Getting to know Saudi Soccer Ahead of the 2034 FIFA World Cup in Saudi

In the spirit of FIFA World Cup, I have my eye out for Saudi football spirit and fervor. Not only did Saudi Arabia qualify again for this year’s Cup, but they are also hosting in 2034. So I began manifesting a football sighting and BAM! they appeared! Hello members of the Al-Zulfi SFC (First Division - Second Tier). Thanks for giving me a reason to cheer on Saudi in June!

 

NY's NoHo is trending in Riyadh

 

Greetings from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where there is a NY deli chain named Noho Deli! Everything In Riyadh Is new so this Is such a sign that NoHo NYC cool is trending!

The guy at the register was so happy to meet me and told all the employees where I was from. He also told me that their pastrami sandwich didn’t have as much meat as “the famous deli.” I told him the amount at Katz’s was ridiculous! Anyhow, there’s nothing like a taste of home.

Deciding to Travel to Saudi Arabia

 

Today I’m off to explore Saudi Arabia (and Abu Dhabi). If you are wondering why I decided to go to Saudi Arabia, there are so many reasons… First, you may not have heard, but Saudi Arabia just opened to non Muslim tourists in 2019. I love going places before the tourist routes are too busy. Second, over the past 10ish years, Saudi Arabia has been experiencing real change and liberalization. I’m an experiential learner and I want to see what’s going on. I’m taking a women’s only tour and one of the missions behind it is to help build the businesses of the women rising in the tourism sector as a way to elevate the women in society. It will also give us opportunity to hear directly from women about on all the societal changes. Third, I’ve been wanting to get a deeper look at the Persian Gulf for a while. Going to Iran was the most eye opening trip of my lifetime, because reality was so much more nuanced than our Western press reported.

Another reason is the generation above me often speaks about traveling the hippy trail through the Middle East and Central Asia in the early ‘70s and being able to see liberalizing in real time. I’ve been jealous, so I’m taking advantage of this opening and diving in.

In preparation for the trip I’ve read five books and watched countless videos and podcasts. It’s hard to wrap my head around so many years of history and all the power dynamics, while also trying to learn about local culture. I am aware that I can’t just count on what people tell me always being the full story, so I’ve started with book knowledge and show up as an educated observer. I know many of you look blankly at me when I’ve told you where I’m going, but I hope my photos and stories after will open your mind to another part of the world you may not have thought that deeply about. Updates soon!

2025 End of Year Letter

Happy Holidays! 

 

Another year flew by, but the good thing about being guided by mantras like “live every day to the fullest” and “you only live once,” combined with my “fear of missing out,” is they drive me to action. 

 

I'm still working at the NoHo Business Improvement District and enjoying the daily surprises I encounter on the streets there (pop ups, experiential retail experiences, fashion, and many forms of artistic expression), as well as, the satisfied feeling of daily civic action that helps NYC flourish. I'm the Secretary of the NYC BID Association and helm the Mentoring Committee, so I get to help others connect so we all can all do even better to serve our neighborhoods. 

I also am still living in Jackson Heights, Queens, possibly the most diverse area in the world. The cultural vibrance there is perfect for a world traveler like me. I don’t need a plane ride. Instead, I can just walk a block or two to see whichever religious or cultural festival is happening. There are always new foods to try, traditional dress to appreciate, holidays to celebrate, parades to cheer on different ethnic groups, and over 165 languages to overhear in my zip code alone!  

 

As for travel, I rang in the New Year in Biggar, Scotland with the sound of bagpipes, a GIANT bonfire and the tastes of fresh haggis from the local butcher shop.  In March, I headed off to explore the Silk Road with a stop in Istanbul along the way. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were beautiful and so different. I enjoyed thinking about the vast amount of history and cultural transfer that has happened there. I came back just in time to fly to Las Vegas for a family reunion of my stepfather’s family, which was a chance to learn much more about the many legs of their Jewish diaspora around the world. I spent another summer week in Cape May with my sister’s family.  And went to the International Downtown Association Annual Conference in Washington, DC. Not a new place for me, but it was fun to look at things through a new urban planning lens and reminisce about my years of living down there.

