Iranian photographer Mohammad Reza Domri Ganji has compiled a beautiful portfolio of images taken inside landmarks like the Nasir al-mulk Mosque, in Shiraz, Iran.
A set of extraordinary photographs of mosques in Iran by Mohammad Reza Domri Ganji is available on the web. It is well worth checking out. More of his photographs of Iranian mosques can be found here.
A gallery of 40 photographs of Istanbul during the late Ottoman period is available online at http://ilmfeed.com/40-photos-of-ottoman-istanbul-from-the-1900s/. Here is a small sample.
Continue reading Ottoman Istanbul in the early 1900s
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
يقرب الله لي بالعاÙيه والسلامه … وصل الØبيب الأغن
ذاك الØبيب الذي Øاز الØلا والوسامه … وكل معنى Øسن
ونسأل الله تعالى عودنا من تهامه … الى سÙØ ØµÙ†Ø¹Ø§Ø¡ اليمن
لأن صنعا سقاها الله Ùيض الغمامه … منزل Øوت كل ÙÙ†
ما مثل صنعاء اليمن … كلا ولا أهلها
صنعاء Øوت كل ÙÙ† … يا سعد من Øلها
تطÙÙŠ جميع الشجن … ثلاثَ ÙÙŠ سÙØها
الماء وخضرة رباها الÙايقه والوسامه … وكل معنى Øسن
كم يضØÙƒ الزهر Ùيها من دموع الغمامه … Ùيا سقاها وطن
يا ليت شعري متى الأيام ØªØ³Ù…Ø Ø¨Ø±Ø¬Ø¹Ù‡ … إلى مدينة أزال
ونستعيد ما مضى يا سيد Ø£Ùديك جمعه … وطيب بساط المطال
لأن من بعدكم ما ك٠لي قط دمعه … والشوق بي لا يزال
وكلما غردت ورقاء بأعلى البشامه … طلقت طيب الوسن
أهيم ÙÙŠ عشقتك … والدمع جاري غزير
ÙˆØ§Ù„Ø±ÙˆØ ÙÙŠ قبضتك … وانا بØبك أسير
والقلب من Ùرقتك … يكاد Ù†Øوك يطير
ÙارØÙ… أسير الهوى من قد تزايد غرامه … إن لم تكن له Ùمن
لأنني لا أطيق الهجر ذا والعدامه … ولا Ø£Øتمل ذا الشجن
تظن يا منيتي ان قد نسيت أو تناسيت … او خنت عهدي القديم
شاØل٠براسك بأني Ùيك من Øين وليت … أبكي Ùˆ ساعه واهيم
ولا Øلى لي سواك Ùˆ لا بغيرك تسليت … يمين والله عظيم
يا ناس ما Øيلة المشتاق ÙÙŠ ريم رامه … ما Øيلة ابن الØسن
يا ربنا يا مجيب … عجل لنا بالرواØ
لوصل ذاك الØبيب … بالأنس والإنشراØ
والدهر ذاك الكئيب … قد تقضًى وراØ
سهل لنا منك باللط٠الخÙÙŠ والكرامه … وعاÙنا واع٠عن
صلي وسلم على طه Ø´Ùيع القيامه .. والأل ما المزن شن
al-Qubba Husseiniya, a Shia shrine, being blown up in the city of Mosul.
Hollywood is known for creating absurd scenarios, especially with special effects of explosions and cars flying through the air. The real damage is done in war with bombs ripping apart buildings and bodies. And then there is the wanton destruction of buildings out of sheer hatred. The would-be caliphate that has taken nominal control of a large swathe of Syria and Iraq is an affront to everyone, including fellow Muslims in Syria and Iraq. There will be no new caliphate created out of such callous regard for human life and eventually the rebel leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi will follow Saddam Hussein to the netherworld. But the destruction in the meantime is mean indeed. In addition to the men gunned down in Mosul and elsewhere, bulldozers and bombs are destroying some of the splendid Iraqi shrines from the real caliphates. It is a sad day (far too many sad days, weeks, months and years) for Syria, Iraq, Muslims worldwide and the entire world. But the leader of ISIS cannot erase history, no matter how many shrines and mosques he blows up.
