Middle East

July 12, 2011

Jordan: “Yes, I don’t know”

“Where can I get a Blackberry battery?” I asked in the Nokia shop. The two men working in the shop both pointed and said, “That way.” They were both pointing in different directions. It didn’t result in a “jinx” moment where they both looked at each other, laughed and then agreed on a direction. Nope, Continue reading

Arabs, Arts and Culture, Jordan, Middle East, Travel

“I don’t know”, Jordan
July 3, 2011

How To Behave in the UAE

Today I read on the regular old Internet that the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed, is making his website available as an iPhone application. It’s pretty cool to be an iPhone application. At least it may be my only public appearance that impressed my Apple-a-day-keeps-the-meltdown-away nephews. On these International Herald Tribune apps, I share Apple Continue reading

Abu Dhabi, Arabs, Islam/Muslim, Middle East, Saudi Arabia

Behavior, Business, Culture, iPhone app, UAE
June 12, 2011

Muslims in 2030

Ever wondered what will be the birth rate of Muslims in 2030? The largest Muslim country in Africa in 15 years? Or the Muslim majority country with the lowest number of people living below the poverty line? Neither have I. At first they may seem like trivia questions, but on further thought, the answers can Continue reading

Islam/Muslim, Middle East

2030, Future, Middle East, Muslim statistics, Pew Forum
June 3, 2011

War and Body Image: Guernica and Arab American Literature

When my friend and author Randa Jarrar asked me for a short story for a collection she was editing for Guernica, I wrote “Girls on Ice.” Those were the people talking in my head at the time. Some form of them is always talking in my head because they are in part who I once Continue reading

Arabs, Arts and Culture, Author, Books, Islam/Muslim, Middle East, Publishing

alienation, Arab Americans, Guernica, literature, short stories
May 25, 2011

The Right To Drive Well

I support jailed Saudi Manal Al Sharif’s right to drive. I support her right to join the men on the roads in her country, a country that has one of the highest car accident fatalities in the world, like most of the countries in the region. See, having spent big chunks of my life in Continue reading

Abu Dhabi, Arabs, Arts and Culture, bahrain, Dubai, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Travel

Driving, Manal Al Sharif, Middle East, Safety, Saudi Arabia, Women
May 16, 2011

Tor’s Palestinian Photographs: 1967 and 1977

Today my friend and photographer Tor Eigland sent me two of his photographs as his way of remembering 63 years of the Palestinian Naqba (Catastrophe). Tor is Norwegian and he’s covered events around the world since the 1960s, but his most amazing stuff is of the Middle East (aside from his photo of Castro on Continue reading

Arabs, Arts and Culture, Jordan, Lebanon, Middle East, Palestine, Travel

Naqba, Palestinians, Photography, Tor Eigland
May 12, 2011

Talking Poetry, Not Osama

Because Abu Dhabi has become such a crossroads of the world since I have lived here, I find myself having a lot of “how did I get here” moments. For example in the years since 9-11, I’ve never sat around picturing where I’d be the day after Osama bin Ladin was put to rest, relatively Continue reading

Abu Dhabi, Arabs, Arts and Culture, Author, Books, Middle East, Publishing, Travel

Iowa Writers Programme, poetry, poets
May 5, 2011

The First Female Superhero

I spoke at TEDx Abu Dhabi last week. TED is hard, writing is hard–being a superhero is even harder. But that’s what I talked about at TEDx: My favorite female superhero, Scherhazade. I also consider her the first female superheroine. I’ll post the video in which I explain why when I’m feeling more heroic and Continue reading

Abu Dhabi, Arabs, Arts and Culture, Author, Books, Islam/Muslim, Middle East

Arabian Nights, Scherhazade, TEDx
May 3, 2011

Osama’s Other Legacy: Conspiracy Buffs

Osama Bin Ladin is credited with being the mastermind behind 9/11. But he should also be given credit for giving birth to a world of conspiracy theory masterminds. Whether you believe Osama bin Ladin was indeed the brains of 9/11 or not (I live in the Middle East, remember), whether you are conservative or liberal, Continue reading

Abu Dhabi, Arabs, Islam/Muslim, Middle East

conspiracy buffs, Conspiracy Theories, Osama bin Ladin
March 25, 2011

How Teaching Made Me Japanese

When the earthquake hit Japan, it was as if it had hit one of the many cities I’ve lived in. The horror of it would have moved even the coldest heart but I also reacted to it–and still react to it– like it had hit so close to home, although I have never lived in Continue reading

Japan, Middle East, Teaching

earthquakes, Japan, teaching

About Alia

Alia Yunis is a writer, journalist and filmmaker. She is currently producing and directing “The Golden Harvest,” a feature length documentary about how olive oil has shaped the Mediterranean culture, cuisine and history for 6,000 years, through war and peace. Her debut novel, The Night Counter (Random House) has been critically acclaimed by the Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and several other publications. It was also chosen as a top summer read by the Chicago Tribune and Boston Phoenix. The Boston Globe has called it “wonderfully imaginative…poignant, hilarious.” Alia was born in Chicago and grew up in the U.S., Greece, and the Middle East. She has worked as a filmmaker and journalist in several cities, especially Los Angeles. Her fiction has appeared in several anthologies, including The Robert Olen Butler Best Short Stories collection, and her non-fiction work includes articles for The Los Angeles Times, Saveur, SportsTravel Magazine, and Aramco World. She currently teaches film at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi.