I recently across a copy of The Christian Herald from December 1, 1915 and the lead article by John Maynard Owen Williams is on a recent trip he took to Syria and Iraq. The images are from a century ago and I attach a few excerpts from the article. For the first part, click here.
to be continued
There is a very interesting set of 40 maps that Max Fisher has put together on one website to explain the history of the Middle East. Check it out here.
Below are Map #7 and Map #23
What the Middle East looked like in 1914
This is a pivotal year, during the Middle East’s gradual transfer from 500 years of Ottoman rule to 50 to 100 years of European rule. Western Europe was getting richer and more powerful as it carved up Africa, including the Arab states of North Africa, into colonial possessions. Virtually the entire region was ruled outright by Europeans or Ottomans, save some parts of Iran and the Arabian peninsula divided into European “zones of influence.” When World War I ended a few years later, the rest of the defeated Ottoman Empire would be carved up among the Europeans. The lines between French, Italian, Spanish, and British rule are crucial for understanding the region today – not just because they ruled differently and imposed different policies, but because the boundaries between European empires later became the official borders of independence, whether they made sense or not.
Syria’s refugee crisis
Syria’s civil war hasn’t just been a national catastrophe for Syria, but for neighboring countries as well. The war has displaced millions of Syrians into the rest of the Middle East and into parts of Europe, where they live in vast refugee camps that are major drains on already-scarce national resources. This map shows the refugees; it does not show the additional 6.5 million Syrians displaced within Syria. Their impact is especially felt in Jordan and Lebanon, which already have large Palestinian refugee populations; as many as one in five people in those countries is a refugee. While the US and other countries have committed some aid for refugees, the United Nations says it’s not nearly enough to provide them with basic essentials.
When I was young and impressionable, one of my favorite movies was They Died with their Boots On, the Errol Flynn movie about Custer’s last stand. There was Flynn/Custer with his sword raised out in front of his troops heading for the savage Indians. Had it been a fair fight, of course he would have won, but he stood his ground and was the last man standing. Watching this film recently, apart from the totally ahistorical plot of the made-for-Hollywood battle scene, I wonder how many horses were maimed from the trip wires. In a sense Flynn represented a hero against impossible odds, but in another it perpetuated the notion of the white man’s manifest destiny at the expense of the savage “red man.” I doubt it inspired any sarsparilla party types to go out and shoot any Indians, but it certainly reinforced a cultural bias that remains to this day.
I recently came across a film about the death of Husayn, the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, at Karbala. This comes in Arabic and Urdu versions and is entitled “The Caravan of Pride” (موكب الاباء). Like the Flynn film, the bias in the film is evident from the start. This is a film highlighting the conservative Shi’a view of an evil and crazed Yazid. Watching the film creates sympathy for the tragic death of Husayn and his followers at the same time that it denigrates the incoming Umayyad caliphs as heretics. It is easy to forget that the event taking place happened in 61 AH/680 CE, before there were any of the Sunni law schools and five years before Abd al-Malik became caliph and authorized a new edition of the Qur’an. Continue reading They died with their sandals on
In 1981, during a trip to Egypt, I bought the old multi-volume Cairo edition of the mother of all Arabic dictionaries: al-Zabidi’s Taj al-‘Arus. It took up an entire suitcase and was so heavy that I paid the porter extra. As I arrived home, the handle broke and the books spilled in the landing of my home. Those were the days when most Arabic books had to be physically bought in the Middle East and carried home in luggage. Books that used to be accessible only in major libraries are often available online today. If one is patient just about any classic Arabic text from the past is available online. Some are pdf scans, where there is a treasure trove at archive.org and 4.shared.com. It is usually best to search these sites in Arabic. But even a ouja-board Google search in Arabic can yield full texts.
An Iraqi looks at a statue during his visit to the Najaf Heritage and 1920 Revolution Museum in the Khan al-Shilan building on February 27, 2014 in the holy city of Najaf, central Iraq © Haidar Hamdani – AFP
Iraq commemorates 1920 revolt against Britain in new museum
Your Middle East, February 27, 2014
Iraq opened a museum in the Shiite pilgrimage city of Najaf on Thursday commemorating a 1920 uprising against British occupation in a building that once housed captured soldiers.
