So you want to learn Arabic, but with more than a dozen different dialects, you have no idea what kind of Arabic to learn? Well, if you’re traveling to the Levant, Arabic is spoken a little different here than the Modern Standard Arabic you’d probably learn in a class or book. “So, wait, what is this ‘Arab Levant’, or whatever, you just mentioned?” you may...
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If you’re traveling overseas visiting any of Arabic speaking countries for any long period of time, eventually you might have to get a تحلق / tiHla2 (haircut). However, if you’re like some and suffer from tonsurephobia (the fear of getting a haircut), the idea of a tiHla2 might only be less than that of getting a قناة الجذر qanat aljudhur (root canal). (Incidentally, barbers used to be...
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Every country has the right to present what is most beautiful about where they live, and what better national symbols to show off than flowers? So, without further ado, here are the national Arabic flowers of the 22 countries of the Arab league. CountryNational FlowerInteresting InformationAlgeriaRoof Iris (Iris Tectorum)It’s called the Roof Iris because it was once cultivated on the roofs of houses in Japan and China.BahrainSunflower...
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We’ve already talked about Moroccan food and how mouthwatering it is, but do you want to know what’s even more mouthwatering than Moroccan main courses? That’s right! Moroccan desserts and here are a few to whet your appetite: 01 Halwa Chebakia Halwa Chebakia is a chewy, crunchy, honey-coated Moroccan sesame cookie made by arranging rolled-out dough into a flower shape, frying it and then dipping it into hot...
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When you decide to learn Arabic language skills, you’re deciding to join the ranks of people who share a language and indeed a culture and identity; however, more importantly, you’re sharing a language with the people of from the Arabic speaking countries of the Middle East and North Africa who have surely left their footprints on the world’s stage in areas from science to politics...
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Quick! When you think about traveling to the Middle East, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Traveling through Arabian deserts on camelback? Climbing the pyramids in Egypt? Andre Agassi and Roger Federer playing tennis some 1,053 feet in the air on the helipad of one of the tallest hotels in the world? Okay that last one might be a stretch, but here’s the...
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We’ve already talked before about how turning on your Arab TV box and watching Arabic TV shows can help you learn Arabic language skills and Arabic dialects faster. Well, move over Arab TV because there’s a new kid in town that goes by the name of Netflix, and watch Netflix series and shows in Arabic can also help language learners learn to speak Arabic better...
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Located between the Levantine and Arabian areas of the Middle East, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is bordered by no less than four other Arabic speaking countries: Syria to the north, Iraq along its northeastern panhandle, Saudi Arabia to the east and southeast, the Gulf of Aqaba, Jordan's only outlet to the sea, is to the south and Palestine to the west. At 96,188 sq....
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Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Islamic luxury glassware was the most sophisticated glass exported to both Europe and China after Islam overtook most of the traditional glass-producing territories of both the Sasanian and Roman Empires. In Pre-Islamic times, figurative decoration played a small part in the making of Arabic glass, so the change from Persian and Roman glassmaking was not abrupt, and as a...
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Childhood is a particularly important time for learning and there are many benefits to teaching your child another language. Studies conducted by Harvard determined that children who are bilingual are more creative, more flexible, more engaged in problem solving, and score better on tests. With that in mind, if you’re trying to figure out which language to add to your child’s repertoire, why not try...
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