Travel

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
February 5, 2011

Cue the Camels and the Donkeys…and the Cool Cats

It’s time that we get our Middle East animals straight. The other day when I was watching men on camels and horseback charge through Tahrir Square in Cairo, whipping demonstrators, I felt like I was witnessing a bad Hollywood remake of Ben Hur or any other “cue the camels” movie depicting battle in the Holy Continue reading

Abu Dhabi, Arabs, Arts and Culture, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Middle East, Travel

animals, camels, cats, donkeys, Middle East
October 12, 2010

Kimchi Falafel and Other Great American Meals

Falafel is not falafel–heck it’s not even good food– when it contains eggs, is yellow inside and out, weighs more than a tennis ball, is bigger than a tennis ball, or worst of all, refried. But such have been my sad falafel encounters in New York, where everyone seems to be peddling falafel, including the Continue reading

Abu Dhabi, Arts and Culture, Author, Food, Middle East, recipes, Travel

American food, falafel
September 12, 2010

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

Abu Dhabi, Arabs, Arts and Culture, Middle East, Travel

Abu Dhabi, nannies, New York
July 30, 2010

Question My Name, but Don’t Call Me Overweight

The latest Southwest fat incident, this time with an obese teen getting to keep her two seats, even though her parents didn’t pay for them, and the smaller person getting bumped off, reminded me that yes, I too have my own Southwest fat story, and quite frankly it was more frustrating and certainly more physically Continue reading

Travel

Baggage, Overweight, Southwest Airlines, Travel
July 22, 2010

Weather or not? Not Just Small Talk

I’ve been back in the US for a month now. And, just as it is for Fatima’s children in “The Night Counter,” weather seems the first thing people want to talk about, people who aren’t even estranged relatives who can’t think of anything else to say to me. Everyone–friend, foe and stranger–wants to talk about Continue reading

Abu Dhabi, Arabs, Arts and Culture, Middle East, Travel

heat, small talk, weather
February 6, 2010

Silence As Golden As Sand

“Silence” is a relative word, referring to how quiet a place is compared to other times. Silence in a home still involves the hum of the fridge, the heater, the creaking in the wood, the wind on the windows, and so many other things. Outside, it means the birds still chirping, bugs buzzing, the breeze, Continue reading

Abu Dhabi, Arabs, Author, Books, Middle East, Travel

Abu Dhabi, Liwa, SIlence, UAE
October 9, 2009

LIVE FROM THE RED CARPET: THE MIDDLE EAST FILM FESTIVAL GALA

In the end, rumors were false and Omar Sharif did not show up for the screening of Al Mosafar (The Traveler), the opening night movie of the Middle East Film Festival in which he stars. But most of the other actors in the film did, as well as several other stars from around the world. Continue reading

Abu Dhabi, Arabs, Arts and Culture, Author, Film, Middle East, Travel

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.