Another highlight was my second year as a balloon handler in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. This year I was with Gabby’s Dollhouse, which I hadn’t heard of, but little kids on the route certainly had and lit up as we passed on the clear, beautiful fall day.

 

As a political person, this year has been very hard to watch. I have tried to protest what I can and have doubled down on local New York civic engagement where I can. I’m hoping our new NY Mayor can get things done and provide a different example for the way things can be done.

 

Wishing everyone a happy holiday and a new year filled with bright new opportunities!

Macy's Thanksgiving Parade

Year two of balloon handling for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade was a great success. This year my balloon was Gabby and Pandy Paws from Gabby’s Dollhouse. She brought great joy to little kids as we passed. There was perfect weather, huge crowds on the sidelines and lots of great energy!

IDA in Washington, DC

I really tried to limit my pictures this trip, but I always do so many things and I want to preserve the memories. So here goes… A trip to an International Downtown Association conference in DC, turned into 9 wonderful days hanging with work friends, and old DC friends and family, checking out new to me neighborhoods and the way old to me areas have changed.

I felt really blue and wary arriving in DC. It felt dystopian but I was warmed by little signs of resistance all over and the work me and my conference mates do focuses locally in a productive healing way so hearifn about their work seems like the ultimate antidote to these glum times. I did see my first group of ICE/Police/HSI, but thankfully didn’t have to watch them detain anyone.

I leave with renewed love for DC even if I feel a little down on our Democracy.

Visiting Lucy the Elephant

This year on my way to Cape May, NJ for the week, I stopped by to finally see Lucy the Elephant, located in Margate, also along the Jersey Shore, and she was even better than I expected!

Built in 1882, Lucy was created with the purpose of promoting real estate sales and attracting tourists to the area. (Clearly that is still happening.) Lucy is the oldest surviving roadside tourist attraction in America.

Photos from Turkmenistan

I’m still not sure what made this trip so impactful. It felt far far away and very different. I had lots of time to travel alone on either end of my tour, walking 30k steps a day trying to figure out how life ticked. Even after lots of processing and reflection I’m not sure my words or photos will be able to fully explain it what I saw and learned.

Turkmenistan is a land locked Central Asian country of 7 million, 80% of which is desert. It’s situated on the Silk Road and thus for thousands of years it has been traversed and influenced by traders and the world’s great conquerers, including Alexander the Great and Ghengis Kahn, then controlled by Russia and later the Soviet Union. It’s been tightly ruled since its independence from the USSR by three extremely authoritarian leaders.

Today it’s one of the least visited countries in the world. The country has ample wealth because it sits on the fourth largest reserves of natural gas and the wealth has been used to build one of the most unusual places I’ve ever been, often using white Italian marble to clearly project grandeur. My 8 day visit to this largely unknown place was fascinating and full of surprises.

Click HERE to see my full set of pictures from Turkmenistan

Visiting Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

This trip really touched me. Perhaps it was the fascinating totally differentness of the place. I also think it was having so many days to wander off the grid, lost in my thoughts, focusing on discovery and nurturing my curiosity. Whatever it was it definitely reignited my love of travel again. Posting this final batch of pictures, closes the trip. That makes me a little sad. I’ve been enjoying looking at the pictures, processing, researching and reading more and just wallowing in travel zen, but onward, so here you go!

More NYC Public Realm Improvements

ust in time for summer, NYC opened a new section of the new East River Park on the Lower East Side. New green space, picnic and BBQ areas, and basketball and tennis courts are part of the $1.45 Billion East Side Coastal Resiliency Project that raised the land by 8-10 feet to protect New Yorkers from future coastal storms and tidal flooding. It’s really beautiful.

