Minarets away from Pasadena

Traveling I strenuously avoid regular comforts, but green from a month of dysentary and Afghan vittles, my traveling companion Adam and I limped into the Islamabad Marriott in January 2002.

Think it was the first opportunity I had to speak with a (nonjournalist) woman in about two months.

Featured on the opposite end of the Lonely Planet guide than those we typically frequented, the hotel was where semicorrupt officials hinted they'd like you to invite them for a "cup of tea," aka a tumbler full of Jack Daniels, just like they were able to enjoy in their Stanford days.


And for what it represented, a potential target.

As I've remarked before, more than any other city, I was struck by a sense of familiarity in Islamabad proper (not the 'true capital' Rawalpindi) for its similarity to Pasadena. Broad boulevards, 1960s concrete-based architecture, the climate, an east-west range of low mountains to the north.

(Photo Aamir Qureshi, AFP)