Gold Dust

This was not one of my most liked books. Truthfully, it weirded me out. The only thing that made me semi-understand why he loved his camel so much was the typical man + dog relationship. I am a dog lover my self and can understand the bond people may create with an animal, however putting my dog before my family would never happen. I understand things are different on that side of the world but it seemed like the camel meant a lot more than just a camel. To me it seemed that the camel was more of a symbol than a real object. It seemed that the camel was this other self of Ukkayad. It seemed he was vicariously living through the camel at times.
I did enjoy how they portrayed the desert throughout the whole novel. It really gave me a good sense of what walking through a hot, dry desert would be like. However, that is all I really got from this book. I don't believe everyone in the Middle East treats their camel like this or even has a camel. I think the book semi falls into the stereotype of the typical middle eastern man. Like the only thing he has is his camel...not true! There are many cars in the Middle East and the number is growing everyday. I even found a website that is called Middle East Cars and is all about their cars and their dealerships. In the end I just thought that this story just created more stereotype for the middle east. like all they have are their camels and nothing else so they revolve their lives around them. The book ended interestingly however.

War in the land of Egypt

I really enjoyed Ashley's professor coming to visit our class. He is an interesting man! Hearing about his stories from his past really put how life was for him in perspective. I can't imagine making 16 dollars a month!!! Hearing about his stories straight from someone who experienced stuff that we have been reading about  makes what is happening in the Middle East all the more real to me. Some of stuff we read in papers of books sounds so unreal but when you are hearing it right from someone it happened to.. it makes it easier to believe. I really enjoyed having him in our class, thanks Ashley!

As for the book War in the Land of Egypt.. I really enjoyed this as well. I LOVED the way it was written. It gave me a better idea not only of who each character was and his stance but knowing the story from all perspectives gave me a better idea of what was happening in the story. As Ashley's teacher pointed out, the title War in the land of Egypt was not talking about an actual war what so ever. It was talking about how corrupt Egypt is and the small wars that are fought there everyday by the people of Egypt against the government, higher officials, or mayors.  This was extremely symbolic! He also pointed out that Masri does not get his own chapter in the  book and he is the main character. This is symbolic as well because it reflects that Masri is not exactly given a voice in the book at all, not only because he doesn't get a chance to tell the story in the book but because he is not given choices about majority of the things that happened to him in his life. When the Umda wanted him to go to war for his son, his father was the one who made the decision and Masri was not allowed to make his own choice. I believed this was symbolized by him not being given a chapter in the book very well. The book really made me think about pride and honor. Should Masri just be honored in his own mind because he died and went to heaven for his country, or will Masri only be honored if it is HIS name on that tombstone and everyone knows that he was the one who died for his country, not the umda's son. Is honor about everyone knowing or just for the pure satisfaction of the person whom did something heroic. I think this all depends on the person. Some people need the satisfaction of people knowing the great, heroic task they completed, others don't like people knowing their heroic acts and would rather keep it a secret. Which person are  you?? 

The mosque

I am very upset that I couldn't attend the mosque field trip however to try and take place of visiting the mosque I did some research on it. Hope everyone had an interesting experience.

Mosque in Arabic is Masjid and refers to all islamic buildings made for islamic worship in english and means place of worship in arabic(derived from the word meaning to bow or to kneel. The mosque is a place for people to come together for prayer led by the Imam. Some mosque are not only places of worship but also used for schools, tombs, and hospitals. As we know muslims are required to pray 5 times a day. These prayers are allowed to be done on ones own however, it is required to attend friday prayer. during eclipse, eclipse hold special prayers called eclipse prayers. the third of the five pillars of Islam is to give to charity. The mosque is where everyone gives their charity to. This is the center that collects the money and helps the needy. During the last ten days of ramadan, a man is required to stay in the mosque for prayer and learning for those 10 days straight. the community is responsible for feeding and taking care of the man that has chosen to take this task. One of the largest mosque in the world is the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It can hold up to 820,000 worshippers. Built in 638 it is still used everyday. This video supposedly shows the three largest mosque in the world which was very interesting to me!

It is said to that there are many reasons for why one must take their shoes off when being inside the mosque. The most widely known is out of pure respect for the mosque. Others may say it is only if your shoes hold impurities and those impurities are not allowed in the sacred mosque. Others beleive it is because it is sacred grounds inside the mosque, just like how moses was asked to take his shoes off in front of the burning bush because it is sacred ground. Muhammed told people as long as you clean your shoes before you came you could pray in your shoes when they were free of filth. Mosque are said to be very clean places. One must have clean clothes, shoes, and bodies. It is extremely disrespectful to come into a mosque dirty.

