By Bernie Debusmann Today, Zanzibar is best known as an exotic tourist destination off the coast of Tanzania, but it also happens to be the site of what is believed to be the world’s shortest war – a virtually forgotten affair that lasted all of 45 minutes and killed or wounded 500 Zanzibaris. The war … Continue reading
By Bernie Debusmann, Pictures by Sarakshi Rai To most non-Spaniards, the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) is distant history, the stuff of Hemingway novels. But to many Spaniards, the war can seem like yesterday – and nowhere is this more evident than in the town of Belchite. Belchite, home to about 2,000 people in Aragon, had … Continue reading
Article and Photos by Bernie Debusmann Life isn’t easy for Egypt’s Coptic Christians – who have called Egypt home since Christianity was first introduced to the country in 42 AD. While they’ve experienced periods of discrimination and marginalization throughout their history, the rise of Islamic extremism in recent years has made it worse. These problems … Continue reading
This abandoned submarine facility is the Hara Submarine Base and it is actually located inside of what is now Estonia’s Lahemaa National Park (although very few locals know of its existence). It served as a high-tech, top secret facility used for de-magnetizing submarines (Google it – it’s complicated). When it was in operation, several hundred … Continue reading
Article and Photos by Bernie Debusmann If you ever find yourself driving in the small, sleepy emirate of Umm Al Quwain, you’ll no doubt soon come across an abandoned old cargo plane, which is currently used as a signboard for a local hotel. But this isn’t just any old abandoned aircraft. According to the Aero … Continue reading
Salem, Massachusetts is undoubtedly best known for its relation to witches and its deadly witch trials… Such a history, naturally, calls out to The Velvet Rocket team and so when two of us recently found ourselves in Massachusetts, it was perhaps inevitable that we would pass through this infamous town. I shall not bother to … Continue reading
Article by Sarakshi Rai and photographs by Bernie Debusmann “Alhamdulillah! Badiya! Shahbash!” are just some of the words you can hear being yelled by a crowd of Pakistani expats gathered in a field in Deira at 5:30 PM on a Friday evening. Citizens from Pakistan usually come together on Friday to battle it out on … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 