In 1219AD Ghengis Khan flattened Tashkent, then part of the Khwarazmian Empire. In early August 2024, MB and daughter MB2 travelled to take a look. Why Uzbekistan MB? And why Tashkent? Well lads, time for planning the trip was extremely short and MB & MB2 needed a destination that issued visa on arrival to Irish Passport holders, and needed to be within spitting distance ..read more

It was time for the wedding party. MB and BR donned their glad rags and headed to the wedding hall to join a few hundred Sudanis who had traveled from all over the globe to celebrate the wedding of Mohammad and Monia. MB mentioned in a previous post that the ongoing strife in their homeland and the fact that many have fled to neighbouring ..read more

Did any of you believe for one moment that MB would land in Cairo for any reason and not give you all a full MB account of the Pyramids?! If you visit Cairo in July, MB can attest that it’s hot as hell and walking around ancient pyramids in the open air is the last thing you want to be doing. The option exists ..read more

With most of the day still to kill before the evening wedding party, guide & taxi driver Suliman suggested a visit to the Cave Church, in the Coptic Christian area quite close to the Cairo Citadel, where the Mohamed Ali mosque hade been earlier explored. As the car entered the Coptic Manshiet Nasr area, Suliman, ominously, informed his passengers not to be afraid in ..read more

Many moons back, ‘Young Sudan Lad’ (aka YSL) featured in many of MB’s posts, from his days in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. People move on in life and a lot of Nile water may have passed under the bridge since back then, but MB and YSL have kept in occasional contact since both moved their separate ways some ten years back. YSL moved from Saudi to France where he somehow wrangled a French Passport, and a few years ago moved to his present home in London. Back in those same Saudi days, MB even got an invitation to the wedding in Khartoum of the cousin of YSL who was also known to MB. On that occasion ..read more

MB just corrected a mistake in an earlier ‘Sarajevo’ post. The real reason that Sarajevo is know as the Jerusalem of Europe is because of the coexistence of the major Abrahamic religions in the city, and the history of acceptance and tolerance of and by all. The Sarajevo Jewish Synagogue The Jewish history of the city goes back some 500 years to the first mosque which was built in 1541. In the 17th century, Ashkenazi Jews arrived fleeing persecution in Europe and receiving a welcome and acceptance for the regions Ottoman Muslim rulers. Jewish complex next to the synagogue The two major Chris ..read more

During MB’s recent seasons trip to Bosnia & Herzegovina, he took a day trip to the historic old town of Mostar. Mostar’s bridge is probably its most famous and loved asset, spanning the Neretva river some 25m below. The river is one of the coldest on the planet and some divers have died from the shock of the freezing water rather than any poor impact. There is a ‘Diving Club’ at the top of the bridge where one can enrol if one fancies the jump from the bridge, and appropriate instruction and practice is then given, along with life-long membership of the club. MB witnessed a young local k ..read more

MB departed flight QR 838 from Doha into Incheon airport concourse, the international airport of Seoul, capital of S Korea. MB was traveling light, just a carry-on bag for his mini-Korea trip to visit daughter MB2. MB walked immediately into the arrivals hall. “Hello Sir. Taxi?” said a local gentleman with an aging face and greying hair, eyeballing MB. “Yes, thanks”, replied MB, and soon a deal was struck between MB and taxi driver/owner Mr Kim. Mr Kim suggested avoiding Seoul central train station, as murderous traffic would be encountered during the rush hour that was now upon them. Like MB2 ..read more

In July 2023, only a few months back, the US military announced they had moved a nuclear submarine to Busan in the south east tip of South Korea. Days later, North Korean President Kim Jong Un (& sister & daughter) announced the North would nuke Busan. As it so happens, when all the above shannigans were taking place, MB2, daughter of MB, was in the throes of planning her University erasmus year trip to south Korea, more specifically, to the city of Busan. MB (wisely!) allowed the political heat to dissipate over a few days before contacting Kim JU through some back channels, explainin ..read more

It’s been quite a while, more than two years in fact, since MB updated followers about young Lebanese girls Sofia & Maria and their Qatar-based Middle East (ME) lives. MB bumped into S&F’s mom RBF a few days back and she reminded MB of his many promises over the last year or two to make some new posts. So having received a good kick up the rump from RBF, MB has finally sat down to do so. MB is actually composing this post in the Silver Lounge at Doha Airport on his way back to his Irish homeland, so needs to keep his eye on the Departures screen lest he get carried away with this post ..read more