Illegal excavations and military use have recently endangered Palmyra, Syria, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Photo: UNESCO/Ron von Oers
by Shatha Almutawa, American Historical Association, April 2014
A car bomb exploded outside the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo on January 24, 2014. The Egyptian Heritage Rescue Team arrived on the scene and began to assess the damage and prepare artifacts to be moved to another building. Trained by the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, the Egyptian volunteers worked with museum staff until all the artwork was safely relocated.
In Syria, following the destruction of the minaret at Aleppo’s Umayyad Mosque last spring, people made their way to the mosque to save the stones for later rebuilding. Some lost their lives in the process. The mosque had been used by rebels, the Syrian army was attacking from the outside, and fighting continued as volunteers worked to protect the stones. As political instability continues in the wake of the Arab Spring, cultural heritage sites and objects are often endangered.
Scholars and activists working on issues relating to the preservation of cultural heritage in the Middle East convened on February 28 at the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery to discuss the Arab Spring’s impact on monuments, historic neighborhoods, and culture in the region. Lisa Ackerman, executive vice president and chief operating officer at World Monuments Fund, spoke about the importance of providing training to communities around historic sites in times of peace and after conflicts, so that locals can preserve their own heritage. She also mentioned the reality that in times of war, troops are trained to find strategic locations to use as bases; historic sites, as she explained in a later e-mail, “are often located in strategic positions with existing infrastructure, such as roads and nearby accommodations, or, as we’ve seen in Syria, are often situated at the highest points, providing a location advantage.†As an example, the US Army in Iraq chose Babylon for its Camp Alpha, which resulted in damages to its ancient walls and gates. Continue reading Creating and Preserving Cultural Heritage in the Arab World
So if you were to pick the ten most dangerous cities in the world, what city in the Middle East do you think would be near the top of the list? Mogadishu, by the way, is number 7 and Peshawar, Pakistan is number two. So would you believe that number 3 is Sanaa? Sanaa more dangerous than Kabul, Aleppo or Baghdad? This is what an Internet top-ten list says, although I seriously doubt the person or machine compiling the list has ever been to Sanaa. And dangerous for whom exactly? Here is what the blurb says:
A politically instable country, Yemen has its share of problems. That being said, the capital city, Sana’a, is one of the most dangerous places in the entire world. Despite the best efforts of US allies, the city remains a high risk destination. Those who do make it there enjoy visiting the Old City, a section of Sana’a full of beautifully designed buildings from a more peaceful time.
Indeed Yemen is unstable, but there are relatively few deaths reported there and life goes on pretty much as usual for most Yemenis living there. I know that there is instability in Yemen but the word “instable” for me conjurs up Dodge City and the OK corral. Sanaa may have its security problems, but I will take it to the destruction going on in Iraq, Syria or Afghanistan any day.
Prince in a Garden Courtyard. Folio from an illustrated manuscript (detail). 1525-30, Iran. Opaque watercolor, ink, gold, and silver on paper, 8 9/16 x 4 3/4in. (21.7 x 12.1cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Rogers Fund, 1911 (11.39.1)
Islamic Art, Culture, and Politics: The Connections
Tuesday, April 1, 2014, 6 pm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
With Peter Brown, Yasmine El Rashidi, Haleh Esfandiari, Shaul Bakhash, and Navina Najat Haidar, Curator, Department of Islamic Art
The New York Review of Books and Met Museum Presents examine the living traditions of the Islamic world, in the setting of modern conflict and variations in Muslim culture. Editor Robert Silvers brings together a group of contributors for a panel discussion on the interconnectedness of art and ethos.
Save $5 per ticket with code NYRB14 at metmuseum.org. Offer expires March 30.