Bahrain - Mix of المنامة

Man, that station for the Solomon Islands had some awfully intrusive car insurance commercials. Pinky despises the advertising for that company (he must not be named.) He'll never be giving Warren Buffet a monthly payment specifically because he hates that damn lizard so much. This rant is now over.

We haven't been to the Middle East for a good long while and you know how much we love it there. There was no sarcasm there. We really love it a lot. So, y'all want to tune in to Bahrain today?

it's dinky. you might have to squint.

Only three and a half times bigger than Washington D.C., Bahrain is the smallest nation in the Gulf. There's only about a million people there, but they get 8 million tourists a year. That's a pretty massive tourist base.

It's an oil-rich country with plenty of history and Gulf glitz; there's a lot to see there.

so pretty.

Perhaps you'd like to visit the Tree of Life? It's a 400 year old mesquite tree out in the middle of nowhere in a very harsh climate. There's nothing around it but sand, the closest vegetation is miles away, and there is no apparent water source. Nothing else is growing there. Nothing but a very old and very large mesquite tree. The locals think that it's a relic of the Garden of Eden. It's a pretty big tourist draw. We would like to go to there.

we are most fond of inexplicable phenomenons.

Michael Jackson lived in Bahrain for a while. He moved there after being cleared of charges to escape the public eye for a bit at the invitation of a prince. It didn't really work out and he left with some bad blood between him and his host.

wait a second... is this awkward?

So to recap:

Oil Oil Oil Oil Oil Gulf Glitz - giant American naval base - Gulf Glitz Oil Oil Oil Oil Oil Oil Oil

Let's cut the chit-chat and enjoy the Arab music rebroadcast from the capital, Manama (المنامة). We doubt we'll hear that damn gecko out here!

Abu Dhabi Radio

You can change the channels very easily from the navigation tool at the top of the page and we recommend you play around! Ellen's partial to the Holy Qur'an station.

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São Tomé and Principe - What a Steal!

Whoa. So, Turkmenistan was great! Who expected that?! Ellen liked how there were covers of English language songs - like when DJ Begga covered Sean Paul's Get Busy. Even the video is an homage to Sean Paul. Here are links to both videos for reasons of comparison. Ellen is now totally in love with all the skinny boys in Turkmenistan.

Begmyrat Annamyradow's (aka DJ Begga)   Şekero

Sean Paul's   Get Busy

OK, let's head back to the Gulf of Guinea and visit São Tomé and Principe!

Gotta admit, this is another nation we weren't aware of, but it seems to be a pretty great place to hang out and holy crap is this radio station good!

you have to squint to see it

Uninhabited until the Portuguese showed up around the 1470's, São Tomé and Principe was soon settled by Portuguese who were "undesirable" back home (read: Jewish folks.) They found out that sugar grew pretty well and began importing slaves to work the plantations. Within 60 years, they were Africa's largest sugar exporters - outta those tiny little islands! Who'd have thought? From just about 600 sq. miles of land! That's half the size of Rhode Island! And, only about 8% of that land is arable!

The equator crosses the São Tomé and Principe on Ilheu das Rolas

Sugar production proved easier in the New World though, and the competition hurt São Tomé and Principe to the point that they ended up transitioning their economy to become a slave trade transit point. That went pretty well for awhile, and by the time that the slaving industry was slowing down, they found out that cocoa grew pretty well there. By the early 1900's, they'd become the world's largest producer. Slavery had been abolished by then, but nasty labor practices continued well into the 20th century, culminating in riots in the mid-50's where hundreds were killed by the Portuguese.

mmm... palm trees!

An independence movement began fomenting around this time as well. And, by the mid-1970's São Tomé  and Principe achieved it. Politics haven't been all that smooth, a trend we're starting to see. Democratic reforms weren't instituted until the late 1980's. There's been plenty of leadership wrangling and two failed coup attempts. Their economy is still pretty dependent on cocoa, with little diversification, but recent oil explorations are promising. And, they're concentrating on developing their very promising - but fledgling - tourist industry.

holy shit! that stamp has dinos on it! we're in love!

Well, with a population comparable to Boise, Idaho, it looks like we're going to have to listen to a signal-boosted Afro-centric Portuguese station. But! This is a really, really good one! 


