Stories: THE MIDDLE EAST

Drying Out 

The Middle East is not just arid as it is. It is drying out even further. Beside climate changes, poor water management is to blame. Broken pipes, irrational irrigation, polution of rivers, distribution of water among neighbouring countries etc. But there is still enough water to keep up appearances for tourists. Out of totaly arid land, the desert, spring tens of huge tourist resorts along the Red Sea in Hurghada. They are being built one by one, the entire coastline one big construction site of empty mansion-like large hotel complexes. Once finished, they boast with a tennis court, grassy surfaces, and large pools. Even the road leading toward the hotels is divided by a green patch of grass that is irrigated daily in hot sun and high evaporation. Tourism is the number one bredwinner for countries like Egypt or Jordan, where 90% of land is infertile desert. 

Secularism 

Egypt and Jordan are two of the most secular countries in the Middle East. They look to the West in more than just social way; Jordan keeps close ties to Western countries politically as well. The orthodox muslim ways of living, socializing and public appearance have been changed by strong Western influence and contrasted to the remains of the rules and regulations of their religion. The two spheres blended into a strange mix of secular and the orthodox existing hand in hand just before the so-called Arab spring. Now, things are different.