Damascus, Syria Yes, it is the last in my five-part series on the senses, and this post will address the fact that we vagabonders smell. We do sometimes have an odor about us, especially after a long day in the tropical or desert heat, but what often stands out more are the other things we...

Bangkok, Thailand Most of us have tongues, and we keep them for the duration of our lives. There are exceptions to this, unfortunately, including the 300 individuals in Cairo who had their tongues cut out by Sultan Baybars al-Jashankir about 700 years ago (he didn't like their political humor). But the average reader of this...