Exploring NYC's Public Realm Improvements

I’ve been trying to catch up on New York City’s new public realm improvements. Yesterday that meant walking the north end of Hudson River Park where last fall they opened Pier 97 at 57th Street. The project turned a former docking pier and parking lot into 2.5 acres of public open space, complete with a playground, athletic field, and sloping sun lawn. They even have a granite slide at the end that I whizzed down. Well done Hudson River Park Trust!

Daily life in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

 

The irony of Defying Gravity coming up on my phone as I look at a group young Turkmen college aged women and ponder their totally controlled unfree lives.

Giggling about the possibility of getting Tik Tok famous

 

That time when the ladies at the restaurant were looking over my shoulder checking out the pictures on my phone and giggling, then asked me to take a picture of them and when I did they giggled more I heard Tik Tok amidst their Turkmen words. If only I could make them Tik Tok famous.

A NYC moment in Ashgabat

When I travel I definitely like being from New York City! I love when people ask where I’m from I can just say that and don’t even need to say America/United States, especially when saying my country’s name is almost an ugly word these days. Then one night in Ashgabat when I said New York the waiter’s face lit up and he mumbled something that made me think that maybe bar had some NYC connection. Later I noticed Broadway musical wall paper and other little details like this mural. Yes, the greatest city in the world…

Islam in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is 95% Muslim, but it is a secular country. During the Soviet times religion was repressed and many of the mosques were closed and people were forced to practice in private at home. After independence practicing Islam was encouraged again, but it was stressed to us that the government is very wary of religious fundamentalism and keeps a close eye on religious activity. I saw very few obvious mosques and almost no active call to prayer, which feels very different than other Islamic countries I have been to. The Turmenbashi Ruhy Mosque is big and sparkly mosques, but it seemed more for show than for daily religious practice. 

These days there are no madrassas (religious schools) in Turkmenistan. Anyone wanting to study to be an imam has to go to Turkey to train. This is part of the effort to keep Turkmenistan secular. In Uzbekistan there is a bit more, but still there is only one madrassa allowed in each of the 12 territories  of the country. 

The biggest evidence of how little the presence of Islam was is that I don't have any picture to show Islam in practice there.

NYC fans in Turkmenistan

Spotted this t-shirt on a woman waiting for the bus in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, asked to take a picture, which led to a lovely conversation. She had just gotten back from 6 months visiting her daughter in NYC. Her daughter left Turkmenistan after college to teach in China. Next stop she headed to the States and now is a NYC public school principal in a primarily Chinese district and loves it there. Also the two pictures she showed me from her trip to NY were of her trip to the Statue of Liberty and when she went skydiving! Yay America! Yay immigrants!

Visiting Turkmenistan Ruhy Mosque

Built in 2004 by Turkmenistan’s first post Soviet leader, Saparmurat Niyazov, or later self named Türkmenbaşy, Türkmenbaşy Ruhy Mosque in Ashgabat is the largest mosque in Central Asia. The vast prayer room can hold 10,000 pilgrims, with 7,000 men on the main floor and 3,000 women on the second level.

Beside the mosque there is a smaller version that is Türkmenbaşy’s family mausoleum. Unfortunately no photos were allowed there because it had some kookie things I wish I could look back more closely at.

During his time of leadership, Türkmenbaşy wrote a new spiritual guide and a kind of origin story for Turkmenistan. One guide told me that after 100 years under Russian control Turkmen people had to be reminded of their culture, values and history, so he created this book for them. The book was called the Ruhnama (The Book of the Soul,) and it was taught in schools and read in homes.

So… when he built this mosque he inscribed the walls of the mosque with verses from both the Quran and the Ruhnama. This, unsurprisingly, outraged many Muslims, who believed that passages from the Quran should be given far more reverence than Niyazov’s modern book of rambling moral guidance, and should not appear alongside each other. Even more incendiary was one particular quotation inscribed prominently on the entry arch to the mosque, which reads "The Ruhnama is the holiest book and the Quran is the book of Allah."

I heard that because of the Ruhnama quotes almost no one attends this mosque for religious services. It exists for tourists like me and use during special events meant to promote Türkmenbaşy’s memory or the current leader’s authority.

