I have spent the month of February wandering the Medinas of Morocco, learning about Jinns, storytelling, mint tea, mosaic tiles, and soaking up the colors of the country. I ended up reading 2 books by Tahir Shah; one about his trials as he restored a large house in Casablanca bordering the bidonville - a shanty town, the other about his travels around the country as he gathered stories from ancient storytellers. I also read about Suzanna Clarke's adventure of restoring a Riad located in the city of Fez in the Medina. I was fascinated with the stories and picture of Fez in particular. This is my favorite country so far and could immerse myself for far longer but feel compelled to move on. I would like to read more written by Tahir Shah and also by his father Indries Shah who was a well known scholar and storyteller. I am including links to Tahir Shah's website as well as Suzanna Clarke's. You can take a tour of both their houses as well as learn more about the cities they are located in.
I have spent the month of January exploring Brunei, Malayasia, and Papua New Guinea. I was drawn to all the information about the native peoples living in the vast tropical rainforests in these countries. In Papua New Guinea over 800 languages are spoken! I was surprised to learn that in peninsular Malaysia the vast majority of the people live in urban areas and their economy is booming. I could go on and on with all I have learned but lucky for you I won't. I have read a number of fascinating books so far and you can read more about them on my other website, bklvr.weebly.com .
As I try to pace myself, I realize that I am faced with my life long dilemma - breadth vs.depth...I find myself wanting to spend much more time with each county, particularly with Malaysia. At the same time, I would like to finish this project within 5 years...so I am forcing myself to go on, with the intention of returning to those countries that I am drawn to later. So what country to go to next? ... Well, today I watched the movie "The Wind and the Lion" with Sean Connery and Candice Bergen, set in Tangiers in 1904. Yet another country I know almost nothing about, I am choosing Moracco as my 4th country and am looking forward to selecting a book to go along with this country. |
AuthorDeciding it is never too late to learn something new, I am embarking on a mission to correct my abysmal knowledge of world geography by learning a bit about every country in the world. I am combining this with my love of reading and hope to broaden my knowledge of the world that gets smaller every day. ArchivesCategories |