Under a solitary tree in the desert, a young Prophet Muhammed met with the Christian monk Bahira. This documentary charts the importance of this chance meeting. The Blessed Tree is a short and beautifully-filmed documentary which tells the story of a chance encounter between a Christian monk named Bahira and the young Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) […]
Within 24 hours Jordan may become the latest Arab nation to muzzle media freedom if Parliament passes a bill to censor internet access in Kingdom. New amendments to the Press and Publications Law would require online news sites to register with the government, obtain costly operating licenses from the Ministry of Information, become members of […]
Not like Istanbul’s historic Grand Bazaar, the famous Emirati souk hosted by the Artisans of the Emirates, or ARTE, is a baby – only seven years old. But it has quickly grown from its humble beginnings of about 30 “artisans” or craft exhibitors from the United Arab Emirates in the network to over 3,000. ARTE “markets” […]
Alexandria’s newly-appointed governor, Mohamed Atta Abbas, ordered security forces to dismantle book kiosks in Egypt last week. A mainstay of local culture, al-Nabi Daniel street booksellers posted images of ransacked kiosks on their Facebook page. The Minister of Culture has vowed to investigate the incident, according to Egypt Independent, but activists and writers are duly alarmed. […]
Two weeks ago Green Prophet decided it was high time to put Tel Aviv’s bicycle sharing program to the test, since we are such fervent advocates of cycling. We hired two bicycles from a station at the corner of Ehrlich and Yefet streets in Jaffa, a predominantly Arab neighborhood just south of Tel Aviv, but only […]
Park those alternative energy cars and hybrid vehicles, hot air ballooning is my new green travel of choice. Can there be a more magnificent place to try my wings than over the Cappadoccian landscape? Cappadocia is a region in Anatolia, largely in the Nevşehir Province, in the center of modern day Turkey. Together with Göreme […]
Now that the kids are back at school, time to go green and continue the celebrations with this back-to-school tutorial. Parents will need to help with this one. This time of year with kids returning to school, many go on shopping spree spending lots of money on branded notebooks, agendas, and bags. But why not […]
People usually associate a flea market with old, dusty clothes and other “junk,” consider it a sort of yard sale collision. In Amman, however, Souk Jara is deemed a flea market and is a far better cry than that notion. A sort of upscale summer flea market, Souk Jara lets guests feast their eyes on […]
This Green Prophet tours Turkey and sees a mosaic of eco-sensibility. Little Eid, a Muslim holiday, is a great time for a getaway. So I reeled in my family from disparate zip codes for a week spent touring someplace new. Years back, plump thighs on my enormous babies tagged the kids as “turkey legs”. It feels […]
Laurie attempts to explain Middle East evil eye superstition. Can a lingering look with a penetrating gaze cause catastrophe in another’s life? If you’re Jordanian, you might think so (and your grandmother certainly does): it’s the pseudoscience of the “evil eye”. In Turkey, people with Frida Kahlo unibrows or pale color eyes are considered prime candidates […]
Dr. Mamdouh Khalil, a professor of environmental sciences at Cairo University, told Al-Shorfa there is currently a waste disposal crisis in Egypt, because of the lack of waste recycling plants.
Learn about Arab greetings, the evil eye, funeral traditions and the habit of pigeon-keeping in these colorful books from Jordan. On my first free Friday in Amman, I walked to the downtown end of Rainbow Street and turned left to find the merchants of Souk Jara just beginning to set up shop. Souk Jara is […]
Lebanese illustartor Maya Zankoul “draws” against issues that range from pollution, electricity cuts, real estate pricing, to politics in Lebanon. She will be one of the guest speakers at SHARE Beirut. In October there will be a free three day conference in Beirut which will look at “digital” rights in the MENA and promote creativity. Similar to the […]
There is a losing battle in saving coral reefs worldwide, but a drug made for humans might be able to help corals fight the White Plague. Corals reefs are an invaluable part of the marine ecosystem, fostering biodiversity and protecting coastlines. But coral reefs are increasingly endangered. Pathogenic bacteria, along with pollution, global warming and […]
If we all lived like the citizens of the UAE, we would need 5.4 planet earths to sustain us… Sometimes the best way to say something is not with words but images. And there is truly no better wake up call to the UAE than this amazing infographic designed by Tim De Chant. It shows […]