Cambodia, a land of beauty and deeply held traditions — despite the pain of recent genocide, despite a challenging development. Or — is it their very love and celebration of beauty, strong sense of community, and deeply held Buddhist beliefs that together provide a foundation for recovery, for resilience?

Cambodia struggles even today to overcome the horrors of the Khmer Rouge, to remember their dead, and to share their story with the world as yet another cautionary tale. This memorial can be seen in central Phnom Penh, on the grounds of a former school used by the perpetrators for their atrocities — a double betrayal.

The evocative nature of Angkor Wat at sunrise speaks to that which has sustained the people of Cambodia through the many centuries: their deeply held Buddhist faith — and their equally profound connection with the natural world.

~EWP

The plateau that is Botswana. Kalahari Desert to the west, grasslands to the east — two worlds, styles of living — with many indigenous cultures at its core. Today, Africa’s #1 success story: strong economy, largely transparent government — and soon taking over its own diamond processing, by which the country’s economy should soar!

While Botswana’s largest ethnic group by far is the Tswana, at 80%, several others can lay claim to this as their homeland, notably the nomadic San (known here as Basarwa); they have been fighting, and so far losing, for the right to water access, as the government cuts off their water supply as a means to force their relocation away from public land.

~EWP

Thessaloniki, in the Macedonian region of Greece. A very multicultural city ruled by multiple empires throughout history, it trends today toward progressive thinking, youthful and innovative outlook, broad linguistic skills, and a general embrace of strangers — despite the country’s ongoing economic woes. Hope for the future, as symbolized by this iconic sculpture.

[We will be returning to Greece in a later post.]

~EWP

Istanbul, city of contrasts. Once mighty Constantinople, with a series of empires and occupiers, renamed in 1930. A heady mix of peoples and ideas, bridging East and West, the city has blended many cultures into one uniquely its own.

Evocative of earlier eras, Istanbul’s Galata area with its famous tower, also called Pera, was first populated by Greek farmers, then traders as a hub for the Silk Road, notably, the Venetians and Genoese (11th & 12th centuries), then Ottoman — and most of the city’s Jewish community. To this day the neighborhood continues to encapsulate Istanbul’s rich multicultural heritage and broad exchange of ideas.

[We will be returning to Turkey in a later post.]

~EWP