-
Travel, conversations and learning – How being part of conversations can shape your educational/ professional future
We often think of travel as movement. Physical movement to see people, places or attend events. But have you ever considered travel as a conversation? A conversation to enter a new space, a new way of thinking and new way of experiencing life? This is what I realized during my recent trips with my students.…
-
How to travel like Ibn Battuta?
Ibn Battuta is one of my heroes. He is what Americans would call ‘badass’. He sits well on top of the list of people I have admired and loved – for their generosity of spirit, sense of adventure, or sheer bravery. What started as the journey of a 20 yr old man to go to…
-
Is the global chai shop out of currency?
I wrote this three days ago, at Jeddah Airport, waiting for the connecting flight to Chennai. Half awake and half asleep, I am conscious of the hundreds of people around me – possibly thousands, who are anxiously waiting to leave the Airport and reach their destination. I see a fleet of Saudi Arabian Aircraft waiting…
-
Ibn Battuta, Malcolm X and the tradition of student travelers in Islam
Rihla, or traveling to seek knowledge is an Islamic tradition, whose roots extend as far as the Prophet Muhammad himself, who prioritized learning and knowledge. His famous Hadith “Learning is from the cradle to grave” has inspired billions of people to travel, seek knowledge, over the last 1400 years of Islamic history. This tradition of…
-
Travelers’ tips from Ibn Battuta – A fourteenth century itinerant traveler
If someone has traveled over 70,000 miles in the 14th century, by land and sea; one can safely assume that this person knows a thing or two about travel and life, in general. Added to this, if one happens to be a religious scholar, who has access to Sultans and Princes around the world, then…
-
Are the Saudis getting something right?
Are the Saudis getting something right, in terms of their foreign policy, both in the MENA region and around the world? Or is it all a big mess, much like American foreign policy in the region? In a recent article in the TIME magazine, Farid Zakaria[i] pointed out that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s foreign…
