Snippets from the blogosphere

As usual, the blogosphere is jammed with fascinating ideas, new information and some engaging discussions. Here are some snippets on developments being discussed in the world of Middle Eastern bloggers:

Where are the Lebanese blogs?

In light of the political revolution currently taking place in Lebanon, I’m really surprised to discover that the Lebanese blogging scene is extremely mediocre. I have been looking for impressive Lebanese bloggers for some time now but I haven’t found anything worthwhile.

Am I really such a bad researcher or is it possible that the Lebanese blogosphere is practically non-existent? That would be surprising considering that the Lebanese are among the most educated, articulate and techno-savvy in the Arab world (of course, that’s if they consider themselves Arabs).

I would be really happy to be proven wrong. I would love to find a vibrant Lebanese blogging community. Can anyone out there recommend any high-quality Lebanese blogs? You would make my day.

UPDATE: I stand corrected. Many readers drew my attention to a number of good Lebanese blogs. Here are some worth highlighting:

The Turkish Toilet

Muscat's Turkish toiletWhile on the subject of all things Turkey, Muscati & wife posted a picture of this toilet they found in a newly remodeled building in Muscat.

For those that are not from this part of the world, this is what we commonly refer to as a "Turkish toilet" and it can still be found in a number of public bathrooms across the Middle East. And yes, it can be still found in Turkey. I came across one in Istanbul nearly two years ago.

I’m one of those who is totally grossed by this "hole" and wish they would stop making this monstrosity. Read the comments as well, they are eye-opening and very detailed 😉 I hope this didn’t
gross you out 😉 I just thought that this "hole" was worth highlighting. Enjoy!

Via: [Chan’ad]

The removal of St. Nick

Demre St. Nicholas statueResidents of the Turkish province of Antalya have held a rally to denounce the removal of a statue of St Nicholas, commonly known as Santa Claus. Local authorities replaced the statue of the saint holding a Bible with a plastic Santa Claus. The statue was a donation from Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who has complained to the Turkish president.

St. Nicholas lived in the town of Demre — then known as Myra — in Antalya in the 4th Century. He is believed to have performed miracles to help poor children. The statue stood in front of St Nicholas church in Demre, which was restored with the help of Russian Tsar Alexander II in the 19th Century.

Despite being a predominantly Muslim country, Turkey is proud of its St. Nicholas connection … The Turkish authorities have not commented yet …

Source: [BBC]

I’m highlighting this article because I was in Demre three years ago to cover the Santa Claus Festival for the Jordan Times. I had a great time and enjoyed the festivities that Turkey organizes every year right before Christmas.

I took the picture of the famous statue included above when I was there because I thought it looked so wonderful. Removing it out of the blue like this is a very dumb idea in my humble opinion. The statue is a major landmark for Demre, where tourism depends primarily on this Santa Claus connection, as they claim St. Nicholas was originally Turkish. Here are another two pictures I took in Demre of the St. Nick Church ceiling. Beautiful, isn’t it? All the pictures enlarge.

St. Nick Chapel Detail of the chapel roof

Published in ‘No Ordinary Life’

Inside the cover

Four opinion pieces I wrote for a British Council project dubbed Counterpoint two years ago have appeared in a book entitled No Ordinary Life: Being Young
in the Worlds of Islam
. It’s available here as an Adobe Acrobat document if you’d like a look. [Right click and ‘save link as’ or just click and it will open in your browser.]

As soon as I got to the office this morning I found there was a package in the mail for me that included three copies of this book. I have to admit it made my day. Here are links to four articles published in the book:

Cover imageLooking back at these articles, I realize how both my writing style and political inclination have evolved over the last few years. I’m not sure I would have written the same material if I was approached to do this today. Now I think I would’ve tackled the issues I discussed in the book in a more in-depth manner. Anyway, it always feels great to be published. The pictures will enlarge on click.