To access the article online, click here: https://www.palestine-studies.org/sites/default/files/jq-articles/Time%20Travelers%20in%20Palestine%20-%20Stereoscopic%20Journey.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2JCxvJFB-EW0m6cGvPkzu5qRad_JzHW3UMuEizdIXwbH6pwEfSCrkaNf8
Category Archives: Palestine
If only Abraham had known …
The Sacrifice of Abraham, by Andrea del Sarto, ca. 1527-1528
A fable, dedicated to Mark Twain and all who really understand what it means to suffer
Abraham was sitting in his tent door near the oaks of Mamre. He was getting on in years and his son Ishmael would soon have to take over the family herds. So it was time to think about buying a burial site, perhaps the cave that Hittite had offered over near Hebron. Then he lifted up his eyes and three men stood before him. And though he did not realize it at the time, these were angels sent from God.
“Abraham,” said one of the angels, “God wants you to know what is going to happen to your descendants over the next three or four thousand years. So we are here to tell you. Are you sitting down?” Abraham was used to the flamboyance of this One God, so he made sure he stayed close to the ground.
“First of all,” said another angel, “your wife Sarah is going to have a son. I know she is a hundred years old and will probably think this is some kind of joke, but let me tell you that God doesn’t fool around when it comes to sex. You have to call this son “Isaac” and then just when you think things are going alright, God is going to ask you to take Isaac up on a mountain and kill him as a sacrifice.”
Abraham decided to keep quiet. Maybe there was more. Continue reading If only Abraham had known …
Images from the 19th century “Bible World”
There were many books written by Christian missionaries and clergy during the 19th century. While the text itself has long since been outdated, the engravings are still fascinating to look at. The illustrations here are from an 1875 book of Bible Manners and Customs by the Methodist-Episcopal preacher James M. Freeman. It is available for free on archive.org. But there is also a brand new edition currently in press for 2021 and already noted on Amazon. I attach several of the images below the book title.
Lithographic Camels
I am a fan of 19th century lithographs of images about the Middle East. One of the books with a plethora of such images is Story of the Bible Animals by the Rev. J. G. Wood, published in 1888 and available on archive.org. In the 700 pages of this book, the largest space (pp. 248-290) is devoted to the camel, drawing on traveler accounts. It is a fun read, full of all the Orientalist prejudices you might image. For example:
“As to the movement of the animal, it is at first as unpleasant as can be conceived, and has been described by several travellers, some of whose accounts will be here given. One well-known traveller declares that any person desiring to practice Camel-riding can readily do so by taking a music-stool, screwing it up as high as possible, putting it into a cart without springs, sitting on the top of it cross-legged, and having the cart driven at full speed transversely over a newly ploughed field.”
Nai Barghouti – “About a human” by Mahmoud Darwish
A beautiful song by Mahmoud Darwish, sung by the Palestinian Nai Barghouti.
The Al-Khalidi Library in Jerusalem
There is a recent article in the Arab News on the Al-Khalidi library in Jerusalem.
You can also visit the website of the library here. I attach the description from the library website. There are several online works in Arabic by Tarif Khalidi.
“The Khalidi Library (Al Khalidiyya), established in Jerusalem in 1900 by Haj Raghib al Khalidi (d.1951), is the first Arab public library established by private initiative in Palestine. The Khalidiyya is located in the Old City of Jerusalem in Tariq Bab al Silsilah about 150 yards away from Bab al Silsilah, one of the main gates to al Haram al Sharif. The Khalidiyya contains the largest private collection of Arabic manuscripts in Palestine and one of the largest such collections in the world. The Khalidiyya MS holdings contain approximately 1200 titles, the oldest of which is about 1000 years old, while its printed collection, mostly of 19th century vintage, contain around 5,500 volumes. In addition there is a massive archival corpus of family papers going back to the early 18thCentury.”
Open Access to Middle East Journals and Newspapers
For anyone doing research on the Middle East for the past two centuries, there is an incredible archive online. Details below:
Below is a list of Open Access historical newspapers and other periodicals in Middle Eastern Studies.
Most titles on the list have been digitized by independent projects across the globe and may not have been fully cataloged. It is often difficult to find and access them on the web or through catalogs such as HathiTrust, AMEEL, Gallica, Revues, WorldCat, etc.
We welcome your comments and suggestions of additional titles to include. Please use the comment feature at the bottom of the page.
For the list of active Open Access journals follow this link:
Alphabetical List of Open Access Journals in Middle Eastern Studies
132 titles as of May 14, 2015.
So Much for Democracy
For my post on the Arab youth views of democracy, click here.