Persia Once More
“The world is very troubled, and while peace is supposed to have been secured, active and murderous warfare is going on in at least a quarter of the…
Author: tabsir
New Middle East, Same Old Story
There are far too many wars, not-wars and rumors of wars today. My commentary on the war-torn-apart Middle East was published today on Juan Cole’s Informed Comment site:…
Pigeons over Damacus
The Undimmed Passion of Damascus’ Pigeon Fanciers The centuries-old tradition survived wartime’s rooftop snipers, but is struggling to inspire the young Alex Martin AstleyAlex Martin Astley…
Palestine in 2019
Over the years many popular magazines have published articles by visitors to Palestine. In a 1919 issue of the periodical The Century there was an article by Joseph…
Cleopatra had a Jazz Band
There are quite a few songs from the early 20th century Vaudeville Days that feature the Middle East. Did you know that Cleopatra had a jazz band? Feel…
Lament for Yemen
Yemen,your body lies crushedbeneath the rubble that was the homewhere you were bornyour blood floods the landwhere sorghum supplied every needyour breath is a raging wind,a gasp in…
1700 Books on Palestine
To access these books, click here.
The Ignorance of the Jahiliyya
This is an excellent Youtube talk by Ahmad al-Jallad on the evidence from the rock inscriptions and graffiti from the Arabian Peninsula. Also check out his excellent book…
Mamluk Studies Conference
For details, click here.
Podcast on Gulf Almanac Lore
My podcast with Ahmed AlMaazmi and Tamara Fernando is posted online on the New Books Network.
Jere Bacharach
On April 9 the Middle East historian Jere Bacharach, emeritus professor at the University of Washington, passed away. He was an amazing individual, great scholar and friend. He…
17th Century Judaeo-Persian Manuscript
This is a beautifully illustrated text, a copy of a text first written in the 14th century. You can examine it at https://smarthistory.org/the-ardashirnama-judeo-persian-manuscript/?fbclid=IwAR2H…
Book Launch on Almanac Lore of the Arab gulf
I will be giving a book launch on my recent book on Gulf almanac lore via Zoom for the Qatar National Library on February 22, 2023. Details about…
Anti-Evolution in Turkey
This article is worth reading. An entire country bans the teaching of a scientific fact. Read it here.
A History of Food Production in Yemen
In October, 2022, I participated in the Food Sovereignty Workshop at Ohio State University and discussed the issue of sustainable agriculture and water resource use to improve the…
IAS Talk on Arabs before Islam
For more information and to register, click here.
Gulf Arabic Online
NYU/Abu Dhabi has created a website devoted to the dialects of the Arab Gulf. Check it out here.
19th Century Song called “Yemen”
In 1894 the composer Harry G. Martin wrote a piece of sheet music called “Yemen,” drawing on a stanza in the famous poem Lalla Rookh by Thomas Moore.…
New CyberOrient Issue
The latest issue of CyberOrient is now available online: Joel W. Abdelmoez >> Good Tidings for Saudi Women? Techno-Orientalism, Gender, and Saudi Politics in Global Media Dis…
Picturing Palestine
This is a fabulous new book from the University of California Press discussing photographs from late 19th and early 20th century Palestine from seven notebooks by Wasif Jawhariyyeh…
Tower of Babel, Saudi Style
the official website is https://www.neom.com/en-us Long before Abraham/Ibrahim left Ur of the Chaldees for the promised land and became the ancestral icon of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, there…
Biden’s trip to Middle East
There is an excellent analysis in Time Magazine of how President Biden’s trip to the Middle East could help with resolving the protracted war on Yemen. You can…
Omar Dewachi on Iraq
Omar Dewachi, an anthropologist who was an Iraqi physician during the Gulf War, has published an article from his forthcoming book, which is entitled “When Wounds Travel: Ecologies…