Taizé: Wo die Seele singt
Taizé: ein romantisches Dörfchen im französischen Burgund, inmitten von Weinreben und Kuhweiden – warum strömen jedes Jahr zigtausende junge Menschen aus allen Ländern der Welt hierher? Taizé al…
Tag: travel
Vanlife Frankreich – Vollzeit leben im Van
Mit dem Van durch Frankreich – Wie lebt es sich Vollzeit im Van? Unsere Frankreich-Highlights und über autarkes Leben im selbstausgebauten Campervan. Projekt Vanlife Was anfangs nur eine…
Seasonal Knowledge and Arab Gulf Almanacs
I am pleased to announce the publication of my new book: Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition of the Arab Gulf. Details about the book, including a free…
Yemen Film 1973
This exquisite film was produced in 1973 and filmed in 1972, thus representing Yemen half a century ago. It is now available on Youtube. The filmmakers were Karen…
Cairo in Old Photographs
Check out this website for a number of photographs of Cairo in the early part of the 20th century.
Lebanese Music at Baalbek
This is a beautifully filmed and played Youtube video of Lebanese music performed in the ruins of a temple in Lebanon.
Old Algiers
a century old postcard of Algiers
Travels in Arabia
One of the books I picked up over the years was a summary of early travelers to Arabia by Bayard Taylor, a noted traveler and poet. The 1892…
Who Owns the Holy Land?
As another year draws to a close, it is hard not to think in larger terms of the course of the last century. The world has seen two…
Loti on Palestine
First English translation of ‘La Galilée’, an account of Pierre Loti’s travels in the Holy Land from Jerusalem to Beirut, via Damascus and many other interesting places, in…
With Pierre Loti in Persia
My friend, the historian G. Rex Smith, has recently translated into English a marvelous travel diary by the French military official and traveller Pierre Loti (1850-1923). It is…
Tim MacIntosh Smith
Read the article about Tim, whose writing on Yemen is terrific.
Rethinking Egyptian Cosmology and the Grand Canyon
Desert View of the Grand Canyon (©el-Sayed el-Aswad, October, 2021) This article relates to a previous paper entitled “Egyptian Cosmology and the Grand Canyon” published by Tabsir on…
Water and Summer Heat in Alexandria
Stanley Bridge, Alexandria (© el-Sayed el-Aswad) After one year of being forced to stay indoors (April ?2020 to May 2021) due to the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic,…
Yemen Military in the early 19th century
The Library of Congress has an online print of an engraving by Andrea Bernieri. It does not appear to be based on an actual observation by the artist.…
Egypt in 1876
The British diplomat Sir Valentine Chirol (1852-1929) wrote a memoir entitled Fifty Years in a Changing World (New York: Harcourt and Brace, 1928). Among the areas in the…
A Wolff in Shepherd’s Clothing, #3
Dervish; photograph by Sevryugin Anton (1830 – 1933), the official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran In the early 19th century there was a florescence of Protestant…
A Wolff in Shepherd’s Clothing, #2
In the early 19th century there was a florescence of Protestant missionary interest in saving Muslim, Jewish and other kinds of Christian souls in the Middle East. This…
King Tut’s Tomb in Color
Nice site with photos of the discovery of King Tut’s tomb in 1922.
Baghdad and Iraq in 1901
The British traveler Sir Edgar Collins Boehm was one of many travelers up the Persian Gulf and elsewhere more than a century ago. His narrative is rather meager,…
Traditional Seafaring in the Gulf
The online event “Under the Sails – Maritime Conversation on Trade and Seafaring. Perspectives from Iran and Kuwait” held on May 26, 2021 is now available to view…
The Shrine of Nabi Hud
One of the most impressive architectural sites in Yemen is off the beaten track in the Hadramawt, about 90 miles north of al-Mukalla. This is the shrine of…
Damascus Heritage
For an impressive website devoted to the heritage of Damascus, check out “Damascus Heritage.” There are several Youtube videos accessible from the website. I especially like the im…