Enjoy your time in São Tomé and Principe - don't get too toasty there on the equator! And, we'll see y'all on Monday!

RTP

Listen Here

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Turkmenistan - Aces for Aşgabat

Enjoy your time in the UAE? Me too.

Ok, let's tune into Turkmenistan today!

it's there, in the red.

Ok, first off, Turkmenistan is home to "THE DOOR TO HELL"!!! Forty years ago, some geologists were drilling and accidentally hit an underground cavern of natural gas. The rig fell in, and to avoid poisonous gas discharge, they lit the sucker up and it's been burning ever since. It's just a giant, flaming pit. You should look it up. No, seriously, you've got to see this.

yup, those are people standing on the edge.

Ok, let's talk about Saparmurat Niyazov, the recently deceased, bat-shit crazy "President for Life" that ruled from 1990-2006. He was one of the world's most kleptocratic, repressive, totalitarian dictators, and is thought to have squirreled away about 3 billion dollars. Yes, billion. Woah. 

He also did hilariously egotistical things like renaming the months after his family members and changing the word for bread to his mother's name. Plus, there was a meteorite involved. He named it after himself. He had tons of statues erected of himself, some of them solid gold! There's a giant, 40 foot tall, gold plated one in the capital city of Aşgabat that rotates to follow the path of the sun. They've moved it since he died, but it's still around. He also shut down all hospitals outside the capitol, reasoning that the sick could just come to Aşgabat. Plus, he shut all of the libraries outside the capitol as well saying that rural people don't read and if they do the Qu'ran and his book, Ruhnama, were the only books they needed. His book is required reading for everyone in Turkmenistan, and during his reign, it was the primary textbook used in schools.

wonder if he ever considered becoming a Solid Gold dancer?

Let's see... what else? Ah, yes! The ice palace! So Turkmenistan is 80% desert, and befitting that climate, Niyazov requested that an ice palace be built near the capital to celebrate his reign. What the fuck? It was never built, but still. He also had a giant cyprus forest planted in an attempt to change the desert climate. When he quit smoking, he banned smoking in public places, as well as chewing tobacco. He also outlawed gold teeth, suggesting that people should chew on bones to strengthen their teeth as he saw dogs do when he was younger. He also banned lip-synching, car radios, beards, and recorded music at weddings (probably for the best).

This has nothing to do with their crazy president. We just really dig this.

He also made the country fiercely insular, enacting a foreign policy of neutrality and limiting emigration. He even shortened compulsory education by a year so that students could not qualify to study abroad. What a dick.

So he's dead now, but criticism of Niyazov is still considered treason and is punishable by prison, sending you to a mental institution or exile. The new president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, is slowly dismantling Niyazov's cult of personality and is building relations with the West, but it takes time y'all. Berdymukhammedov is a former dentist; we wonder what he has to say about the crewing on bones theory...

not Hilary's best photo, but what a nice flower arrangement.

Pinky had a bitch of a time finding a viable streaming radio station for this country, but we guess that could be expected with a country of 5 million that only has 75,000 internet users. This one is actually a series of playlists, and they're pretty good. You can choose from the mix, folk music and rap. And, they're updated daily! Enjoy!

TM Hits Radio

Don't forget to check out their blog! Or their Facebook! Or their Twitter! Or their YouTube! 

Whew - they sure are prolific folks.

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Haiti - Perfect Port-au-Prince

How'd you like our visit to Egypt? Good station, huh?

OK, let's head to Haiti today!

Pinky's been aching to go here for a few years now. He really wanted to go last fall but couldn't find anyone to go with him (he hates traveling alone.) He even solicited for a companion on Facebook but only got a "wish I could" from our friend Mr.Wm. Gulley and a safety warning from his brother. Annnnnnd, then the quake came along and destroyed the capital. Sigh... 

y'all know the devastation and tragedy.

Anyway, flights to Port-Au-Prince have resumed and Pinky can get tickets fairly cheap through an airline membership he's signed up with, so there's a standing invitation to y'all if anyone wants to head down there. Perhaps we could volunteer in Port Au Prince? He's happy to do anything, just so long as we can visit the cave paintings and Citadelle Laferrière at some point.

they have a massssssive stash of cannon balls. like, we're talking about a lot of balls. a lot.

