Let’s face it:it’s a cliche.A foreigner in Beijing who visits the Forbidden City,also known as the Palace Museum today,and snaps a couple of pictures to post on Instagram is a cliché.My own experience,neverthel...Let’s face it:it’s a cliche.A foreigner in Beijing who visits the Forbidden City,also known as the Palace Museum today,and snaps a couple of pictures to post on Instagram is a cliché.My own experience,nevertheless,has been anything but.I must’ve been 5 or 6 when I first saw a photograph of it.I remember flipping through a colorful kids’magazine and stumbling upon a double-spread that depicted the Chinese wonder in impressive detail.I turned to my father.展开更多
Whenever my Egyptian friends in Beijing and I get together,we won’t stop ranting about being stuck with no prospects of visiting home in the foreseeable future,thanks to COVID-19-related travel restrictions and quara...Whenever my Egyptian friends in Beijing and I get together,we won’t stop ranting about being stuck with no prospects of visiting home in the foreseeable future,thanks to COVID-19-related travel restrictions and quarantine measures.Of course,it goes without saying that we miss our family and friends.What we all seem to agree on missing the most,however,is the appetizing smell of golden ta’meyya balls frying away on a quiet Friday morning on the backstreets of Cairo.Strange,eh?展开更多
It’s December-that time of year again. No, not Christmas;I’m talking about the UN Arabic Language Day which falls on December 18. UNESCO initially started to observe this day in 2012 to "celebrate multilinguali...It’s December-that time of year again. No, not Christmas;I’m talking about the UN Arabic Language Day which falls on December 18. UNESCO initially started to observe this day in 2012 to "celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity." The selfproclaimed linguist I am, I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate this day while in Beijing than by exploring Arabic through the eyes of its Chinese apprentices.展开更多
The moment I set eyes on one of the Fayum portraits depicting a middleaged man on a coffin lid in Cairo’s Egyptian Museum,I was hooked.His pensive gaze and striking resemblance with many Egyptian friends put me on a ...The moment I set eyes on one of the Fayum portraits depicting a middleaged man on a coffin lid in Cairo’s Egyptian Museum,I was hooked.His pensive gaze and striking resemblance with many Egyptian friends put me on a journey of learning more about these spectacular mummy portraits,many of which reside in diaspora far away from home.展开更多
At first glance,my motherland,Egypt,and China seem to be worlds apart.In a strictly geographical sense,there are 6,896 km between them.But a closer look reveals much the two countries have in common.That was what my u...At first glance,my motherland,Egypt,and China seem to be worlds apart.In a strictly geographical sense,there are 6,896 km between them.But a closer look reveals much the two countries have in common.That was what my uncle,who served as ambassador to China in the1990s,used to tell me.展开更多
文摘Let’s face it:it’s a cliche.A foreigner in Beijing who visits the Forbidden City,also known as the Palace Museum today,and snaps a couple of pictures to post on Instagram is a cliché.My own experience,nevertheless,has been anything but.I must’ve been 5 or 6 when I first saw a photograph of it.I remember flipping through a colorful kids’magazine and stumbling upon a double-spread that depicted the Chinese wonder in impressive detail.I turned to my father.
文摘Whenever my Egyptian friends in Beijing and I get together,we won’t stop ranting about being stuck with no prospects of visiting home in the foreseeable future,thanks to COVID-19-related travel restrictions and quarantine measures.Of course,it goes without saying that we miss our family and friends.What we all seem to agree on missing the most,however,is the appetizing smell of golden ta’meyya balls frying away on a quiet Friday morning on the backstreets of Cairo.Strange,eh?
文摘It’s December-that time of year again. No, not Christmas;I’m talking about the UN Arabic Language Day which falls on December 18. UNESCO initially started to observe this day in 2012 to "celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity." The selfproclaimed linguist I am, I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate this day while in Beijing than by exploring Arabic through the eyes of its Chinese apprentices.
文摘The moment I set eyes on one of the Fayum portraits depicting a middleaged man on a coffin lid in Cairo’s Egyptian Museum,I was hooked.His pensive gaze and striking resemblance with many Egyptian friends put me on a journey of learning more about these spectacular mummy portraits,many of which reside in diaspora far away from home.
文摘At first glance,my motherland,Egypt,and China seem to be worlds apart.In a strictly geographical sense,there are 6,896 km between them.But a closer look reveals much the two countries have in common.That was what my uncle,who served as ambassador to China in the1990s,used to tell me.
