Category Archives: Blog

Hamro Nepal…

Posted on May 12, 2015 by admin

Coming up in NYC

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Ысык-Көл…

Posted on May 11, 2015 by admin

Exploring Kyrgyzstan (Photo: Emily O'Dell)

While driving along the peaceful shores of Issyk-Kul lake in Kyrgyzstan, I stopped for some early morning meditation and tai chi to make my mind as clear as the water…

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Spiritual Cave Healing…

Posted on May 9, 2015 by admin

Exploring Kyrgyzstan (Photo: Emily O'Dell)

I’ve had an exciting week on the road–exploring spiritual healing caves high up in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan…

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Victory Day in Osh…

Posted on May 9, 2015 by admin

Today in Central Asia (Photo: Emily O'Dell)

I commemorated Victory Day with Lenin this morning in Osh, Kyrygzstan–where the holiday was marked with city-wide celebrations, lavish parades, and family visits. After the parade, I took some time to peruse the Soviet exhibitions at the local museum. In honor of Victory Day, Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev paid a visit to Russia to participate in the opening of a monument in Volokolamsk dedicated to Duishenkul Shopokov, a “Hero of the Soviet Union” from Kyrgyzstan–who died in 1941 defending the approach to Moscow. As luck would have it, I just flew from Osh to the Bishkek airport at the same time the President was arriving home from Russia…

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Каракол…

Posted on May 7, 2015 by admin

Exploring Karakol (Photo: Emily O'Dell)

While exploring the town of Karakol near the eastern tip of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, I attended a beautiful service at Holy Trinity Cathedral–a Russian Orthodox church consecrated in 1895 to replace an earlier church that was destroyed in 1889 by an 8.4 magnitude earthquake…

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Dungan Mosque…

Posted on May 6, 2015 by admin

Exploring Kyrgyzstan (Photo: Emily O'Dell)

I’m extremely grateful that I just had the opportunity to visit Dungan Mosque in Kyrgyzstan–a beautiful wooden mosque built by a Chinese architect and 20 artisans in the early years of the 20th century (without using a single nail!). The Dungans first arrived in Kyrgyzstan as refugees from China in 1877. Imagery from the Dungan people’s pre-Islamic Buddhist past is woven into the mosque’s decoration. It’s been my dream for a long time to travel to Karakol to see this unique mosque, and I’m thrilled that I finally got the chance…

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Fun with Petroglyphs…

Posted on May 5, 2015 by admin

Today in Kyrgyzstan (Photo: Emily O'Dell)

I spent part of my afternoon studying an unusual field of ancient petroglyphs in Kyrgyzstan. Since not many of the petroglyphs are well-marked, one has to quite literally comb the entire site to discover as many petroglyphs as possible (such fun!). The closer that my friend and I walked towards the mountains, the more windy it became–until we could barely hear one another talking, and my heels began to feel like they might just take flight…

Wild winds rolling in (Photo: Emily O'Dell)

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New Huff-Po: Unmasking Mental Illness…

Posted on May 5, 2015 by admin

Unmasking mental illness in Beirut (Photo: Leah Soweid)

I’m pleased to share my new Huffington Post piece: Unmasking Mental Illness in Beirut–which is about the mental health awareness event I recently organized with several brave young mental health advocates in Lebanon. Heartfelt thanks for any help in spreading the piece–along with mental health awareness wherever you are…

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Celestial Mountains…

Posted on May 4, 2015 by admin

Trekking in Kyrgyzstan (Photo: Emily O'Dell)

I spent my week-end hiking and meditating in the celestial mountains of Kyrgyzstan. Such peace and beauty to be found in Ala Archa National Park…

Hiking the Tian Shan mountain range (Photo: Emily O'Dell)

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Манас…

Posted on May 4, 2015 by admin

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Talking Marx in Beirut…

Posted on May 4, 2015 by admin

This week in Beirut

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балбал

Posted on May 3, 2015 by admin

Exploring Kyrgyzstan (Photo: Emily O'Dell)

If you visit Burana Tower in the Chuy Valley of northern Kyrgyzstan, take some additional time to stroll through the nearby field of ancient balbals–these anthropomorphic stone stelae are not to be missed!

Befriending balbals on the Silk Road (Photo: Emily O'Dell)

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Бурана

Posted on May 2, 2015 by admin

Exploring Kyrgyzstan (Photo: Emily O'Dell)

I woke up early today to go explore Burana Tower–a beautiful medieval minaret in the Chuy valley of northern Kyrgyzstan…

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Yurt Life…

Posted on May 1, 2015 by admin

Waking up in Kyrgyzstan (Photo: Emily O'Dell)

You know that feeling when you wake up and find yourself in a yurt in Kyrgyzstan!?! Well, that’s just what happened to me this week–which is a welcome blessing since yurts on the Silk Road are my favorite place to be…

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