the world is the way it is by way of an anthropological macro-history. This book probably comes up the most in conversation as we travel.
The Cathedral Within: Transforming Your Life by Giving Something Back
Author: Bill Shore
Inspiring profiles of social entrepreneurs and projects we all can learn from and hopefully replicate to give back to community.
Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation
Author: John Carlin
Although the storyline is built around the South African rugby team and the 1995 World Cup, this book is more about Nelson Mandela and how he was able to unite a divided country. Inspiring.
Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown
Author: Paul Theroux
The author re-visits Africa and re-assesses the place he once knew... and judges it once and for all. Well written, poignant observations of the thumbprints left by career politicians, aid workers, and everyday people.
Outliers: The Story of Success
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
A look at the internal and external factors of how extraordinary people got to be, well, extraordinary. One of those books that challenges assumptions and makes you think differently.
Shantaram: A Novel
Author: Gregory David Roberts
Administering first aid in a Bombay slum, selling fake passports and running guns to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. Technically a novel, but closely linked to the Author's own experiences. Fantastic read.
Do you ever question what popular news media have to say about what’s going on in other parts of the world?
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Perspectives by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
60 Comments | 22 January 2012
Often, when people hear that we’ve been traveling for five years, they think we’ve “done it all.” This could not be further from the truth – the more we explore of this world of ours, the more we realize how big and diverse it really is. This is something to be celebrated.
Caught up in Holi celebrations in old Dhaka, Bangladesh
When we began 2011 we could not have even imagined where this year would take us. Not only has 2011 been a year of activity and reflection, but it has also been a year of many firsts. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
30 Comments | 30 December 2011
An Iranian carpet, especially one from Tabriz, is worth more than gold.
– Our Iranian guide gives us an economics lesson in the old carpet section of the Tabriz bazaar.
The largest bazaar in the Middle East. The world’s largest covered market. A UNESCO World Heritage site. That’s the Tabriz bazaar. And deep inside, old men, purveyors of grand old Persian carpets, drink tea, smoke qalyan, and stay open only four hours a day. Voices are low, relationships are being formed — and deals are being made. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Iran, Middle East, Panorama by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
11 Comments | 9 December 2011
Traveling to Iran as an American citizen may sound complicated and dangerous. It’s not. We’re here to dispel the myths and answer the questions piling up in our inbox based on our visit to Iran just a few weeks ago.
Our aim in the following Q&A is to answer actual reader queries and to help demystify the process of traveling to Iran. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Iran, Middle East, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
187 Comments | 8 December 2011
I’m going to show you something like you’ve never seen before.
– Our guide, just before entering the Shāh Chérāgh Mosque.
The Shāh-é-Chérāgh Mosque. It’s a mausoleum, a funerary, one of the many places of worship and pilgrimage in Iran. But this one looks like a giant disco ball turned inside out. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Iran, Middle East, Panorama by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
21 Comments | 2 December 2011
This is a story of a woman I met on a train in Iran and a letter she wrote to me — a letter I now read through tears.
My heart sank as I watched the news from Iran this morning, scenes of the British Embassy being charged by an angry mob in Tehran. It saddens me – angers me, really – that narrow groups like this who define the world’s perception of Iran and the Iranian people are in reality such a small percentage of the country’s population.
My experience tells me they are the outliers, yet circumstances conspire to convince us on the outside to see them as the norm. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Iran, Middle East, Perspectives by: Audrey Scott
33 Comments | 29 November 2011
Although Persepolis is one of Iran’s top archeological and tourist sites, I was careful to keep my expectations in check before visiting. After all, what would remain of the 2,500 year-old capital of the Achaemenid Empire? Amidst crumbled columns, I found great detail that blew me away and a surprising connection to the present.
When I first entered Persepolis through the Gate of All Nations, I was struck by the scale of it all – the statues, the columns, the great stone. I tried to imagine the process of transporting the raw materials to this place, constructing the city and palace, and fashioning it all without the mechanical means we have today.
The Gate of All Nations.
But more than this, I was struck by Persepolis’ detailed carvings and the stories they told. In them, I felt like I really began to understand the greatness of ancient Persia.
And I also got the sense that ancient Persians were onto something in pursuit of an ideal that still eludes us today. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Iran, Middle East, Travel by: Audrey Scott
15 Comments | 28 November 2011
This is a very short story about music. In Iran.
I dont know that I’ve ever been so happy — or oddly surprised — to hear Stevie Wonder in my entire life.
I should explain. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Iran, Middle East, Perspectives by: Daniel Noll
12 Comments | 18 November 2011
There’s nothing like early morning light falling through a stained-glass window…casting designs on a Persian carpet…amidst immaculately tiled pink columns.
This is the winter prayer hall inside the Pink Mosque in Shiraz, Iran. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Iran, Middle East, Panorama by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
10 Comments | 16 November 2011
We apologize for the silence on our blog over the last week. Our travels across Iran, while rich and deeply fulfilling, have teamed up with slow and censored internet, a blistering pace of full days that end late, and an attempt to process it all that feels like a slow drip.
A table of women in Kermanshah invite Dan to share their qalyan (water pipe).
Now that we’ve dispensed with the excuses, we offer a few snapshots of our journey to not-so-traveled Western Iran where our path through the country begins. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Iran, Middle East, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
21 Comments | 13 November 2011