So, Haiti was "discovered" by Columbus and the Spanish quickly decimated the indigenous population to the point that they began importing enslaved Africans because they'd killed too of the many natives to run a colony. Their treatment of the Africans was just as brutal. At one point while the French and Spanish had split the island, about 1/3 of the new slaves were dying within a few years of their arrival. It was France's most profitable colony, so that when Haiti fought a 12 year war and won its independence in 1804, France didn't let them forget that.

we will with hold your baguettes and crepes!

(too much? sorry, France. we really do love you.)

Haiti was the only nation born of a successful slave revolt in recorded history, but it took two decades for the world to recognize it's independence. And, then France only agreed to the recognition after Haiti paid them an astronomical sum of 150,000,000 Francs (which was 10 times Haiti's annual revenue and twice the price of the Louisiana Purchase, which is 70 times larger.) So even after winning their freedom, Haiti was extorted into buying it, too. That's a pretty big fuck you to the Haitians, huh? 

That interaction violated international law - even then - and it still hasn't been rectified to this day. That massive debt has screwed over Haiti ever since as every available bit of cash was sent overseas for debt repayment. This inhibited Haiti from investing in their own country. In 1915, 80% of their government's revenue went to the French bank that had financed their "debt." The desperate need for cash forced the Haitian farmers to take on risky and/or environmentally intensive crops, and catastrophic deforestation and soil erosion ensued. 

Economic instability fostered political instability, and as a result, Haiti has been subject to 32 coups in its 206-year history. That's an average of one every 6.5 years. Though many were internally driven, not all were. The French, German, British, and American forces have all allegedly engendered coups and have supposedly cleared out the national vaults on more than one occasion. Yikes. 

scenes from the 2004 coup

So, with all of that said, there is good stuff happening in Haiti - aside from the current cholera outbreak, the widespread homelessness and poverty, uniform environmental degradation, and so on. The arts, painting, native crafts, and writing, have been gaining international light since the earthquake in 2009. With our minds focused on Haiti's pre-colonialism culture, let's tune in to Haiti and listen to what it sounds like today, shall we?

Radio Galaxie

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Malawi - All Local All the Time

Did you interpret any of those coded messages from the spy radio yesterday? Yeah, us either. Although, now that you mention it, Ellen was pretty sure she heard something about the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations, but maybe with all those numbers it was really just something about fish sticks.

Let's continue our journey around the world via radio. Hey! You guys wanna go visit our friend Terry in Malawi! OMG! Us, too!

Wait. What's that you say? Terry's already moved back to Pennsylvania? What? We're bad friends for not visiting during the two previous years he was actually in there? Geeze.

It looks like the pancreas of Africa and pancreases are awesome!

Terry almost moved to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia and Pinky got excited about promised to visit. But, Terry held out for Malawi instead, which was probably a good move since Mongolia has the coldest capitol city on the planet. One time Pinky, with the help of our friend Hart, tried to figure out how much it would cost to go see Terry in Malawi - but PickleMyPeaches it was pricey. Sorry, Terry. But, we're "visiting" you now, buddy!

 Holy Jesus, that looks divine! Are you sure we can't go?

Let's forgo the piecemeal air travel and cruise on over via the radio waves. Grab your sunscreen and let's tune in to the dulcet tones of Radio Yako... This one seems like it's gonna be a pretty awesome station. Awwww rad! No commercials!

Radio Yako is a non-profit internet radio station that exists to promote Malawian artists. All the music we'll hear will theoretically be by Malawian artists, so hopefully we'll be able to avoid that damned G6 song. We're really excited about listening to this station all day and wish other countries had this format!

Radio Yako

And, if you want to read Terry's blog documenting some of his time in Malawi, you can click here. Or, here. Or, even here.

Also, check out Radio Yako on Facebook and Twitter!

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Bangladesh - Dancing in ঢাকা

Oof. Don't get us wrong, we enjoy classical, but a whole day of that Greenland station was too much. Once 2:00pm rolled around, Pinky went back and listened to that Algerian station that we heard when he was in Tennessee. 

Let's cut to the chase because Pinky's found an AWESOME station for today. We're off to Bangladesh!


