February 16, 2007
Man with a horn
Syrian Calligraphy by Mouneer Al-Shaarani. (From Draplin Design Co., North America)
A Yemeni man with a mysterious horn
West Bank Story, a musical comedy set in the fast-paced, fast-food world of competing falafel stands in the West Bank
Laila El-Haddad is a Palestinian journalist who divides her time between Gaza and the United States. Her blog “Raising Yousuf, Unplugged” is about the trials of raising her son, Yousuf
More than 450 Vintage Posters of early Judaic or Israeli interest, auctioned at Swann. More Here. (From Early Zionist propaganda posters)
An anti-Zionist poster in Jerusalem’s Me'a Sha'arim (Scroll down)
Mordechai Vanunu's photos of the Nuclear Center in Dimona, which cost him 18 years in prison, including more than 11 years in solitary confinement
The story of an illiterate peasant woman who took on her village as well as the state
Jewish body denies Palestine genocide
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February 16, 2007 in Middle East | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 06, 2007
"Never, ever do it in front of the children"
When did you stop beating your wife? Islamist guide to beating your wife. Also, Hamas Video – “We Will Drink The Blood Of The Jews”
The Jewish graveyard in Beheshtieh, Tehran
The Dubai Waterfront
As an uneasy truce between Israel and Hezbollah continues, millions of average men and women in the Holy Land are turning to the one simple comfort that has always seen them through the darkest days of their troubled history: the steadfast guidance of their religious faith
Contest open to Jew creators only! Sorry! This is Jews joking about themselves here! Israeli Anti-Semitic Cartoon Contest
Blogging Armageddon – Debkafile reported that Laden intended to attack the World Trade Center towers in February 2001
140 feeds of English-writing Israeli-bloggers
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January 6, 2007 in Middle East | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 11, 2006
Ghost City
A visit to the Saqqara & Imhotep museum in Egypt. More inside
Just on the north side of the Attila Line that partitions the island of Cyprus, Varosha, the Ghost City of Cyprus is surrounded with barbed wire
Two Israeli Anti-Hezbollah’s Hasan Nasrallah web games. (From Ed Halter)
Where to buy Bulk Dreidels. (From Exploding Aardvark)
Turkey’s Top Export, besides Rahat lokum
A good analyses of the history of Gulf War II and the inevitability of Gulf War III. Frank Rich’s article today about the bogus Iraq Study Group report
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December 11, 2006 in Middle East | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 01, 2006
Maps of War
Carolyn McIntyre’s blog, Girl Solo in Arabia, details her travels from the Moroccan City of Tangiers through 46 countries as she attempts to recreate an epic journey made 700 years ago by the famed Islamic scholar and traveler Ibn Battuta
Bringing democracy to the Middle East in the form of the GAU-19 to Abu Dhabi
Millions flock to MyQaeda website. MyQaeda, the popular Islamic Fundamentalist social network, has in the space of just a few years grown from being home to a few cranks and disaffected preachers, to becoming the largest website of its kind in the world
5000 Years of History in 90 Seconds - History of the empires in the Middle East
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October 1, 2006 in Middle East | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 01, 2006
There are no winners in war
- As Seen on the streets of Jerusalem
A column with biographies of the dead in Israel at Libanon War2. A similar list for the Lebanese side, will be about 10 times longer
An Israeli Arab boy leaps into the Mediterranean off the ancient wall surrounding the Old City of Akko
Falafel and Kabobs: Food video, directed and edited by Adam bork. Re-post: The Falafel Game
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September 1, 2006 in Middle East | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 28, 2006
A new war
My parents & sisters live between Haifa and Akko and I am worried about them, (as I am about all other people living in a 500 mile radius of there). But they don’t seem to be too concerned. I am not going to write any platitudes about this new, stupid war: Like children, both Arabs & Israelis can’t stop fighting with each other. It’s terrible.
The photograph above is of 7 missiles that were shot into the sea right outside Haifa. (Click to enlarge)
Stop Destroying Lebanon. A collection of images highlighting the destruction in Lebanon
Where is Osama? An icon to many in the Islamic world, this short essay shows how visible the world’s most wanted man actually is
War Shooter, a portal for photojournalists covering conflict, crisis & disaster
Middle East Crisis: Who backs an immediate ceasefire?
A comprehensive coverage of Israel-Lebanon conflict on Wikipedia
Iranian cartoonist Hanif Bahari. (From Internet Weekly Report)
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July 28, 2006 in Middle East | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack
July 06, 2006
Blood borders
Virtual Tour through Anciet Jerusalem
Islamic Cairo is a very old area, surrounded by walls dating from the middle-ages, and was once the cultural, religious and intellectual center of the entire Arab world
Worlds Fastest Growing City. Progress of the construction at Burj Dubai Skyscraper. But just how fast in Dubai growing?