The Road to Love

Sorry for this post taking so long I have been extremely sick..

My thoughts and feelings on the movie are extremely mixed. I did not enjoy the actual making of the movie. The lighting was terrible and reading the subtitles just got annoying. I was not able to fully enjoy the movie because I was reading the subtitles the whole time. I also thought the movie was a innappropriate during most parts. The man pushing himself on karim in this movie was considered to be just a man in love. However when a man pushes himself on a woman it is looked down upon. I feel as though the man was inappropriate with trying to turn Karim gay. I also think it was inappropriate when the naked guy was giving Karim a back massage and kept moving in closer... This movie was extremely controversal and a little offensive.

On the other hand, even though I may be against homosexuality I would never wish death upon anyone that has chosen this as their lifestyle. the Middle East is extremely closeminded to their homosexual population and actually gives the death penalty or jail time. This video shows that the people who do beleive in homosexuality are getting the respect that they deserve to be allowed to date men and women no matter what sex you are. A news article I found explains that it is becoming even more and more common in the Middle East. However it also talks about their population decreasing because of the growing number of stds and the decreasing number of reproduction. I am all for people achieving what they beleive in.. the homosexual community becoming more known and visible in the Middle East is a huge accomplishment for them. I am happy for them that they are beginning to get the respect they deserve. I beleive they should keep fighting for equality but like America this is going to take a long time.

Beirut, Lebanon

The main character in the book I am reading is from Beirut. I don't know that much about Beirut besides where it is, so I decided to do some research. Beirut is the capital and largest city in Lebanon. It has a populationof over 2.1 million people. Beirut holds the middle east's largest and main seaport along the meditteranean sea, because of its depth and location allows it to host the largest mother ships. First word of this city was during the 14th century and has been inhabited ever since. Beirut is well known for its press, theatres, cultural activities, and night life! Beirut was named the NUMBER ONE place to visit in 2009 in the New York times. After the collapse of the Ottoman empire, Beirut was placed under french mandate and then achieved independence in 1943. In 1975 the lebanese civil war broke out and was divided by the muslim west part and the christian east part. Lebanon then had 2 more wars after that which took a large tole on the city. Soon after they began rebuilding and have worked them back up to the status they were at before the wars. Beirut has held the Miss Europe Pageant 8 times. In 2005 Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated in Beirut. This scared the city. Beirut has a meditterranean climate with hot and rain free summers, pleasant fall and spring, and cool rainy winters. Snow rarely ever falls and if it does it does not stick. Beirut is the most religiously diverse city in Lebanon and possibly in the entire Middle East, there are 9 major religious communities in Beirut, Sunni Muslim, Shiite Muslim, Druze, Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Armenian Catholic, and Protestant. The economy in Beirut is doing very well, and their tourists are helping it thrive even more. Beirut is extremely inhabited and has many intersting features. Their culture, transport, sports, and entertainment is expanding quickly.

The Woman I left behind by Kim Jensen

I am currently reading "The Woman I Left Behind" by Kim Jensen and I am beginning to love the book. It is very intense!! It is a mixture between facts and passion. The story begins telling of stories of two completely different people and their back grounds, where they came from, their beliefs etc. It then tells the whole story from how they met to how in love they have become. I really enjoy this book because of the poetry. Both main characters are extremely into the arts, poetry, music and literature. They speak in poetry when they are speaking to eachother about the love they share and it really makes you feel like you know exactly how they feel. The way the author has them explain things makes you feel as if you are watching this happen in your mind. The main character, Khalid,a young activist and a palastinian from Beirut. He came to America through a green card marriage, when times began to get tough in Beirut. Green card marriages are actually extremely common at around 450,000 green card marriages a year, with a large majority being simple green card marriages, and only a few being real lovers wanting to live in America. Khalid's first few years of living in America he lives with his green card wife. However he does not love her, she is merely a green card wife and that is all. When he meets Irene at an anti-Apartheid rally, also a young activist from America, they fall in love and he immediatley stops talking to his "greencard wife". The two of them are so in love they spend every waking moment together, reading poetry to eachother, telling each other stories about their past and argueing about their beliefs. They are both extremely outspoken. Throughtout the whole beginning of the book Khalid keeps bringing up a thing called a mijwiz which belongs to palestinian folklore, which signals a time for rejoicing! When someone begins to play the mijwiz everyone around begins to dance. He repeats over and over how much he misses the sound of the mijwiz. Click here to hear the sound of the Mijwiz. The story gets very indepth about Irene and Khalids love by using poetry. He also speaks arabic throughout the book, saying meaningful sayings and what they mean from arabic to english. I am excited to keep reading!