Archive for 'Culture'
The Mourning of Italy Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 27, 2010
A mock funeral held in Beirut to mourn Italy’s exit from South Africa 2010.
Coffee – قهوة Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 26, 2010
An overview of Arabic coffee and how it’s served in the Middle East.
Once Upon a World Cup in Lebanon Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 24, 2010
A personal reflection on my very first World Cup in Lebanon
World Cup 2010 Posted by aziza on Jun 16, 2010
Football (كرة القدم) is the most popular sport in the Arab world, and it is the passion of the majority of Arab young people, especially young men. I am not a big fan of football, may be because I am neither young nor man, but I still follow the news of the championship. World Cup…
A great poem from Turkish Posted by aziza on Jun 9, 2010
A couple of years ago, I came across a lovely poem in Arabic, but it was written originally in Turkish, by a famous Turkish poet called Nâzım Hikmet who was also a playwright and a novelist. He was born on January 15, 1902 to a rich Turkish family, but he was imprisoned for his communist…
Online dictionaries Posted by aziza on Jun 7, 2010
There are many free online dictionaries that you can use to look up words. They are not like conventional paper dictionaries that require knowing the root to look up words; you just type the word and find the meaning. You can use Google translate (http://translate.google.com/ ) for both words and phrases. Please note that it…
Sufism Posted by aziza on Jun 2, 2010
Sufism (التصوّف/الصوفية) is Islamic mysticism. Sufi orders (الطرق الصوفية) can be found in Sunni, Shia and other Islamic groups. Ibn Khaldun, the 14th century Arab historian, described Sufism as” dedication to worship, total dedication to Allah most High, disregard for the finery and ornament of the world, abstinence from the pleasure, wealth, and prestige sought…