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

by Nesreen Khashan (Editor), Nesreen Khashan

Encounters with the Middle East collects 30 rich, engaging travel stories that capture uplifting scenes from everyday life and deliver sensitive, bittersweet renderings of people and landscapes often shaken by conflict. This book, with black and white photographs throughout, features original takes on commonplace "things to do" for the traveler in the Middle East — from marveling at the brilliance of the bazaars to drifting down the Nile in a felucca. It also provides intimate portrayals of people and traditions too often absent from books on the region.

Genres: Middle East, Travel, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2007

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does exactly what it claims to---it brings you into the middle east to experience life there. There are essays/stories that are poignant, sad, tragic, and hopeful... of course, there are certain stories I enjoyed more than other. (I think it depends on your mood.)

[Elizabeth Blount · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written short stories written by many individuals about their adventures in the Middle East.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The essays provide a fascinating glimpse into a part of the world that many Americans know very little about.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories of experiences or travelers experiences the Middle East

[Mitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of short pieces about a wide variety of experiences had in all parts of the Middle East comes highly recommended for people interested in the area or those who have traveled there and would like to reminisce.

As with any collection, some will capture your attention more than others. Personally, I found the food-oriented ones dull, and a few others somewhat scary. (But that is pretty much the way the Middle East struck me when I traveled through four countries there.) Overall the collection took me back to various sights, sounds and customs I encountered.

I've read other books about the Middle East, and I would put this one at the top of the list for getting an authentic impression of the region.

[Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

These tales of curiousity, anxiety, hospitality, dumb luck and more will leave you searching for your passport so you can join the adventure. But shy of hopping on a plane, I found that reading a collection of essays like this one was a great way to remind myself that, as with any group of people, the cultures of the Middle East are so much complex than headlines and news stories might have us think. I'm not sure what amazes me more: how many differences there are in the cultures of the world, or how many similarities there are.