|* music. Arabic music, free download
Long time I haven't posted any links to music composition. Well, I have very good news. Recently I found a perfect music portal with thousands of mp3s all available for download. The only requirement is registration (you don't have to pay anything, just put in some info about yourself and enjoy music)
Mazika - The Arabic Music GatewayPlus different polls, albums reviews, forum and the hit list of the hottest songs.
P.S. I would reccoment Amr Diab that
once I already wrote about.
|* funny middle east
There are many funny things about the Middle East. Just have a moment and give some photos a look :)
|* photos. Yemen
The following photographs are mady by a groups of Russian tourists, who visited Yemen in February 2004.
(c) GalleryI was amazed by these photos! It feels like a totally different world. I would believe more that it is somewhere on another planet. It was even more interesting for me to read about the trip. I translated some main points-observations about Yemen:
It is hard for a foreigner to get some sleep there. Usually streets are busy till 23 o'clock. Cars are driving with a necessary constant honking to everyone and everything around, including cars, people, dogs or any kind of crossroad. After 23 o'clock cars disapper, but people keep on talking to each other, but in such high voices like we use to shout from a long distance. When people disappear as well, dogs are left, which bark almost all the night. And early in the morning, around 5 o'clock, they start the first praying.
It is typical for the people to carry guns and Kalashnikov.
Jambiya is a must-have kind of thing.
The building of a house in Yemen starts with an installation of a door. Then the rest of the house is built.
If you try to take a photo of a woman and she notices you, she will start to throw stones at you!
Smoking
hookah in Yemen is not respected and considered to be unhealthy. Therefore, everyone chews "
Khut" and around noon all men rush to market places, where they sell khut. Khut is being chewed and put aside behind a cheek during several hours. So somewhere close to the evening all men look rather funny with a khut behind their cheeks (like they have stuffed there a whole apple!)
Sometimes you can see a goat standing on the top of a car eating its breakfast - leaves from a tree next to the car.
|* calligraphy. Mohamed Zakariya.
Once I saw a movie by a British director
Peter Greenaway called "
The Pillow Book". Since then calligraphy and the art of writing facinates me. When doing the daily search for interesting things about the art of Middle East, I found the website of
Mohamed Zakariya, who is an Islamic calligrapher, artist, as well as a master woodworker, engraver, and machinist.
Zakariya also gives lectures lectures on Islamic calligraphy and has presented numerous workshops. His calligraphic works have been exhibited widely all over the world. Mohamed is the author of numerous articles and monographs. Apart from all that Zakariya also designs and constructs functioning examples of antique-style scientific instruments. Examples of these instruments can be found in the collections of the Aramco Science Museum in Saudi Arabia, the National Museum of Qatar, the Time Museum in Rockford, Ill., and the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.
In the picture above you can see the phrase "Muhammad, Peace and Blessings Upon Him (in Arabic)" That is the name of the Prophet and his prayer of blessing.
Isn't it amazing? Words blur into a pattern inviting a viewer for a tour into the world of harmony and beauty of the lines. Writing became a visual art form. The purpose is not only transferring the words as they are, but creating subtext, hidden meaning, emotions. The calligrapher can create things out of words, as they become objects, even more, they become living things. The act of writing then is a long creation process, meditation on life, Art with the capital "A".
|* cinema. Syriana - George Clooney in the Middle East again
All the coincidences amaze me more and more. I happened to search for news on George Clooney without any reason and the first articles I got was about a movie set in the Middle East. I went to the IMDB to check up on it and found out it was the movie of the hour, all animated advertisements were showing this movie. Well, what is it about?
A famour scripwriter
Stephen Gaghan ("
Traffic" 2000), who specializes on the burning issues of the day, is trying his strengths again in being a director of a movie. In 2002 he made his début with a thriller "
Abandon", and this time it is a political thriller "
Syriana" (2005). The basis for this project are the memories of a CIA operative Bob Barnes, which he wrote down in a book "See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIAs War on Terrorism". The topic is the constant activity of the USA in the countries of the Middle East. And the main role is played by George Clooney. Aparently, he became interested in politics of the Middle East after he played in the movie "
Three Kings".
I am more then eager to watch this movie.