Initially a weird satellite province of Pakistan called East Pakistan, Bangladesh fought and won their Independence in 1971 with the help from the Indians. Get this though: Bangladesh's secession was catalyzed by a cyclone that killed almost half a million people. The lackluster response from the government in Pakistan galvanized support for the independence movement that culminated in the Bangladesh Liberation War. It's one of the first times in modern history that a natural disaster incited a civil war. Wow! Maybe New Orleans should take note and leave our sorry butts for our lackluster response to Katrina.

With such a large population and such a relatively small land mass, Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world (imagine half the population of America squashed into New York state). Their supporting their population will surly lead them to face problems in the future. But, they were marked by Goldman Sachs as one of the "Next Eleven", and are expected to be one of the fastest growing and largest economies of the 21st century. 

Unfortunately, they face a SEVERE threat from global warming. If their economy does significantly expand, it will be interesting to see what a government with some economic sway will contribute to the climate change conversation. Ten years ago during an extreme flood, about 2/3 of the country was underwater. Imagine if that becomes a normalcy. It might look like millions of climate refugees pouring into India...

Isn't it weird talking about the economic promise of such a poverty-stricken and governmentally corrupt nation? We guess we were saying the same thing about China in the early 80's though. As China ages into their demographic time-bomb, we suppose manufacturing will begin to move elsewhere. With all those people in Bangladesh, labor would be super cheap and those jobs could lift millions out of poverty, and all those waterways would significantly reduce the need for building expensive transport infrastructure. Plus they'd be super close to India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, and those other burgeoning economies. Symbiosis y'all.

Anyway, after Independence, Bangladesh switched back and forth between parliamentary democracy and military dictatorships with coups occurring about every 10 years. Since 1990 they've been rocking the parliamentary democracy, and it looks good on them!


Be sure to check out some Bangladeshi cinema while we're here. King Kong and The Hulk!

I love when King Kong dances.

OK. Time for business! Live from Dhaka (or ঢাকা), capital city on the banks of Buriganga River, We bring you

Bangladesh Betar

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Namibia - Windhoek's Best

Man, those Suriname stations must've played the most eclectic mix we've heard so far, huh? We heard songs in sooooo many different languages! So far, only the Estonian station could even come close to it. That Radio Zon Solar FM one played pretty much only happy music, which was nice!

Ok, let's head over to the plateau continent and visit Namibia! The only country in the world which is less densely populated is Mongolia. Even though Namibia is ravaged by AIDS, has only about 600 doctors for over 2 million people, has over 50% total unemployment rate, they still has a pretty successful government that's helped their nation blossom since their independence just two decades ago. It's also one of only a handful of countries that has specifically addressed conservation in their constitution. We think that's pretty cool. 

Needless to say, eco-tourism has become one of the fastest-growing sectors of their economy. Feel like planning a trip to Africa? Try one of these eco-friendly vacation options

N/a’an ku sê

Mabaruli African Safaris

Skeleton Coast Safaris

You know what's super wild? They host a 24-hour ultra-marathon (almost 80 miles) through one of the oldest deserts on Earth! You have to carry your own water, food, maps, etc, too! Fuuuuuuuuuck that... 

Omulunga Radio is based out of the capital city of Windhoek in the middle of the country. Their name comes from the Oshiwambo word for a Makalani or an indigenous palm tree from the north of the country. Looks like a regular old palm tree to us...

This station totally has us doing the bouncy butt dance at our desks! Hurry up and tune in!

Omulunga Radio

hit "click here to tune in"

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Oman - مسقط Melody

Yaaaaaaaaawn. Mornin'. How'd you like our little Balkan sojourn? It was a little erratic, but they had some pretty good stuff, no? That blues hour was completely unexpected. Never thought I'd hear Muddy Waters in Sarajevo. We heard some pretty great Bosnian pop, too. 

Anyway, Pinky wanted to go to the hidden kingdom of Bhutan today, on account of it's awesome, but he couldn't find a decent station. Apparently they didn't get nationwide FM coverage until 2005, and they only broadcast for 15 hours a day. Both of those things make finding a good radio station tricky. So, let's pass over the only state to measure gross national happiness (for now), and head to another kingdom...

Oman! 

