Tag Archives: Arab countries

Syria Stars in New Book about Calligraphy

Books for The Arab World in Troubled Times

Note from 2011, the Arab Spring: With war and revolution burning throughout the Mid East, I am continuing a series on countries we need to know more about. Last week was Traveller’s History of Egypt. This week, coincidental with news of Syrian rebellion , we move to Syria. As an apology for this longer-than-usual post, I will give this unusual travel literature book to someone who leaves a comment. Luck of the draw. (Contest long over)

bismillah
Arabic Calligraphy

Destination: Damascus, Syria

Book: The Calligrapher’s Secret (2008,  1st American ed. 2011) by Rafik Schami

The Calligrapher’s Secret reads somewhat like a Dickens’ novel would if Dickens were forced to live in, say Russia, and was homesick for London. Continue reading Syria Stars in New Book about Calligraphy

5 Things to Read: the Arab World in Troubled Times

Like a deadly domino game, the unrest keeps coming in the Arab world. Tunisia, Yemin, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, Algeria, Jordan.  Most travelers are shying away from, for example, tourist-dependent Egypt.  In private correspondence, an American who lives there reports seeing 30-200 people in the Valley of the Kings (mostly Egyptians), where normally there would be as many as 8,000 in a day. Continue reading 5 Things to Read: the Arab World in Troubled Times