Picture Of The Week
From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/friend_faraway/2681424933/
The photographer said: ”I frequented quite regularly at his shoes whenever I go to Bab Jabiye in Damascus Old city. I managed to capture his portrait and surprisingly giving me a perfect smile!”
Old City, Damascus, Syria.
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Waqf Library
I’m not sure if this article was originally written in Arabic and then translated or if was just written in English, but in any case, I thought it was interesting. Here it is:
Global Arab Network
By Rasha Elass
Tuesday, 13 October 2009 17:34
After decades of neglect, one of Islam’s most important libraries is about to reopen in Aleppo, offering scholars access to some 70,000 books and rare works of art, and shining a light on a centuries-old tradition of learning. Aleppo, Syria’s second city, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, outdone only by Damascus. It has also been a centre of scholarship for millennia, especially for the three Abrahamic faiths.
Islamic scholarship, in particular, thrived there during the Middle Ages. Aleppo survived the Crusades under the protection of the Muslim armies of the Turkish Zengid dynasty, prompting scholars to flock there, seeking refuge and contributing to the intellectual life of the city.
Among the most renowned scholars was the Iraqi-born 10th-century poet Abu Tayyib al Mutanabi, arguably the most profound poet in the Arabic language. Another was the polymath philosopher Abu Nasr Mohammed al Farabi, known in Latin as Alpharabius, whose work was known to the philosophers of the Italian Renaissance.
It was not until the Mongols sacked Aleppo in the mid-13th century that it started losing its allure as a centre of learning. For the remaining centuries, scholarship would ebb and flow depending on the state of the Islamic world. Perhaps this may have created the environment in which, 80 years ago, one of Islam’s most important libraries withered away almost unnoticed, closing its doors when its last keeper died. Ignored but not forgotten, the Waqf Library of Aleppo will reopen on November 22 thanks to a renewed commitment by the religious authorities to preserve Islamic heritage. Aleppo was voted the Arab Capital of Islamic Culture for 2006 by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
Covering 1,500 square metres, the library will house more than 70,000 books, many of them rare and hard to find, along with an electronic database that “has all the PDF documents of ancient Islamic books and manuscripts available today”, says Dr Mahmoud al Masri, who was chosen by the religious authorities to head the library restoration project in 2006. “We’re offering something that is not available elsewhere.”
Dr al Masri is a paediatrician, but also holds a doctorate in the history of science and medicine, as well as a masters degree in Sharia science.
“The library may not be that large,” he says, “but most of the books we have here cannot be found at any of the public libraries or the university libraries.”
The project is funded by Islamic endowments, or Waqf in Arabic. The collection includes ancient manuscripts and originals of rare books. Dr al Masri explains that because the library is so specialised, it will not be open to the public, only to students and researchers, though anyone who can show a link to research will be given access. The Waqf Library is located under the Grand Mosque, in a space that operated as a car wash until the mid-Nineties, when a 10-year restoration project began on the mosque and its slightly leaning minaret. Crossing the outer courtyard of the mosque, visitors arrive at a small, elegant glasshouse. This is the part of the library that is open to the public, who can inspect the 100 or so books about Aleppo on display.
A staircase in the middle of the room leads down to the library proper. For the interior, Dr al Masri commissioned artisans to make furniture and archways. The chairs are made of carved wood with inlaid mother of pearl. The ceilings and doorways are decorated with carvings featuring Persian or Arabic designs, a specialty of Aleppo.
Dr al Masri and his teams found many treasures in the old library. These include 300-year-old paintings – “we found them rolled up and stacked away” – and two rare globes. One is of Earth and the other of the heavens.
