There are a lot of smart people out there telling us that the Tunisian revolution is not going to set up a contagious wave of revolutions in the Middle East.

When I was alerted to the news that Mount Carmel was burning, I felt true sorrow as I had the good fortune to visit Haifa in 2006 and was able to enjoy the beauty the forests of Mount Carmel offered to visitors. Haifa is indeed, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful cities in the whole Mediterranean.

In the 1960s my mom used to carry water buckets on her fragile shoulders from the bottom of Ankara’s Altındağ to the very top of Hıdırlık Tepe where my grandparent’s gecekondu (a sort of shanty house), was located.

Tuesday morning last week. A beautiful day in Washington, D.C., is about to begin. I am staying at the Hay-Adams Hotel, right across from the White House.