Many people have called Morocco home for hundreds of years and you’ll notice this in their local culture. Along with the native Berbers, the country has hosted a diversity of cultures including Phoenicians, Arabs, Sub-Saharan Africans, Romans and Spaniards. Most people who live there today, however, identify as Berber or Arab or a mix of the two. Modern Standard Arabic and the Amazigh languages including Tashelheit...
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Despite the fact that their country is known for having somewhat of a conservative culture, Saudi Arabian kids still know how to have fun and often still play traditional games that their parents and grandparents played before them. Here are some of the most common ones: The Hunter This great outdoor game is a combination of hide and seek and freeze tag where a player is chosen...
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Despite its name, Islamic art is not the art of a specific religion, nor is it art of a specific time, place, nor of a single medium. What it is, however, is art that covers a period of some 1400 years – art that comes from many lands and peoples, and art that includes architecture, calligraphy, painting, glass, ceramics, and textiles, among others. Islamic art doesn’t...
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Nearly every society around the world celebrates birthdays, but just as every culture is unique, so are their birthday customs and traditions. Today we’re going to look at how to wish someone a happy birthday in the most common spoken languages in the world and some of the birthday traditions within the cultures of those languages. So, let’s get this party started, shall we? 01 Happy Birthday...
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Okay before I start, I know some of you Millennials and Zoomers are going to be all like “Libraries? Aren’t those, like, those really old buildings where, like, they used to keep books and ancient texts and stuff on papyrus or paper or something? My grandmother used to work in one, like a long time ago before the internet.” And, like, you’d be somewhat correct...
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The history of ceramics in Islamic art is unmatched by any of its contemporaries. When the rest of the world was making unglazed pottery, Islamic potters were developing a tin-opacified glazing some of which can be found on the blue-painted ware of Basra, Iraq, that dates as far back as 700 AD. Additionally, 9th century Iraqi Islamic potters also contributed to the creation of stonepaste ceramics,...
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A lot of lecturers who specialize in improving your conversation skills or those who tout how you, too, can win over friends and influence people often give the same advice to those looking for those things: The best way to get a person to start talking or to win them over is by first complimenting that person. Arabic culture rules are no different, with the exception...
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As many of you know, family is one of the most important aspects of Arab culture, and in many Arabic speaking countries, families maintain their loyalty to their tribal and clan connections. Perhaps this is best exemplified by the ages-old Arab adage: "I and my brothers against my cousins; I and my cousins against the stranger." Arabs know and speak proudly of both their genealogy...
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Known to be fast and clever, the Saluki breed of dogs have been used for hunting, guarding and other daily tasks by the Bedouin people of the Arabian Peninsula ever since they domesticated it more than 5,000 years. Native to the region, the Saluki dog’s speed, intelligence and loyalty are loved and respected by their Bedouin owners. Though no one is sure where the name of...
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Jokes and a sense of humor have pretty much existed in every culture since mankind’s beginning. Indeed, in every culture around the world, the goal of jokes and humor is to reduce the daily pressures of life, creating a sense of understanding and often bringing us together. In this regard, the Arab world is no different and though they are often stereotyped in the West...
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