Month: April 2006
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Mobilecom to rebrand as Orange? Or what?
This rebranding business has been rumored for around a year now. In today’s Al Ghad, Mobilecom confirmed that it is “planning” to rebrand “in response to a request by the mother company”, meaning France Telecom, who is adopting a strategy of unifying its mobile operators around the world under the Orange brand. But you almost…
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Aqaba’s artificial lakes: amazing attractions, but how do they work?
It’s the question of water.. This is the New Aqaba. The 5 Billion dollar project recently announced. (Go see the hi-res pics on Sha3teely’s blog). As you can see above, it is to be built around a huge artificial lake. Then there’s Ayla (recently rebranded from Ayla Oasis, complete with a HUGE, seemingly unending advertising…
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Apple arrogance?
Two Apple-related stories caught my attention recently: AppleInsider | Apple calls meeting after making little girl cry: Apple Computer recently held a meeting to discuss changes to its corporate policy after the company sent an upsetting legalese reply to a third-grade girl who had hand-written a letter to chief executive Steve Jobs with her thoughts…
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The King’s letter: taxation, poverty and energy
1. Rich people should pay more taxes. 2. Poverty needs to be tackled in a more coordinated and efficient manner. 3. Jordan needs alternative energy resources. This, in short is what HM King Abdullah called for in his recent letter to the Prime Minister. A good blog post is to be found on Khalf’s blog:…
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The Friday sermon that a thousand people DIDN’T hear!
Today, Friday, I decided to attend Friday prayers at the newly inaugurated King Hussein mosque. I live just a hundred meters away from the mosque, so my son and I walked the short distance, as did thousands of people who wanted to attend the first Friday prayers held there. I am no fan of traditionalist…
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Coffee war: Costa to open in Amman’s Mecca Mall
Another Starbucks alternative. Good. (I’ve been promising myself to write a major Starbucks post but keep putting it off!). Anyway, yesterday I saw the Costa logo on the facade of the Mecca Mall extension. Costa is a UK based brand that was started by two brothers of Italian background in 1971. I actually like Costa’s…
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Scooters in Amman..
After dropping a colleague home near the 1st circle, I was driving home when I saw two scooters, each with two guys driving at a distance in front of me. And yes, I had my camera under the car seat! Took it out, switched it on and started shooting.
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Butter war officially over?
A poster near the dairy product section in my local supermarket had a big poster today, with a letter signed by Sheikh Qardawi and Sheihk Odeh that lifts the boycott of Arla foods, makers of the Lurpak brand. And the butter was really back on the shelf. Interesting ha? The letter said that Arla has…
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King Hussein Mosque location
For those who asked.. The King Hussein mosque in the Dabouq suburb, behind the King Hussein Gardens. Here you can see the mosque’s construction site maybe 2 or more years ago. The yellow marker is mine and has not been added to the Google Earth community. I hope you can read the longitude and latitude…
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The new King Hussein mosque at night
While driving home yesterday, I saw that the King Hussein’s mosque lighting systems where being tested. The lit mosque looked quite stunning so I got out my camera and attempted a few shots. I didn’t have a tripod so most of them came out shaky. This one came out OK. Judging by the cleaning activities…
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Bethlehem: from Golden Threads to Cement Blocks
These are snapshots from the booklet Bethlehem: from Golden Threads to Cement Blocks recently designed by my partner at SYNTAX Salua Qidan for Mrs Widad Kawar, the renowned collector of Arab heritage. The booklet weaves together the threads of history, heritage and the current depressing reality in a compact package. Check out ArabHeritage.org: Widad Kawar…
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From Amman to Karak on the Kings Highway
An amazing project has taken me and two colleagues down the Kings Highway on an exploratory tour. One of the colleagues is a veteran archaeologist. And boy does it make a difference when you have someone like that with you on an ancient road that links a myriad of sites. You alsmost forget the present…