Tag Archives: Arabic culture
Persian words used in Arabic Posted by aziza on Aug 24, 2012
In the previous post, I wrote that the Arabic language that we use today contains many words that are of foreign origins, especially in spoken dialects. In this post, I present some words that are of Persian or Farsi origin. بخت (bakht) = luck/fortune بيجامة (Bijama) = Pyjamas تنورة (tannoura) = skirt باذنجان (bathinjan) =…
Ancient Egyptian words used today Posted by aziza on Aug 23, 2012
Do you know that all speakers of Arabic use colloquial dialects which have Arabic as the main source, but many other sources exist that are derived from other languages? For example, in colloquial Arabic dialects nowadays, many people use English words like ‘hi’, ‘OK’ and ‘thank you’! Egyptian colloquial Arabic has many sources in addition…
Eid Al-Fitr Posted by aziza on Aug 19, 2012
Yesterday was the last day of the month of Ramadan! It went by very quickly as usual, and today we celebrate the feast for three days after the end of the holy month! Before the feast, everyone who fasted the month has to give money or food to the poor, to help them enjoy the feast…
Goodbye Ramadan Posted by Fisal on Aug 18, 2012
It is the last day of Ramadan and Muslims all over the world are kissing the holy month goodbye. They have worked hard all over the month and deserve some rest and reward which comes to them immediately with the Eid or feast that lasts for three days after Ramadan. Ramadan is a month…
Some Ramadan Habits Posted by aziza on Jul 31, 2012
Ramadan is a great month for Muslims. It is a very spiritual time in which people pray a lot, read the Quran, go to the mosque and do a lot of charity. There are many habits associated with the month of Ramadan, and in this post, I write about some of these habits. In Ramadan…
Kunafa Posted by aziza on Jul 26, 2012
Kunafa (كنافة) is a pastry that many families enjoy in Ramadan. It is available at pastries all around the year, but families like to prepare it at home in Ramadan. Kunafa has a distinctive shape, as it looks like strings or hair when raw. It can be prepared in many ways. In this posting…
Al-Khushaf Posted by aziza on Jul 25, 2012
Alkhushaf (الخشاف) is another traditional recipe associated with the month of Ramadan. It is very easy to prepare, and it is very high in nutrients which is very good after fasting all day long. Alkhushaf is made with dried fruits, mainly dried dates (التمر) raisins (الزبيب) dried prunes (القراصيا) dried apricots (المشمشية) dried figs (التين)…