- Doha, Qatar, considers naming its streets — so people can actually find addresses. I understand that GPS is big in the Gulf, but how do they search without street names?
- On the utterly recondite question of electoral district distribution in Lebanon, the indispensable Qifa Nabki explains it as clearly, I suspect, as it's possible to do.
- Nabil Fahmy — ex-Egyptian Ambassador to the US, now a Dean at AUC, son of Foreign Minister Isma‘il Fahmy — one of Egypt's top diplomats and a man who knows the West very well — weighs in at Foreign Policy on his own take on Aaron David Miller's recent, glum piece which I mentioned here. It's thoughtful and well informed. And I'm delighted that Ambassador Fahmy, instead of waiting in the wings to maybe become Foreign Minister some day, decided to take a job in academia. He can express his own ideas now. FP has been spinning off the Aaron Miller piece (which they published, after all, so let them capitalize on it) with a "So Why Have We Failed?" series of posts on their Middle East Channel. A collection of short takes here.
- I think we have a disconnect here: Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu al-Ghayt, commenting on the recent conviction of an alleged Hizbullah cell in Egypt, says he "hopes this won't have a negative impact on Egypt's relations with Hizbullah." (Article in Arabic.) Sheikh Nasrallah, on the other hand, says the convictions are "a badge of honor," and Hizbullah's cranking up a propaganda campaign against Egypt, including repeating a Hamas claim that Egypt used poison gas to kill tunnelers into Gaza, a charge Egypt has strongly denied. Um, Foreign Minister, I think it has had a negative impact on your relations with Hizbullah.
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3 comments:
Normally I don't comment on blogs, but something always "push" me to explain things in this Blog.
There are street-names in Doha for the main streets only. none-main-streets are numbered (a system used in many Arab counties), also neighborhoods (sections).
For GPS, it is an old system, but in my opinion is much better that giving names to streets.
Imagine this (as example):
Sec. 100
St. 10
House. 1
This much easier for the GPS (and for the software to map the area) to find the locations.
I hope my comments helped
Bahrain has a similar numbering system as described by Anonymous. Problem is that most people don't know it - even though signs are posted.
We never gave our "official" address to visitors as cab drivers had no idea where to go.
We used landmarks to describe our location.
My favorite falafel shop in Abu Dhabi (Abu Qasim) - now sadly closed - was easily reached by telling the cab driver that it was next to Istiqlal Pharmacy.
One reaches a really fantastic restaurant in Damascus mostly easily by telling the cab driver the restaurant by the spice market.
In Bahrain my wife was told that a shop was near Burger King on a named street. She spent 15 minutes driving up and down the street. No Burger King. She eventually found the shop and asked the chap (non Arab) who gave her the directions. He appeared surprised that she didn't know and said well there used to be a Burger King two doors down. 5 or so years earlier!
And then there are the places that have been renamed. Is it Midan Sulayman Pasha or Midan Talat Harb?
Thanks to both of you for some real-world information. Anonymous, keep right on commenting. You guys teach me.
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