The Thousand Nights and a Night. The complete Richard F. Burton translation
Checkpoints stall or prevent the movement of palestinians throughout the west bank. From Life in Occupied Palestine
Iranian graffiti and street art
Hagit Shahal art portfolio
Unrelated to the War Against Tourism, but a wonderful story nevertheless: George Johnson, California's Oldest Man talks about his life
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July 6, 2006 in Middle East | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
May 17, 2006
The War of Gog and Magog
Street murals by Rami Meiri
Environmental works by Israeli artist Dani Karavan
Serial No 3817131 - Female Israeli soldiers photographed by Rachel Papo
Passover is over (I think), but here’s a 30 sec. Haggadah for your next year’s Seder. (You have to click to get it to play. From Communicatielog)
Iran may be developing lottery technology!
Ahmadinejad's letter to Bush - 2 nuts communicating...
Risking Everything in Baghdad. About the Iraqi Stock Market
King of Kings Community is a Messianic congregation situated in the heart of Jerusalem. Hallelujah (and please send us some money, we take care of needy children…)
New Sphinx/Leo Alignment Clue Unlocks Grand Unified Star Map. Just like the Da Vinci Code, but with Egyptians
Down Khufu's Pyramid
Many More Unusual Stories about the Middle East Here
May 17, 2006 in Middle East | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 11, 2006
The face of a terrorist
Ali Shalal Qaissi was prisoner 151716 of Cellblock 1A. He was arrested in October 2003, he said, because he loudly complained to the military, human rights organizations and the media about soldiers dumping garbage on a soccer field… Weeks after complaining about the garbage, he said, he was surrounded by Humvees, hooded, tied up and carted to a nearby base before being transferred to Abu Ghraib. Then the questioning began…
Abu Ghraib - is it torture or is it art? You decide
Eleven Year Olds as Martyrs. (From Andrew Sullivan)
The World's Greatest Driving Road - The Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road in the United Arab Emirates
Wikipedia on the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
Where’s my ubiquitous banner? Iraqi Classmates
Valley of the Kings (Wadi Biban el-Muluk), where the tombs of the Ramesses were discovered
Many More Unusual Stories about the Middle East Here
March 11, 2006 in Middle East | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 04, 2006
Blindclerics.com
The feelgood story of November 8, 2005: The parents of a Palestinian boy killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank have donated his organs for use in Israel, in the hope of promoting peace
Not to fan the fires of hatred & Islamaphobia, here are the infamous Mohammed as a Cartoon Hero, straight from the pages of the Danish paper Jyllands-Posten
It seems like we're always hearing about blind or half - blind Muslim clerics - what's the deal with all the blind clerics?
A promo for Sam Apple's debut novel, Schlepping Through the Alps by Dan Meth (Same outfit that created the previously-blogged Fairy Godfather, Kosher.com, and many other animated classics)
A short history of high buildings in Iran
God Almighty, who created the universe, has a certain piece of land on this planet that He considers holy – very, very holy… (From Dirty Greek)
The Institute for Intelligence and Special Tasks, or as it is more commonly known, The Mossad
Many More Unusual Stories about the Middle East Here
February 4, 2006 in Middle East | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
October 24, 2005
Portraits of Women Suicide Bombers
Castles in the sand, New Yorker slideshow about the new architecture of Dubai
Hebrew calligraphy - Works by Izzy Pludwinski
Warlords of Afghanistan. (From ”Goodshit”)
Palestinian Women Suicide Bombers
Make Sex Not War - NY Man seeking Man on craiglist – explicit language
flickr set from Acre-mostly
Belated greetings for Shana Tova
Vocabulary quizzes for Hebrew lessons
Some official pages of rulers: Iran president, President of Libanon, Government of Qatar, Ariel Sharon. (From Official Government Pages)
Comic strips written in the 50’s & 60’s by my favorite writer, Pinhas Sadeh, פנחס שדה כותב קומיקס (In Hebrew)
Many More Unusual Stories about the Middle East Here
October 24, 2005 in Middle East | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 29, 2005
The End of The Fall
Opulent living & working - The Emirates palace in Abu Dhabi
FatwaIslam - The most comprehensive online Islamic Fatwa guide
Western advertising under Islam. The visual culture of the Middle East is a mixture of the socialist realism and emerging consumerism
Starlets in chadors. Iranian postcards of western actresses in Muslim attire
Security officials in Kuwait have banned the import of Iraqi watermelons amid fears the fruit could be used to smuggle explosives
Jamaica in the desert. Rastafarians in Kibbutz Rastafarian
Flights of the Imagination: Banksy vs. The West Bank
Many video clips of Israel under the British rule, many from British Pathe Archives and many from after 1948. (In Hebrew only) - ארץ ישראל בתקופת השלטון הטורקי
I used to keep track of all Iraqi Blogs, until better services came about. There are now up to 154 blogs counted there. The anonymous Riverbend was not heard from since July 15, 2005
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Here’s another poem by my favorite poet, Dalia Rabikovitch. It is called “The End of The Fall” -
If a man falls from a plane in the middle of the night
Only God can pick him up.
