To fully appreciate the Arab people and their culture, you need to also understand the Arabic language. These both are fundamentally connected to each other. Just as Arab culture is very rich and complex, so Arabic is also a very rich language. It has a history as complex as the history of the Arabic speaking countries that use the language. Today’s article will explore the...
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Saudi Arabian kids know how to have fun. They often still play traditional Arabic games that their parents and grandparents played before them. This is despite the fact that their country has somewhat of a conservative culture. Here are some of the most common ones: The Hunter This great outdoor game is a combination of hide and seek and freeze tag. A player is the hunter who...
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Despite its name, Islamic art is not the art of a specific religion, time, place or of a single medium. What it is, however, is art that covers a period of some 1400 years – art that comes from many lands. It's an art that includes architecture, calligraphy, painting, glass, ceramics, and textiles, among others. So what does it consist of? Islamic art doesn’t include only religious...
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The history of ceramics in Islamic art is unique like none of its contemporaries. The rest of the world was making unglazed pottery. Meanwhile, Islamic potters were developing a tin-opacified glazing. Some of these are 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. This is...
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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 and heritage. With...
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The Saluki Arab dog breed is known to be fast and clever. Thus, they 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 ago. Native to the region, the Saluki dog’s speed, intelligence and loyalty are loved and respected by their Bedouin owners. No one is sure where...
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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. Although they are often stereotyped in the West, Arabs...
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We’ve already talked about Moroccan food and how mouthwatering it is. However, 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: Halwa Chebakia Halwa Chebakia is a chewy, crunchy, honey-coated Moroccan sesame cookie. Moroccans make it by arranging rolled-out dough into a flower shape, frying it and then dipping it into...
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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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Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Islamic luxury glassware was the most sophisticated glass Europe and China were importing. This happened 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. As a...
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