Iraq opened a museum in the Shiite pilgrimage city of Najaf on Thursday commemorating a 1920 uprising against British occupation in a building that once housed captured soldiers.
The opening of the Najaf Heritage and 1920 Revolution Museum in the Khan al-Shilan building was attended by Tourism and Antiquities Minister Liwaa Smaisim, as well as tribal leaders and politicians.
“This is the first museum dedicated to the heritage and history of Najaf, and represents a symbol of the rejection of slavery and foreign occupation,” Smaisim told AFP. Continue reading Remembering 1920 in Iraq
There is a wealth of video documentation of Yemen’s historical sites. One of these sites is the fortress of Habb in Ba‘dan, with a spectacular view of the surrounding area. For a video visit by Ali Dawud, click here.
Øصن التعكر ÙÙŠ Ù…ØاÙظة إب .. من اشهر القلاع الØربيه ÙÙŠ التاريخ اليمني القديم
صØاÙØ© نت 26 نوÙمبر 2013
استطلاع / Ù…Øمد مزاØÙ… / جبل التعكر من أشهر الØصون والقلاع الØربية ÙÙŠ التاريخ اليمني القديم لا سيما ÙÙŠ عهد الدولة الصليØية.. عندما تÙكر بالذهاب إليه.. لمعرÙØ© تلك الأسرار التي تØدث عنها المؤرخون، Ùإن ذلك يتطلب منك المرور على مدينة جبلة التي تقع شمال شرق التعكر، والتي ارتبط اسمها باسم الملكة أروى بنت Ø£Øمد الصليØÙŠ وقد جعلت من جبلة العاصمة السياسية لدولتها ومن جبل التعكر منتجعاً سياØياً لها خاصة ÙÙŠ موسم الأمطار والإخضرار..
عندما تصل إلى Øصن أو جبل التعكر “كما ÙŠØب تسميته المؤرخون†Ùأنك لن تنسى Ùيما بعد هذا المكان ÙالØصن لا تجد شبراً من الأرض التي Øوله إلا يسيطر عليها الإخضرار..
إضاÙØ© إلى أن موقع الØصن الذي يرتÙع Øوالي “3000†متر Ùوق Ø³Ø·Ø Ø§Ù„Ø¨Øر يجعلك ØªØ³Ø¨Ø ÙÙŠ ملكوت الله Øيث تستطيع وأنت ÙÙŠ قمته أن تمد نظرك إلى أبعد ما يمكن أن يتصوره المرء Øيث يطل الجبل من الناØية الجنوبية الغربية على مدينة ذي السÙال وأجزاء من السياني ومن ناØية الشمال يمكن مشاهدة مدينة جبلة والوقش وسائلة جبلة ومÙرق جبلة أما من الجهة الجنوبية الشرقية Ùيمكن مشاهدة مدينة السياني وعندما تطل من أعالي جبل “التعكر†Ùأنك Øينها ستشعر وكأنك طائر يطير بجناØيه ÙÙŠ السماء، وتزيد لديك Ø£Øاسيس الÙØ±Ø ÙˆØ§Ù„Ø³Ø¹Ø§Ø¯Ø© عندما تنقل نظرك من جهة إلى أخرى لتشاهد الÙضاء الواسع الأÙÙ‚ الرØب، والمناطق الجميلة دائمة الاخضرار والتي يتجه المزارعون لزراعتها ورعايتها ومن ثم Øصادها.
وأنت ÙÙŠ أعلى قمة جبل التعكر وتØديداً ÙÙŠ وسط الØصن المتهالك Øالياً Ùإنك سترى جبل صبر الذي يأتي إليك بكل ما اØتوى من عظمة وجمال وتعرجات ليقول لك ها أنا المناÙس الØتمي لجبل التعكر، Ùتدرك عندها أنك بين عظيمين ولا مقارنة بينهما.
Continue reading Øصن التعكر ÙÙŠ Ù…ØاÙظة إب
