Arabs
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Egypt, Revolution, and Kushari (Koshari)
As the people of Egypt rise up against three decades of corruption, they do so very aware of thousands of years of culture that includes the pharaohs, Cleopatra, some of the greatest scholarship and literature of the Arab world, the wonders of the Nile, the Suez Canal, the Aswan Damn—and, perhaps not as internationally renowned Continue reading
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MY PSYCHIC POWERS AND THE MIDDLE EAST
The other day a colleague told me he was really excited to see how his students would react to a short story he had given them to read. “They’re not going to read it,” I predicted. He didn’t believe me. Sure enough, the next day no one had read it. “How did you know?” he Continue reading
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The Quran and the Quest For Kindness
In the last years of my dad’s life, I spent a lot of time asking him questions about the Quran. It wasn’t because either one of us was having a religious rebirth or even because it gave us some common ground together other than playing backgammon, although it did do that. It was because my Continue reading
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Get Out of My Face, You Donkey
Ruhi min wiji, ya hamra. Budrabik kef, these are the two phrases that my preadolescent nephews in Virginia would say to me every chance they got when I hung out with them this past month. Every time they said them, more animated with each rendering, they would start howling with little boy laughter. Get out Continue reading
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Zayed University Film Festival In San Francisco
There has been more than one time me in my life when the call to prayer has been a comfort to me, and that includes at 4:30 a.m. yesterday when I had to walk to my car in the dark to go get to school in time for “The Best the Zayed University Film Festival” Continue reading
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Horse Power and the Abu Dhabi Film Festival
Everyone says the UAE has only two seasons, hot and hotter. But there is a far better season, the film festival season. The Abu Dhabi Film Festival kicked off last week and is now going strong with 170 films from around the world. Tops on my list to see are Miral, Carlos, Kingdom of Women, Continue reading
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Nannies of New York vs.Nannies of Abu Dhabi
When I first arrived in New York City’s Upper Westside this summer, one of my first thoughts was, “Wow, it’s true what they’re saying about the US—interracial couples are on the rise.” A couple of days later when I saw women with strollers rolling into the “mommy and me classes” next door, I remember thinking, Continue reading
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Recipe From The Night Counter: Kibbeh
For all special occasions, Fatima prides herself on the kibbeh she makes. That makes her like many women in the Middle East who have mastered the art of this rather complex food. In my family, like so many extended families, no party is ever complete without a platter of my Aunt Suad’s kibbeh, which is Continue reading
Alia Yunis 