“If I didn’t try to sell a carpet to everyone who says they do not want one, I would never sell a carpet,” as one salesman says.
Tag Archives: Inherit The Earth
Cayman Islands: Lion Hunting
“Their only predators are human. We have managed to keep the dive sites relatively clean but if you go out further you will see them. We are catching lots but it’s non-stop and forever.”
Panama: Canal Zone
“Five per cent of the world’s sea-borne trade passes through the canal every year,” says Carlos. “Panama brings in about $1 billion a year from tolls, charged at roughly $3.50 a tonne.”
Uzbekistan: Golden Smiles
“In the 11th century, ‘Bukhara the Holy’ was one of the most famous centers of learning in the Muslim world.”
Zanzibar: Island Life
“We have always been middlemen – between the land and the sea, the producers and the buyers, the African and the Arabian,” says historian Professor Abdul Sheriff. “That is not a concern; it is our strength.”
Osaka: Second City
“People from Tokyo say we greet each other here with ‘Mokkari-makka (Are you making money)?’ – which is nonsense. We say ‘How are you?’ like anywhere else.”
Washington DC: Monumental City
“Once the Vietnam Memorial was on the Mall, all the other veteran groups wondered why they did not have theirs as well. If they had not been built we might think of the Mall in very different terms than as a place where we dump all our national war memorials.”
Istanbul: Turkish Delight
“Most tourists think the Grand Bazaar represents Turkish culture,” says designer and businesswoman Aysegul Ozmen. “The craftsmen there make the same stuff they have always made – as that is what the tourists buy. Our culture is much richer than that – maybe our problem is that our culture is too rich.”
Nicaragua: Keeping Faith
“At one point people were using costumes from other countries, not just places like Colombia but also Japan. So we have brought things back to their roots. Things should stay as traditional as possible.”