The Earth globe shows much of the world’s map as we know it today, except for the United States and Central America. Modern Texas is called Mexicana, but Cuba, Mexico and Florida feature under their current names. What we now know as the rest of the Americas is depicted as blue ocean. But the jewel of Dr al Masri’s finds is the 650-year-old large Quran from the Mamluk age, with some of its calligraphy written in liquid gold. It weighs 50kg and its pages measure 80cm by 50cm. It was in relatively good condition but required delicate restoration. So Dr al Masri asked for help from one of the few places qualified to work on manuscripts of its size, the Dubai-based Jumaa Al Majid Centre for Culture and Heritage. Dr Bassam al Daghistani, the head of the centre’s restoration department, first saw the Quran during a visit to Aleppo to examine the library’s stock.
“All the Arab countries have thousands of old manuscripts, so the Aleppo library’s collection was not new to me,” he says. “But it’s very rare to find such an old Quran of that size and in such a good condition. I told them I would take it back with me to Dubai, before I even told the centre about it.”
Ten specialists worked on it for two months. The work was particularly challenging because of its sheer size.
“During restoration, the hand cannot touch the manuscript. So imagine restoring the details of a page almost one metre long while keeping your hands in mid-air.”
The size and quality of the Quran is an indication that it was made for a special occasion.
“Back then, they did not make Qurans in that size and quality except for the Sultan, so that adds more significance to it,” says Dr al Daghistani.
The resurrection of Aleppo’s Waqf Library is still in its early stages. Thanks to the legacy of the city, many Allepan families acquired rare books in Islamic teachings, and Dr al Masri and his team know the Waqf Library will not be complete without these collections.
“We’re planning to acquire the private collections,” he says. “We’re looking for owners who want to donate it or leave it to us as an inheritance.”
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Always Summer, Never Winter
Brrr! It’s cold! It seems like winter is finally here. There are a lot of misconceptions about Syria (and the Middle East) and one of them is winter. A lot of people in the States (that I’ve talked to, at least) think Syria is all desert and always, always hot. Like in the Chronicles of Narnia, in the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, when Mr. Tumnus despairs: “Always winter, never Christmas.” Except changed around to “always summer, never winter.”
Syria does get cold though. It can get really cold. Sometimes, the valley in the middle of Syria can get a lot of snow and the roads have to be shut down. That said I’m sure the cold in Syria is nothing like, say the cold in Kazakstan, or the cold in Belarus, but you get the point.
So, winter (maybe, maybe) is here. I love winter. Winter can be very nice, however, I had forgotten some things about it and am being reminded of those things as the days get “shiver-ish”.
1. I wear long sleeves in winter. I wash my hands in winter (and the rest of the year too…). I can’t always be bothered to roll up my sleeves before washing my hands. I end up with cold sleeves about an inch wet in water. Pure result of my own laziness? Yup.
2. I drink more tea and hot beverages in winter. Tea is a diarrhetic. Nuff said.
3. Some of the pavement in Syria can be charmingly uneven and Aleppo is on the hill-y side so floods, ranging from big puddles to streets gushing with rain water make getting around fun, but a little tricky.
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Sheftou Mn Biid
I just saw this video a few hours ago on MTV Arabia. I really like it. I think it’s one of the best Arabic music videos I’ve ever seen. Not extremely corny with a guy singing something like “the color of the sky doesn’t please you, I’ll erase it and re-color it, stars fall, I’ll hang them back up again, the important thing is that you laugh”. (Yeah, it rhymes in Arabic.)
Anyhoo, here tis:
P.S. Even if you don’t speak Arabic, have a look – it’s art.
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Daniela da Prato, You Rock!
Article from: http://www.time.com/time/travel/article/0,31542,1931375,00.html
By: Jeffrey T. Iverson
Record sales at Christie’s recently opened Dubai auction house and a veritable village of Middle Eastern pavilions at this year’s Venice Biennale confirm it: Middle Eastern art is on the rise. But what do general audiences know about it? A current show in Paris hopes to address any preconceptions with work by emerging artists that exudes modernity and vigor.
