UAE: Carpet and Art Oasis: Weaving their own future
While Persian carpets enjoy a walkover in the industry, now new dark horses are coming up
It’s the end of Saturday evening and exhausted festival-goers are leaving in their cars, giving the Carpet and Art Oasis a deserted look. The sprawling pavilion looks like something straight out of Arabian Nights. Everywhere there are carpets, rugs, tapestries and more carpets, in diverse colours and designs, on the floor, the walls, and stacked in little heaps. Then there are some more in intriguing glass-topped caskets that look like coffins at first glance. ...
Khaleej Times
Poland: Encouraging arts in schools top of cultural agenda
Poland’s culture ministry has said that more arts classes in schools and encouraging Poles to read more books are top of its agenda for 2014.
Culture minister Bogdan Zdrojewski said that priorities for 2014 include the launch of a national book-reading programme and an educational reform under which music and arts classes will cover almost 4 million schoolchildren in the 6 to 19 age bracket. ...
The News
France: London tops Paris as world’s most visited city – or does it?
Strong growth in visitor numbers to London last year may threaten the French capital’s proud title as the world’s number-one tourist destination – a claim some say is politically motivated and impossible to verify.
Record numbers of tourists travelled to London in 2013, and Paris is expecting the past year to top its excellent 2012 figures – placing the two cities neck-and-neck for the title of top tourist spot in the world. ...
France 24
Alaska: Australians attempt winter traverse of Brooks Range
Queensland surfer and all-around adventurer John Cantor isn’t one for giving up easily.
It took several attempts for the Australian-born athlete to complete a solo summer Brooks Range journey before he finally conquered the task in the summer of 2012. ...
The Arctic Sounder
Australia: Good to go - where to travel in 2014
From island-hopping in economically beleaguered Greece to river cruising in fast-developing Myanmar, this year’s traveller is spoilt for choice. But industry pundits agree that our holidays will continue to be determined by purse strings and last-minute deals, which means that planning way ahead seems gloriously old-fashioned, unless you are prepared to opt for earlybird deals for 2015, especially on European river cruising or long-hauls. ...
The Australian
Iceland: How Not to Rob a Taxi
A taxi driver in Reykjavík has used unconventional means to try to recover un unpaid fare of ISK 5,000 (USD 43, EUR 32). The passenger - a young man - had used the driver’s phone to go on Facebook but forgot to log out so the taxi driver posted a message on his account. ...
Iceland Review
Sweden: Sweden’s most popular baby names revealed
While Alice remained the most common name for baby girls in Sweden for the third year running, William was dethroned as the most popular boys’ name for the first time in years, new statistics show. ...
The Local
*Image of Dubai shop via Shutterstock.
