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Lebanon: Immigration Wave (1) موجة هجرة Posted by Hanan Ben Nafa on Aug 17, 2020
Lebanon has recently reached a point of collapse وصلت إلى نقطة انهيار that affected all aspects of life. In addition to the political corruption الفساد السياسي , the high prices غلاء الأسعار and unemployment البطالة have worsened زادت سوءً as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. The current situation الموقف الحالي in Lebanon is the…
History of Arabic ice cream: “Booza” Posted by Hanan Ben Nafa on Aug 10, 2020
Do you know that there’s a unique Arabic version of the ice cream المُثلّجات we know and eat today? The Arabic ice cream is called بوظة BooZa and it started in a specific city in the Middle East. El-BooZa is a type of frozen dessert نوع من الحلويّات المجمّدة that was made for the first…
The story behind this Egyptian Proverb Posted by Hanan Ben Nafa on Aug 7, 2020
In today’s post, we’re going to learn a new Arabic proverb مثل (شعبي) عربي and study its use and the story behind it. >> The proverb, which is in Egyptian Arabic, is as follows: ماتروحش تبيع المية في حارة السقّايين Ma TruH-š Tbeeʕ il-mayya fi Hart is-sa2ayeen *Literal meaning المعنى الحرفي Don’t sell…
Hajj Pilgrimage “الحج” amid pandemic Posted by Hanan Ben Nafa on Aug 3, 2020
Last Friday, Muslims around the world celebrated Eid Al-Adha عيد الأضحى – an islamic holiday that marks the end of Hajj season موسم الحج. It was not only the celebration of Eid was affected by the CoronaVirus pandemic, but Hajj was too. Hajj pilgrimage, which is one the pillars of Islam أركان الإسلام and a journey that…
Traditional Arabic Dessert: Zalabya زلابيا Posted by Hanan Ben Nafa on Jul 31, 2020
Today, I would like to share with you the recipe of Zalabya/ Zalabyeh وصفة الزلابيا, a traditional Arabic dessert نوع من الحلويات العربية التقليدية that is known across the Arabic world, but specifically in North Africa where it’s also called Zlabya. It can be considered a type of sweet pastry نوع من المعجّنات حلوة المذاق…
Two Arabic proverbs about Food Posted by Hanan Ben Nafa on Jul 27, 2020
This post focuses on two very popular proverbs مثلين مشهورين جدًا in spoken Arabic. Both are related to the topic of food موضوع الطعام. The intended meaning of both of them is positive إيجابي. While one is a prayer دعوة/أمنية to the “eater”, the other is considered an advice نصيحة. Below, a detailed explanation of…
Listening Test: A Syrian refugee (2) Posted by Hanan Ben Nafa on Jul 20, 2020
Welcome to the second part of this blog. It’s a listening test based on a story about Joelle – a Syrian refugee, who migrated هاجرت to Australia with her family to settle there. Last time, we listened to and studied the first half of the audio clip of the story. Today, we’re going to listen…