Like many things in Turkmenistan it’s for show. Really all I can say is it was very impressive and quite lovely to be almost alone in.

Learning about Women in Ashgabat

 

I spent one day in Ashgabat with a female guide and she and I had fun chatting about what life is like for women in Turkmenistan and NYC. I learned more about how arranged marriages work and heard that changes have been happening to help women gain success and respect in the workplace. And she was in awe of my bravery for traveling alone and being able to live as a single woman. There is definitely a pull toward old societal ways with things like strict conservative traditional dress and rules that girls and women should spend all their time with their families. but it felt nice to see her ambition in guiding and translating and hear about her life dreams.

Some of the highlights of our day were visiting a hidden wedding dress shop, where they dressed me up in the outfit that a bride wears for 40 days before her wedding. And yes, it’s heavy!!

Reflecting on being a girl in Turkmenistan

The irony of Defying Gravity coming up on my phone as I look at a group young Turkmen college aged women and ponder their totally controlled unfree lives.

Visiting the American Center in Ashgabat

 

I went to this American Center in Ashgabat, that the Embassy must run. It’s a library and a place with full internet. I guess it builds good American feelings. Anyhow when I walked in they were doing a program for a room of mostly high school kids with the finance guy from the US Embassy. They invited me to join and sitting their listing to America the Beautiful and reading the inspiring words on the walls made me suddenly burst into tears. The Turkmen people there look to America as an alternative to their authoritarian country, and I just felt so sad that I’m not sure we really stand for that stuff right now.

A guy closer to my age wanted to talk with me after. He was so down on his fellow countryman for not caring and just wanted to talk news with people. It was pretty interesting and moving. I felt bad having nothing good to say about the US these days.

Visiting Nisa

 

The UNESCO World Heritage site, the Fortresses of Nisa, are one of the earliest and most important cities of the Parthian Empire, a major power from the mid 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD. The site is mostly unexcavated with enough excavated to start to imagine what had been there as our guide told us history and showed us pictures of what archeologists think it looked like. Situated at the crossroads of important commercial and strategic axes, this powerful empire formed a barrier to Roman expansion while serving as an important communication and trading centre between east and west, north and south.

Nisa is not just an archaeological site but a symbol of Turkmenistan's rich historical heritage, with connections to ancient trade routes and empires. It’s located just a few kilometers from Ashgabat.

I often am not that into antiquities, but this one wowed me. I think it was the way they had little pieces of historic details in the ruins for a chance to see today and yesteryear and be transported The guide also had a notebook of renderings of the site at what is imagined as its original ornate look, which was so interesting to compare to the pile of bricks and mud before my eyes. Mostly seeing Nisa was another reminder of all the great empires who crossed Turkmenistan.

Next stop: Gates of Hell in Darvasa

 

Located In the Karakum Desert in the center of Turkmenistan, the Gates of Hell crater was created in 1971 when a Soviet drilling rig accidentally punched into a massive underground natural gas cavern, causing the ground to collapse and the entire drilling rig to fall in. Having punctured a pocket of gas, poisonous fumes began leaking at an alarming rate.

To head off a potential environmental catastrophe, the Soviets set the hole alight, figuring it would stop burning within a few weeks. Decades later, and the fiery pit is still going strong.

The fate of the burning crater may be in limbo. In January 2022, the President ordered the government of Turkmenistan to begin researching how to put the fire out. So far it’s still burning, so I got there in time and was able to enjoy the best bonfire I’ve even seen that radiated wonderful cozy warmth on the cold desert night. Too bad I forgot marshmallows and an incredible long roasting stick!

Visiting a grocery store in Dasoguz

Our first stop in Turkmenistan was Kunya-Urgench a historical area that is now a religious pilgrimage site The area attracted many locals who found us Western travelers to be quite a fascination. Everyone seemed to want pictures with us, but many were afraid to ask so they would just stand nearby and look curious until I asked for pictures and they eagerly agreed and took their own too.

