Middle East again

Something keeps me coming back to the Middle East. I still didn't reflect upon it. I usually prefer to wait and let things sit or sink and then try to understand them emotionally rather than rationally. But let's stop the autopsychoanalysis!

There's something in the Middle East that really appeals to me. Many things, to say the truth. But these many things are easy to conjure: the delicious (and very inexpensive) food; people's hospitality; amazing historic and natural sights; people's good looks (uhmmm, is this a reason to travel? - as michelin guide raters would say, is it good in this category, is it excellent and worth a detour, or is it exceptional and worth the journey?) Here i come quibbling again.

But the explanation is in the "something".
Is it the thin line between openness and conservatism? Or between wealth and indigence? Is it just the appeal of a culture that is strange and familiar at the same time? Is it the magic that permeates the streets and houses, century-old places and customs, the aura that emanates from the cradle of our civilization and all the honey and blood spilled on so much sacred earth? Is it something in the way that people look at you that's both shy and curious, welcoming and suspicious, innocent and guilty?

Of course all these are somewhat romanticized blanket statements that don't do justice to all the different peoples and cultures and landscapes in the Middle East. Up to what point is Islam such a unifying force in that region? Islam itself has its divisions and contradictory messages. Some countries are much richer than others. Interestingly (or perhaps consequentially) countries that were not blessed with deep and vast oil wells seem to be the most beautiful. Like parties, poor people's ones usually more entertaining than rich people's feasts.

And talking about feasts, then there is the food! From the ubiquitous shawarma to the more elaborate stews and skewers. Some spices so familiar to me. Yet always some new discovery.

For a Brazilian like me, the Middle East is not an "in your face" different world like India or Southeast Asia. But it's neither an "oh, it's just the same" old boring Euroamerican environment. Maybe it's in the shades of grey. The appeal is perhaps in the mystery, in the rugged beauty that does not show itself effortlessly. Perhaps one must deserve it, in order to be allowed to comprehend the beauty of the place. I'm not talking about the superficial, easy to acknowledge beauty, but that one that reveals itself slowly, that demands you to lift the veil. This slow discovery has been worth so far. Every trip makes me thirstier. I can't answer. And I'll probably keep going for more.