Encounters with the Middle East: True Stories of People and Culture that Help You Understand the Region Book

Preface     xv
Introduction: The Wonders of the World   Bruce Feiler     xix
Bread   Nicholas Seeley     1
The Promise Coffee   Michael McGee     7
Key to the City   Catherine Watson     14
Dancing at the Blood Festival   Rolf Potts     26
The Way of Suffering   Erika Trafton     35
Kidnapped by Syrian Hospitality   Jeff Vize     41
Just Under Your Feet   Trici Venola     50
Confessions of a Water Pipe Smoker   Carolyn A. Theriault     60
To Hamadan   Peter Jon Lindberg     66
If It Doesn't Kill You First   Murad Kalam     80
Walking in Yemen's Terraced Mountains   Tim Mackintosh-Smith     98
Witnessing Ashura   Shannon O'Grady     107
In Jerusalem   Jeff Greenwald     118
Serendipity in Cyprus   Wayne Milstead     127
Five-Star Mussandam Bush   Christopher K. Brown     135
Magic Carpet Ride   Chris Kipiniak     147
Shlonak?   Michael Cornn     161
A Damascus Cab Ride   WaleedAl-Shamma'     164
An Afternoon in Kavaklidere   Umur Celikyay     170
Half Truths and Olive Trees   Joel Carillet     176
Clothes, Camaraderie, and Qat   Betsy Hiel     185
Instant Mother, Just Add Tea   Katherine Belliel     195
From the Oasis to the City   Laurence Mitchell     202
The Neon Night of the Emirates   Jason Ward     209
Repatriation and Regret   Amanda Coffin     217
Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem   Pat Walker     226
Without Cover   Yasmine Bahrani     232
Gridlocked Tehran at Gunpoint   Mal Karman     243
Holy Land Blues   Peter Wortsman     257
The Mukhtar and I   Michel Moushabeck     271
Recommended Reading     283
Index     291
Acknowledgments     293