God shows himself in the middle of the night
And touches the man and eases his suffering.
God does not wipe his blood
Because blood is not his soul,
God does not indulge his body
Because man is not of flesh.
God leans over him, lifts his head and watches
In his eyes the man is a child.
As he gets up heavily on all four and tries to walk
And then he feels that he can fly.
The man is still confused and does not know
That it is far better to float that to crawl.
God wishes to caress his head
But he waits, because he does not wish
To scare the man
With signs of love.
If a man falls from a plane in the middle of the night
Only God knows the end of the fall.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Many More Unusual News from the Middle East Here
August 29, 2005 in Middle East | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
August 24, 2005
“Pride”
One of my favorite Hebrew poets, Dalia Rabikovitch committed suicide 2 days ago in Tel Aviv, after battling a life long struggle with depression.
אפילו סלעים נשברים אני אומרת לך
ולא מחמת זקנה.
שנים רבות הם שוכבים על גבם בחום בקור,
שנים כה רבות,
כמעט נוצר רושם של שלווה.
אין הם זזים ממקומם וכך נסתרים הבקיעים.
מעין גאווה.
שנים רבות עוברות עליהם בציפייה.
מי שעתיד לשבח אותם עדיין לא בא.
ואז האזוב משגשג, האצות נרגשות, והים מגיח וחוזר,
ודומה הם ללא תנועה.
עד שיבוא כלב ים קטן להתחכך על הסלעים
יבוא וילך.
ופתאום האבן פצועה.
אמרתי לך, כשסלעים נשברים זה קורה בהפתעה.
ומה גם אנשים
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Even rocks break, I’m telling you,
And not from old age.
For many years they lay unshielded in the heat and chill
So many years they seem peaceful.
They don’t move, and that’s how cracks are formed.
Like pride.
Many years they lay there waiting,
The ones who were supposed to praise them, did not show up,
But the moss thrives, the sea weed agitates, and the sea attacks & retreats
While the rocks seem secure in place.
Until a young sea lion snuggles against them
And then leaves.
And suddenly the rock is shattered.
I told you that when rocks break, it happens without warning
And more so with people -"
Many More Unusual News from the Middle East Here
August 24, 2005 in Middle East | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack
July 02, 2005
Sad, noisy, dusty, hot
Murderer (In Hebrew, Arabic & English) - A metal imprint that was set to mark the place where Igal Amir assassinated Israel's Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin. Rabin Square, Tel Aviv. 100 miles north, here is the assassination site of Al-Hariri
A Single Breath, turning political protest into art installations. (Thank you, Michael)
The Wild West Bank Game - Build illegal settlements
Kibbutz Nachshon in Israel has a nice site, with lots of information & lovely photos from its long history
The American Colony, a Christian utopian society that formed in Jerusalem in 1881. (From ”Plep”)
How are you supposed to spell Muammar Gaddafi/Khadafy/Qadhafi?
Mahmood’s Den – The first Middle eastern Vlogger
70 Agripas Street and other murals in Jerusalem
Ceramic tile murals and hand-painted decorative tiles from the original Balian-Armenian Ceramics of Jerusalem
Sister cities from the Middle east
Many More Mixed Links from the Middle East Here
July 2, 2005 in Middle East | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 23, 2005
Passover 2005 with 50 cents
Who knew 50 cent was Jewish? Remember your Plagues with Shabot 6000. Update: A slide show of Passover Plague Masks
Zed "Zeddy" Al-Refai, the first Arab to summit Mount Everst. (From Black Iris)
Between December 03 and March 04, Arofish spent 3 months traveling through Iraq and Palestine, painting on the walls and generally making a right mess, to the occasional annoyance of the occupying forces
Jelbab, New look in Islamic women's fashion
A comprehensive site dedicated to Pinhas Sadeh, my favorite Isareli poet, who died in 1994. (In Hebrew)
Arabic Slice - The 1st beautifully-illustrated step-by-step guide to Arabic Cuisine
Palestine won the prize for the saddest photo in the BBC “Sadness and Joy” photography contest
Many More Mixed Links from the Middle East Here
April 23, 2005 in Middle East | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack