Embroidery as an intangible heritage. A Palestinian story

Embroidery as an intangible heritage. A Palestinian story

19/05/2021 by Shyrine Ziadeh “When I embroider, I feel close to my homeland.” Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim, a Palestinian embroiderer Palestinians have a rich and fascinating history in folk arts. Silk thread and embroidery, together with an expanding repertoire of symbols, are known to have made their way from China to the Holy Land along the Silk and Spice Routes before being introduced to Europe by Christian saints, holy men, and pilgrims. However, what is Palestinian embroidery? And what does it mean to the Palestinian people? This and more will be discussed in-depth through this paper. Laila El Khalidi, a Palestinian author...

The Suqs of Old Mosul: The complexity of time and space

The Suqs of Old Mosul: The complexity of time and space

12/05/2021 by Omar Mohammed For centuries, the Old Suqs played a crucial role in developing and preserving a socio-economic system that facilitated coexistence in Mosul. They not only served as the economic core of the city, but they also brought the different groups of Mosul society together in a complex but solid social structure The Old Suqs (Bazaars) of Mosul, the heart of the city’s social identity, were severely damaged during the battle to retake the city from ISIS. For centuries, the Old Suqs played a crucial role in developing and preserving a socio-economic system that facilitated coexistence in Mosul....

Hard Shelled, Hard Future? The Turtle Sanctuary at Ras al-Jinz

Hard Shelled, Hard Future? The Turtle Sanctuary at Ras al-Jinz

20/04/21 by Jonathan Bentham Nature strives for equilibrium. Every so often, it will go about this with a touch of irony. The Middle East is so often depicted in terms of its crises. Just north of the Arabian Peninsula, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, a civil war rages on in Syria. Another war seethes at the peninsula’s South-Western corner, in Yemen, overlooking the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Both of these wars have displaced millions of people.[1] It is with some irony then, that at the peninsula’s eastern-most point, Ras al-Jinz, overlooking the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea,...

Palmyra’s Reconstruction: Importance and Discourses of Authenticity after Reconstruction

Palmyra’s Reconstruction: Importance and Discourses of Authenticity after Reconstruction

13/04/2021 by Sarah Amawi This huge and complex heritage site has witnessed several civilizations throughout history from Romans to Arabs and Persians Palmyra is one of the most iconic world heritage sites. ‘Historically established around the third millennium B.C., acting as a major trading path on the infamous Silk Road’,[1] Palmyra – otherwise known as Tadmor in Arabic – has always been one of modern Syria’s most visited and cherished tourist sites. This huge and complex heritage site has witnessed several civilizations throughout history from Romans to Arabs and Persians.  The main issue at hand in our modern days is...

The Wonders of Water: The Aflaj of the Sultanate of Oman

The Wonders of Water: The Aflaj of the Sultanate of Oman

05/01/2021 by Jonathan Bentham The Sultanate of Oman lies at the south-eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula. Roughly half of its borders are made up of coastline, yet it frequently ranks as one of the driest and most arid countries on Earth. In 2014, the Sultanate of Oman ranked 12th amongst the driest countries in the world by annual rainfall.[1] For centuries, the people of Oman have looked to the ‘Aflaj’ to fulfil their requirement for the distribution of water. While in recent decades Oman has looked to oil for its prosperity, its domestic lifeline is, and has always been...

The day when it rained glass

The day when it rained glass

23/09/2020 by Yara Ritz, Associate Researcher (Lebanon) Elected general quarters of partying, the neighbourhoods of Gemmayze and Mar Mikhael are revealing examples: it is in these very dynamic districts that people, whether young or less young, Lebanese or foreigners, used to meet and hang out. As a symbol of Beirut’s cosmopolite life, they have nonetheless been the most impacted by the double explosion. First, a thick and insidious grey smoke. General dizziness, guilty curiosity. Then, the rush to the windows. And the flood. A shallow breathing, an apocalypse and a deafening noise that took away innocent lives within a few...

Hajj paintings in Upper Egypt, an artistic practice and a social marker

Hajj paintings in Upper Egypt, an artistic practice and a social marker

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 houses and evoking the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. Hajj murals are practiced by Muslims living south and east of the Mediterranean, in Libya, Syria, and Palestine; but the heartland of this artistic tradition is Egypt, especially the Fayum, rural parts of Cairo and Suez,...

Errors of the past, shadows of the present

Errors of the past, shadows of the present

09/09/2020 by Elie Saad, Local observer Paris of the Middle East or a Warzone  A melting pot or a racially and sectarian divided city  Switzerland of the East or capital of a ponzi scheme At least is was a city… As I am writing this article, trying to force myself to work in order to forget about the calamity that struck us, the number of victims stands at 181, more than 7000 injured, 300 000 homeless, and 40 still missing under the rubble of the city that once was their home. The government has resigned, and the future of the...

Two phares, not far. The story of Beirut’s lighthouses

Two phares, not far. The story of Beirut’s lighthouses

02/09/2020 by Elie Saad Light by itself had always guided us and served as a beacon both physically and spiritually. From the dawn of time and up until our modern civilization, the night sky has always fascinated mankind. This grimdark sheet, punctuated by tiny light rays beaming hundreds of thousands of light-years away, nurtured our dreams of discovery for centuries. Its shiny stars guided us through our most advanced and important discoveries. Light by itself had always guided us and served as a beacon both physically and spiritually. Therefore, naturally, we tried to spread it, using it in our rooms,...

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