In the end of the 10th century this area was the capital of the huge and prospering Khorezm state which occupied the entire area of the Amu Darya river delta in northern Turkmenistan and western Uzbekistan, including Khiva where I had just come from.

It stood at a good geographical location - the crossing of two major caravan routes: to the east, to China, and from the south - to the northwest, to the Volga. It quickly expanded, turning in to a true center of civilization. In the beginning of the 11th century Kunya - Urgench became so well-known that eclipsed the glory of Bukhara. Scientists and poets, who glorified the city as "the capital of thousand wise men", flocked there.

During entire 13th century Kunya - Urgench had been a heart of "the Islamic World" until its governor rebelled against Genghis Khan. Mongols completely destroyed the famous city, razed it to the ground. That is why contemporary Kunya - Urgench is considerably wrecked. Many historical buildings of Kunya-Urgench have remained from the times of Khoresm dynasty. They can serve as examples of the variety of Islamic architecture of Central Asia since the ruins represent types of construction designs and rare dome shapes.

It was interesting to visit this area in contrast to the Uzbekistan sites we went to, because Turkmenistan believes in leaving these historic buildings in as they found them vs renovating them back to their original grandeur. Somehow that stirred me and made me think more broadly about preservation.

Dasoguz, Turkmenistan

 

We spent our first night in Dasoguz and began to see how Turkmenistan was going to be a very unusual place to visit. I had read about how the country’s leaders had been replacing Soviet buildings with big dramatic white fine Italian marble buildings for years, but I didn’t fully get how strange this would be to see in person. This small city is the center of the agricultural sector in the area. It had large almost empty boulevards and giant showy buildings that really don’t seem to fit into the desert scene around them. Many have been built for government ceremonies and are only used once or twice a year and otherwise are empty. At night most of the buildings were lit with colorful light displays. Click thru to see the huge marble hotel we stayed in with only a handful of other guests. Check out our hostage photo showing we were ok, or were we? Every newspaper in the lobby has the same two pictures of Serdar Berdimuhamedow, the county’s newish 3rd President, on it. A sure sign of a strange type of authoritarian rule, if I’ve ever seen one.

This is as good a place as any to mention again that Turkmenistan sits on the one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world. Due to that the leaders have had lots of money to build their marble vision.

Environmental Degradation of the Turkmanistan Border

I’ve heard over and over again in recent times that the next world wars will be fought over access to water. In Central Asia’s five landlocked nations there is not enough water. All the nations are fighting over limited resources. In northwestern Turkmenistan, as we crossed the border, I saw this more starkly than I ever have seen it before. What you see might look like a light snow on the ground, but instead it is salt left over from watering crops with highly salinated water.

The issue was only made more stark when the Soviet Union chose this area to grow cotton and it sucked up what water was available. Now as the earth gets hotter there is need for more water and the water available is not healthy or very usable and that land is mostly unproductive and unfarmable.

Day 1: Kunya - Urgench

 

Our first stop in Turkmenistan was Kunya-Urgench a historical area that is now a religious pilgrimage site The area attracted many locals who found us Western travelers to be quite a fascination. Everyone seemed to want pictures with us, but many were afraid to ask so they would just stand nearby and look curious until I asked for pictures and they eagerly agreed and took their own too. 

Crossing the Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan Border

          

Traveling into Turkmenistan, one of the least visited countries in the world, meant standing in line at the land border crossing with my heart beating extra fast in fear of the unknown. It took a couple hours, but all went smoothly and we were greeted by friendly smiles on the other side. Unfortunately I only have this one under the radar photo for my memories, because the people watching along the way was pretty great.

Uzbekistan Photos

I've always wanted to travel the Silk Road and see the beautiful tiles in Uzbekistan for many years and even with all the expectation this trip was better than I could have hoped for. I'll always remember the wide smiles of the locals, the incredible architecture, the tastes that showed the way the constant flow of people and things on those trading routes wove together many different cultures in a lasting way, and the way thousands of years of history through many empires started to become real and not just something I read about in a book. Also, my year of Russian classes finally had some use even if I can only remember about 6 words.

