Revolutionary cries for recognition in Sudan
Noureddine Atta Al-Mawla Jabar's new album, Beja Power!, has been dubbed a soundtrack of Sudan's recent revolution. But the musician, better known by his stage name Noori, does not want his electrifying sound just to be a matter of historical record of the time in 2019 when long-time President Omar al-Bashir was ousted after mass protests. For him the international release of the album by New York-based Ostinato Records is a continuation of his Muslim nomadic community's resist...
Revolutionary cries for recognition in Sudan
Noureddine Atta Al-Mawla Jabar's new album, Beja Power!, has been dubbed a soundtrack of Sudan's recent revolution. But the musician, better known by his stage name Noori, does not want his electrifying sound just to be a matter of historical record of the time in 2019 when long-time President Omar al-Bashir was ousted after mass protests. For him the international release of the album by New York-based Ostinato Records is a continuation of his Muslim nomadic community's resist...
Turf houses: Iceland's original 'green' buildings
ith its lonely lava fields, sheer bluffs and stark boulder-strewn plains, Iceland is one of Europe's most barren countries. Across much of the island, the utter remoteness is striking, and that's especially true in the far-flung Northwestern Region, where I had come to learn about how Icelanders were able to settle one of the least hospitable and most volcanically active places on Earth. Settling Iceland, even for the hardened Norse, was tough back in the 9th Century CE. There were ...
Turf houses: Iceland's original 'green' buildings
ith its lonely lava fields, sheer bluffs and stark boulder-strewn plains, Iceland is one of Europe's most barren countries. Across much of the island, the utter remoteness is striking, and that's especially true in the far-flung Northwestern Region, where I had come to learn about how Icelanders were able to settle one of the least hospitable and most volcanically active places on Earth. Settling Iceland, even for the hardened Norse, was tough back in the 9th Century CE. There were ...
The Greek Island homes hidden from pirates
Sailing towards the North Aegean island of Ikaria around dusk, its craggy peaks rising steeply from the narrow strip of rocky shore, I noticed the twinkles of lights from houses were not primarily along the coast, as is the case with most Greek islands, but were predominantly scattered in the mountains behind. I wondered: why would inhabitants make life tougher for themselves by choosing to live up on the precipitous slopes, far from the more level ground near the sea? I soon found out that t...
The Greek Island homes hidden from pirates
Sailing towards the North Aegean island of Ikaria around dusk, its craggy peaks rising steeply from the narrow strip of rocky shore, I noticed the twinkles of lights from houses were not primarily along the coast, as is the case with most Greek islands, but were predominantly scattered in the mountains behind. I wondered: why would inhabitants make life tougher for themselves by choosing to live up on the precipitous slopes, far from the more level ground near the sea? I soon found out that t...
An abandoned mine in Spain hides a sparkling treasure – the world's largest geode, a natural crystal phenomenon that has stunned scientists.
n abandoned silver mine in Pulpí, in Spain's south-eastern Almería Province, lies a treasure that's not made from any precious metal at all. Instead, what's hidden here is the world's largest geode – a natural crystal phenomenon that has stunned scientists. As Mila Carretero, geologist and coordinator of the Pulpí Geode, explained, a geode is a cavity inside a rock that is covered with crystals. Sitting against a backdrop of oversized crystal spars, she broke open a tiny r...
An abandoned mine in Spain hides a sparkling treasure – the world's largest geode, a natural crystal phenomenon that has stunned scientists.
n abandoned silver mine in Pulpí, in Spain's south-eastern Almería Province, lies a treasure that's not made from any precious metal at all. Instead, what's hidden here is the world's largest geode – a natural crystal phenomenon that has stunned scientists. As Mila Carretero, geologist and coordinator of the Pulpí Geode, explained, a geode is a cavity inside a rock that is covered with crystals. Sitting against a backdrop of oversized crystal spars, she broke open a tiny r...
