05/10/2020 by Servane Hardouin The murals represented various objects and landscapes seen by the pilgrim on his way to the sacred city; more precisely, they either evoked the pilgrimage directly, or they set its cultural and natural background An interesting feature of Egyptian culture is the hajj murals, colourful paintings decorating the walls of many...
29/07/2020 by Ala’a Baroun, Observer from Kuweit The new restrictions, social distancing, curfews and lockdowns imposed around the world in response to the pandemic highlighted how intangible heritage has a social, economic and psychological role in our lives. Ala’a Baroun We are living in a time where a pandemic has largely impacted our lives in...
26th June 2020 by Shyrine Ziadeh “It is our folklore, from my culture, my heritage. In the camp in Syria, while I used to dance Dabkeh I was a happy kid… Oh this music! It reminded me of the inner peace I had back then.” Said Israa a lady in her 20’s, during a break...
Le 09/06/2020 by Sarah Amawi What was Dabke? What was Dabke? Dabka (also spelled dabkeh, dabka, dubki, and with the plural, dabkaat) could be defined as : « a circling folk dance made up of intricate steps and stomps » (Rowe, 2011) [1]. « Once such origin may have developed from Canaanite fertility rites wherein communities joined in the energetic foot stomping dance to...
Le 04/12/2019 by Omar Babakhouya “Al Majalis Madaris” says the Arab proverb, meaning “the Majalis are schools”. The Majlis, singular of Majalis, literally means “space where we sit”, an assembly or a council. This traditional practice, widespread in the Arabian Peninsula, consists in gathering a group of people in a host’s Majlis. In that region,...
French