Thanks for joining me on this journey.

Click HERE to see the rest of my Uzbekistan pictures

Khiva, Uzbekistan

 

Next stop, Khiva. An 8 hour drive from Bukhara lies another little city with its own flavor, including being the part of the country with the prettiest women. (Which I learned from my beautiful female guide who was from there , but was told the same thing in Turkmenistan too and definitely noticed the women had a distinct look.)

Khiva’s Itchan Kala, the walled city, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the best preserved and most impressive destinations on the Silk Road. Well-preserved streets, mosques made of baked mud bricks and majestic fortress walls evoke the spirit of the caravans of traders (and conquerors), which once passed through in great numbers.

Founded some 2,500 years ago, this open-air museum is a labyrinth of streets lined with dozens of intricately decorated monuments, most of which date from the 14th to the 19th centuries.

One highlight was visiting a three generation family of tightrope walkers who put on a show for us. But again, the biggest highlights were the ornate tiles throughout the old city.

Uzbek Faces

In each place I go, it’s the faces of the people that I really want to capture. Buildings are nice. People are even better. In so many places people say no when I ask if I can take a picture, but I’m really grateful to the friendly people of Uzbekistan, who said yes and even often asked for a picture with me. I’m happy to remember each if these faces and interactions. It makes a place much more memorable.

Bukhara, Uzbekistan

 

Bukhara is one of the gems of Uzbekistan and my favorite stop in the country and probably my favorite stop un Uzbekistan. The historic city centre is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. There are 140 protected buildings. The age of the city exceeds 2500 years.

Got my first proposal in Uzbekistan

Got my first proposal (I think???) The guy in the back wants to come to America and needs a Green Card. As you can see, the guy in the front thought it was hilarious. It’s amazing how much can be conveyed even when you don’t speak the same language.

New Yorkers meeting each other in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Yup, this guy must have heard Rhoda and I talking, because he came up to tell us he lived in New York City. Brooklyn to be exact. He grew up here and was home visiting. NYC has a big Uzbek population and many people here have been telling us they have family there.

Chorsu Market, Tashkent

 

Travel around the world means stopping at many food markets. In a small sign that I might be jaded from too many journeys, these days I’m a little skeptical about if going to them is worth the time. I mean how many different things can people be selling from place to place? Luckily I power through my bad attitude and go anyway, because markets always offer fun new things to look at and eat!

Chorsu Bazaar in Tashkent is one of the most important markets in the region and has existed along the Silk Road since at least 1220 when the Mongols came storming through.

What was new to me here, you might ask? Huge chunks of animal fat for flavoring. Horse meat or also actually noticing all the different shades of different meats. Seeing inside the of casing of thick sausages.

Bread bowls. Bread ovens. Kimchi and other Korean standards. (Stalin moved the Koreans living in the USSR down to the Stans to muffle discent. They have been flourishing in Uzbekistan since.) Delicious tiny bit sized oranges (Sorry. No picture. Ate them too quickly.)

Soviet Era Architecture in Tashkent

One reason I like to travel to countries that were under the Soviet influence is the architecture. Tashkent, Uzbekistan has some fine examples. In 1966 an earthquake destroyed most of the city and the Soviet’s came in to rebuild. They took it as an opportunity to redesign the entire street grid. What exists now is giant 10 lane boulevards and giant blocks wish giant buildings lining them.

Tashkent, the capitol of Uzbekistan

 

In my travel style, understanding a city takes miles and miles of walking and lots of little observations. In 4 days in Tashkent I covered a lot of ground. Here are a bunch of random street scenes that hopefully bring some of it it to life for all of you.

Celebrating Nowruz/Navroz in Tashkent

I landed in Uzbekistan just in time to celebrate the Persian holiday of Navroz/Nowruz. March 21st is the day of the vernal equinox, and marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Nature here also knows its spring as flowers and leaves are bursting open all over. Tonight I went to a Navruz concert with Uzbek pop-stars to ring in the holiday.