"...mankind’s last real vacation paradise."

These are Huang Nubo’s own words about Grímsstaðir á Fjöllum, a farm in the desolated highland plateau of northeast Iceland, which is featured in the latest issue of the print edition of Iceland Review, which just came out.

Do you need 300 square kilometers of land to build a 120-room hotel? The Chinese businessman thinks so. He wants to buy the place.

Manhattan Island in New York City is 60 square kilometers (five times smaller) and more than two million people live there.

The city island of Macao is ten times smaller than Grímsstaðir á Fjöllum but has a population of one million. At Grímsstaðir á Fjöllum, the population is five.

We went there, and took images of “The Promised Land”. Icelandic radio legend, Ævar Kjartansson, wrote a special tribute on what it was like growing up there.

Literally in the middle of nowhere. 

The magazine has more controversies and interesting stories to tell.

We counted how many cows there are in Iceland. And we inform you about last year’s tomato harvest. A big scoop and something you always wanted to know about.

We also check the status of the current relationship between the church and the state in Iceland.

In the article “Dam It”, writer Andri Snær Magnasson and MP Jón Gunnarsson debate about use of Iceland’s rich energy resources.

We invite you to the magical world of photographer Saga Sig, who at age 25 has already enchanted the international world of fashion photography.

Iceland Review talks to artists, television stars and one president, Gail Einarsson-McCleery. She is the president of the National League of North America.

We even quote the President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, who commented: "...when a Chinese poet wants to build a hotel, everyone goes crazy."

Not me.

Looking back, it is strange to realize that this is the 50th year of publishing for Iceland Review.

Haraldur J. Hamar founded the magazine in 1963. He served as its publisher and editor to until 2000.

I have only been with the magazine for 30 years, as of next June. I started working there on Iceland’s National Day, June 17, 1982, fresh from the Kingdom of Sweden were I had studied photography for three good years.

It is not expensive to subscribe to Iceland Review; it costs you USD 40 or the equivalent in other currencies annually.

Just write to: steinunn@icelandreview.com, order a subscription and the deal is done.

And you will get a magazine about Iceland. With pictures and everything.

Páll Stefánsson – ps@icelandreview.com