Hemant Divate: Poetic butterflies from the garden of India
An email sent from a friend opened a whole new world for me. It happened when Ahmed Al Shahawi, the well known Egyptian poet, sent me his friend Hemant Divate’s poems, to introduce them for Arab readers. Mr. Hemant Divate is an internationally known Marathi poet from India, who lives in Mumbai and works as […]
Kazakh director Zhanabek Zhetiru: Recreating myth in cinema
As Otilija Kerbelyte says, in cinema we find the myths and legends portrayed with fantastic genres, special effects, and mythological creatures such as elves and orcs in the The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Mythical creatures usually wear the clothes, which no human would wear (e.g. faun and fairies in Pan’s Labyrinth) and their cinematic […]
Seeking for Egypt’s true future
The 30 June Revolution could be the key gate to understand the future of Egypt. In 2012, Egyptians were ready to support the Muslim Brotherhood man who won the presidential race under one certain condition; he accepts and acts like a democratic ruler of all Egyptians. But this did not happen, as Mohammed Morsi continued, […]
The Silk Road re-invented
Arabs – among other nations – travelled to the East in the past, by way of exploration. They were merchants in search of raw materials to earn their living, scholars in pursuit of knowledge, conquerors to spread religion and extend the boundaries of the emerging Islamic empire, or, as a reaction and on a journey […]
[Novel] The Road to Shamawes ⑯
[25] Nargis’s early tension began to ease as she saw the old and new faces coming to the villa. She forgot for a while the beginning of the crisis, but she was aware that the end would not be so smooth. She might have looked at her watch over two hundred times within two hours, […]
The Feminine ‘N’, the River of Art
My new book entitled “The Feminine (N), the River of Art” was published in Cairo a few days ago. In Arabic language the letter (N), or (Noon) as it is pronounced, and (ن ) as its written is considered to be a symbol of women, in the Arabic culture. In most of the Arabic verbs, […]
[Novel] The Road to Shamawes ⑮
[23] When Hisham left the café he looked a different person. Omar’s amusing anecdotes and jokes, bold views and sarcastic words, Terter’s hookah smoke, cardamon-added coffee, the crowded café noise made Hisham forget or ignore the person he invited to see, Omar. He doesn’t regard himself as spoilt as he is known in the family. […]
Malala Yousafzai in an Arab American documentary film
“Let us pick up our books and our pens. They are our most powerful weapons… one child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education first.” These were the words of Malala Yousafzai, who celebrated her 16th birthday on the world stage at the United Nations, […]
Egypt: The tale of two revolutions
For most Egyptians, the past year was just a nightmare, and the worst, compared with any bad ruling authorities in the history of Egypt. The country was under occupation of the Muslim Brotherhood ruling, embodied by the ousted Ex-President Mohammed Morsi Al-Ayat, who acted, for a year as a dictator by not responding the Egyptian […]
Naurauz : Theatre for all Seasons
It had been a week of happiness for those who fall in love with theatre. The city is Kazan, the location is G. Kamal Tatar National Academic Theatre, and the event is the 11th edition of the International Theatre Festival of Turkic Peoples; Naurauz, with performances from 3 – 7 June, 2013. Some aspects are […]