Giza Series: Farmers Market l Life plays out as usual in modern times around the pyramid city of Giza. A young farmer packs up shop for the day at the Farmers Market. Fresh fruit and vegetables are brought to this centre of town where the local community buy their supply of local crops. It’s hard to believe that a few kilometres from this struggling neighbourhood stand, high and mighty, the ancient Egyptian monuments.Read more
Month: June 2015
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Madinat Shamal Series: Stories from the Ocean l Pahalwan – The Old Pearl Diver shares stories about his ventures out at sea near Madinat Al Shamal in the north of Qatar. Among the items he carries with him are nets, oyster shells and old pearling relics which he has collected over the years. He has set up tent near an old village and archaeological site dating back to the 18th century called Al Zubarah – a place which witnessed much diaspora.Read more
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Recommended fiction with more on Downtown Cairo and The Yacoubian Building: In 1934, Hagop Yacoubian, the millionaire and then doyen of the Armenian community in Egypt, decided to construct an apartment block that would bear his name. He chose for it the best site on Suleiman Basha and engaged a well-known Italian engineering firm to build it, and the firm came up with a beautiful design—ten lofty stories in the high classical European style, the balconies decorated with Greek facesRead more
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Cairo Series: Downtown buildings l January 2015 Images that interlink form a triptych Photograph recollection connected by time in a car journey through Downtown Cairo where 19th and 20th century buildings speak volumes. 20th century European architecture merges with oriental finishings, palm trees and Arabic typography. The loud, hectic, dysfunctional-yet-charming streets of Cairo are witness to the constant movements and shifts the city endures on a regular basis. Old multipurpose apartment blocks, not unlike Alaa Al Aswany’s The Yacoubian Building,Read more
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Muscat Series: The back streets of Muttrah l In the very backstreets of Muscat’s Muttrah Souq, hidden from view, lay stacks of a dying art craft. A shopkeeper standing on the side encourages the small number of tourists that have made it the extra mile to stop and look at water pitchers, storage urns, vases and decorative objects. But it’s to no avail. It’s a ghost town of old pretty buildings, uphill roads and empty streets. Here is a craftRead more
Book
Recommended reading on Critical Thinking in Arab Storytelling: Ibyn Tufayl scrupulously practiced this art of writing. He certainly expressed a wisdom that should have remained hidden, but he did it in an indirect way, behind a veil, as he puts it – in such a way that only those who are equipped to understand it will be able to uncover its secrets. In a word, what he has revealed will remain a secret between him and his brothers: “But weRead more
Yasmine Bendjoudi 