Blogs in January 1970

The Road to Oxiana 1st January 1970

In 1933 Robert Byron began a journey through the Middle East via Beirut, Jerusalem, Baghdad, and Teheran to Oxiana–the country of the Oxus, the ancient name for the river Amu Darya which forms part of the border between Afghanistan...

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City of Veils 1st January 1970

The crime: one scalding afternoon, the mutilated body of a young woman, half naked beneath her burqa, is discovered on a Saudi beach: soon afterwards a Western woman’s husband vanishes without trace. The place: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the City...

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Live from Jordan 1st January 1970

On the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Pittsburgh native and graduate student Ben Orbach traveled to the Middle East to experience the region first-hand. Despite having a degree in Middle Eastern studies, he was completely unprepared for...

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A Deniable Death 1st January 1970

Two men who hate each other are committed to working together on a job far more dangerous than they knew when they signed up. These men are surveillance experts, lying in a mosquito-infested Iranian marsh for days, part of...

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Reunited in the Desert 1st January 1970

As I approached the house, I was gripped with terror. Call it a mother’s instinct, call it what you will. I knew that something terrible had happened. When I saw that my husband’s car had gone, I feared the...

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