Writer

Mark R. Jahnke

Latest Content


Cutlery on Porcelain

As it has for most of this summer, Tajikistan continues to challenge my preconceptions of it as the day passes. My stomach growls and my mouth grows dry, but most restaurants remain open, and Rudaki avenue remains a vibrant cross-section of Tajik society.


An Evening in Tajikistan

The sun is hot but the air dry, a light breeze floating through the fountains outside many of the buildings. Horns sound, tires squeal, but among it all I can still hear the trickle of the water through the jubes that line the roads like open storm drains. A few days ago, I accidentally fell into one, which was quite an entertaining sight for the fifty or so Tajiks who were sitting nearby, watching me with amusement.


Reflections on the Boston Bombings and Manhunt

When I first learned that the suspects of the Boston Marathon bombings were young, white men, I was secretly happy. With images of bearded, dark-skinned Arab men often associated with terrorism, the captured paler faces were a breath of fresh air amid a very tense week.


Spring Break Postcard: Tea in Doha

When choosing a restaurant overseas, the fewer English words on the menu, the better. I don't know what it was that I had for lunch that first day in Doha, Qatar, but it was delicious, a mixture of herbs and stewed chicken over rice with fresh flatbread, accompanied by traditional tea.


Thirty-Three Arches

There is something both timeless and eerily beautiful about arches in Safavid architecture. The elegant ogees appear in both two ...


Bad Trend Alert: Email Signatures

The inspirational quote? Yes, Gandhi is amazing. Yes, there is some providence in the fall of a sparrow. And yes, it is, in fact, tomorrow in Australia.