With all the turmoil in the Middle East, I fear the innocence of mythological stories of genies, magic lamps and flying carpets will be slip into obscurity. And when such innocence is lost, it can never be retrieved intact. I think the only Arabian fantasies we can hope for in the future are doomed to involve poppy farmers, barrel bombs and flying rubble.

These age old religious and tribal conflicts continue to display humanity at its worst, and tend to piss off the tour guides.