Know why it's awesome? Cause 20% of the world's meteorites come from there! Isn't that wild? Well, the ones in labs anyway. 

They have camel racing, too! Yesterday Pinky saw two camels in a horse trailer, but he couldn't get a decent picture on his 4-year-old (read: ancient) cellular telephone. So, instead he called my sisters and told them. And, a few years ago he saw a bunch of ostriches in a horse trailer! It was AWESOME. They were sticking their heads out the side and making hilarious faces. We know, Pinky has the best life.

Also, their capital is Muscat (which looks like this in Arabic: مسقط), which Ellen thinks sounds like muskrat, musket, and muscat (the wild grape). All of those things are pretty amazing... especially if you have a muskrat holding a musket eating muscats in Muscat. My mind! It's totally blown!

And, their average LOW is 75 degrees F! What?! We're jealous.

Anyway, we digress! If anyone needs us, we'll be in basking in the glow of Oman! نراكم في وقت لاحق! (that means 'see you later' in Arabic)

Listen Here!

Al-Wisal 96.5 FM

ps: it's ellen's birthday - wish her a good one, y'all!

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Lybia - Tunes from طرابلس‎ (Tripoli)

So that Uzbek "country" station was annoying to refresh but pretty great, huh? 

Pinky's a wuss! He gave up and cut off the bonus pop station as soon as he heard "that damn 'I Wanna Be a Billionaire so Frickin' Baaaaaaad' song come on." We suppose that even the regime of a brutal dictator can't save us from that little ditty. 

Perhaps we can escape it in the "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" aka Libya. We'll bet ya dollars to donuts we will...

Rehab FM - which we imagine to be pronounced rehAAb and less like a place such as the Betty Ford Clinic - is located in Tripoli, another city on the sunny shores of the Mediterranean. Tripoli, which looks like this in Arabic: طرابلس‎, is only 186 nautical miles from Malta, Ellen's old stomping grounds, and a mere 4,265 furlongs (or 533 miles) from Béjaïa where we were a few days ago. 

It's getting to be a small world, eh?

Rehab FM

Just click the giant red play button dominating the homepage

OMG! You can be their friend on Facebook! Total score!

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Uzbekistan - Tuning in to Ташкент

Man, that Tallinn, Estonia station was a pretty good one huh?

Today we're gonna head over to Uzbekistan! Our friend Jeannie lived here for what, six months? But then the political climate got too hot and she had to leave.

Anyway, this seems to be a pretty rad station based out of Toshkent that plays "classic country." Toshkent is located in the north western corner of Uzbekistan - very near the boarders of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakstan. And, Ellen learned today that Toshkent is the capitol city. She also learned that in Russian Toshkent, or Ташкент, means "stone city." Reminds her a little of Lord of the Rings (what? she's a total nerd). The city's seal is pretty rock star though:

Maybe it's Toshkent's distance from the rest of Uzbekistan, but the internet stream isn't reliable and cuts in and out. You'll have to refresh the link a lot. Bummer.

Anyway, when you get fed up with refreshing the link, you can check out what the Uzbek kids are listening to... Yep. You guessed it. Eurasian pop. This is gonna be a long day....

Listen to "classic country" on UZR3 Mash'al

Listen to what the Uzbek kids are in to on Radio Grande

Just click on the red "ON-LINE" button on the far right of the site map

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Algeria - Breaking it Down in Béjaïa

How was your time in Paraguay? Probably more exciting than Pinky's time in Knoxville. What does one do in Knoxville, anyway?

Hey, you busy right now? Howsabout a whirlwind journey to Algeria? Backwards it spells Airegla, which is pretty great huh? This station blasts from the coastal city of Béjaïa - oh man we wish we lived in a placed called Béjaïa! Especially a Béjaïa that is on the Mediterranean Sea... Don't get too jealous!

View Larger Map

Anyway, we gotta hit the road, but y'all have fun!

Listen Here

Kaina Radio

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Lebanon - Live From Beirut

Hey! You busy right now? Not really doing anything except trying to hide that cream cheese stain on your shirt from your coworkers, eh? 

So what do you say we take a trip around the world via the radio? 

Every day we'll visit a different country!

Let's head to Lebanon first. See you there!

Radio Sawt Beirut




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