Visitors to “Golden Gates” won’t find any Orientalist exotica among the installations, paintings and other pieces by 18 contemporary artists from across the Middle East and Iran. In fact, “I refuse to work with artists that deal in exoticism” is the proud boast of the show’s creator Daniela da Prato. Too often, she says, the market shapes nascent art movements to meet Western tastes (the Chinese avant-garde is a case in point). “Golden Gates,” she says, features emerging artists that have “not yet been contaminated by the art market.”
Piquant truths about consumerism or the human condition, and inspiration drawn from ancient iconography or found objects, unite the displays. Iranian artist Nazgol Ansarinia inscribes sofreh (traditional tablecloths) with the fluctuating prices of daily foodstuffs sold by Tehran street peddlers, making a trenchant comment about Iran’s punishing inflation. Egyptian artist Huda Lutfi applies images of Egyptian pop divas to a triptych of female torsos, reminiscent of Gaultier perfume bottles, raising issues of gender politics and societal roles. “Being trapped in certain roles is a universal cultural phenomenon,” she says. But how wonderful to have it expressed in such fresh, unexpected quarters.
“Golden Gates” is being held at 46 Rue de Sévigné until Nov. 13.
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Mika
I saw him on one of my favorite websites. I read that he was born in Beirut, to a Lebanese mother and an American father. He was only there for a year before he moved from Lebanon to Paris and then later to London. Mika’s music is…colorful and loud. I can like colorful and loud but I’m not a fan of his. But whether I like his music or not is irrelevant to this post. Mika was born in Beirut and even though he was only there until he was one, it seems so fitting that Beirut is a part of him. Even if in such a small way. Just look at his picture. In fact, if Beirut wasn’t in his history it wouldn’t seem right. Maybe I’m a bit too intense about this, but, to me, it seems that Mika, while he doesn’t reek of Beirut, and while he’s far far from the true essence of that city, has the faintest smell of it.
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I want to write a post: “A Comprehensive List of Reasons Why I Love The Middle East”. That will take me a long time because there are tons of reasons and I don’t want to leave anything out. So…when the list will actually appear on my blog is…well, probably not extremely soon. In the mean time, however, I’d love to hear why you love the ME. Comment on this post or send an e-mail to smilinginsyria@yahoo.com.
Filed under: Arabic, Arabs, Middle East, Syria, TCK, Travel | Leave a Comment
I really like some of the podcasts you can get on iTunes. These are all free ones I’ve been listening to recently:
History of Jazz (iTunes U) – Dr. Gordon Vernick’s, associate professor of music and coordinator of jazz studies at Georgia State University, laid-back yet still professional approach to jazz history sounds like you’re talking to a friend, albeit one of your smarter, more cultured, and cooler-voice friends. There’s about sixty-five, 5-14 minute podcasts, which might seem overwhelming, but downloading them a few at a time can help. I’ve really enjoyed listening to the ones I have downloaded, but if you’re not familiar with jazz history at all, I wouldn’t suggest starting with these.
A Prairie Home Companion’s News From Lake Wobegon – I’ve only listened to one podcast so far, but I’m already hooked. Garrison Keillor is hilarious. News From Lake Wobegon is his monologue about a fictional town in Minnesota. He’s been doing this for years. I hope he keeps it up.
iTune’s Indie Spotlight – Independent artists in genres ranging from folk and electronic to hip-hop and world music. Quick little clips of about 12 musician’s songs. I love. And you might find a new artist to love too.
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La Mezquita
Japan, Algeria, Croatia and South Africa are just some of the many countries I’d like to see. Spain is another one. I want to visit Spain for several reasons but one of the reasons is the Great Mosque of Cordoba. I really like architecture, especially Islamic architecture, so the mosque is something I would love to see.
Where do you want to go?
(Picture from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alikarim/477400436/)
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Picture Of The Week
From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35237358@N00/328592121/
Outside seating for cafes in Aleppo, Syria. This neighborhood in Aleppo is called “Shelal” meaning “Fountains”. (Look to the left.)
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